Meet our esteemed Advisory Board Members
Our advisory board provides unparalleled guidance, ensuring every student receives expert advice for their application journey.
Guiding our students to success
At Lion Education & College Prep, our advisory board's primary role is to offer invaluable advice on each individual student's application. All our advisors have attended top-tier schools, ensuring a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw upon.
Experience from the world's best institutions
Our Advisory Board Members have all attended top-tier colleges, including the Ivy League and Oxbridge. Many have also played Division I athletics and gone on to achieve highly successful careers, bringing a unique blend of academic, athletic and professional excellence to our students.
Expert insight for exceptional results
The Board is instrumental in ensuring Lion Education & College Prep offers top-notch advice and guidance. Our team frequently consults with members for college selection shortlists, networking, research programs and internships, directly benefiting our clients.
Meet some of our Advisory Board Members
These are just a few of our many board advisors!
Peggy Zaman
Founder/MD
LL.B, LL.M (Corporate & Commercial), LL.M (Intellectual Property)
Peggy has over 15 years of experience in assisting high school students apply to UK universities and US colleges. Peggy herself was offered numerous tennis scholarships in the US but opted to turn pro, obtaining a WTA ranking at the age of 19. After her career was cut short by major injuries, she became an international corporate lawyer working at top-tier law firms and companies in NYC, Sydney and San Francisco. Peggy herself attended Santa Clara University School of Law (a top 10 law school in the US) as a merit scholar. She is also a Certified California and US College Admissions Consultant. She has 3 children, all of whom have experienced the GCSE and A-level journey and opted to attend or are attending reputable UK universities.
Akram Zaman
Global Head of Capital Markets, Millennium, New York
B.A (Columbia University), M.B.A. (Harvard)
Akram (Peggy's brother) received a full athletic scholarship to the University of Southern California, then transferred to Columbia University, where he majored in Finance and Economics. After working at Morgan Stanley for 3 years, Akram attended Harvard Business School (HBS) to study for an MBA, returning to MS for another 7 years before joining Merrill Lynch (BAML) in London. After a decade at BAML as Managing Director, Akram has spent the past several years as Global Head of Capital Markets at Millennium in New York City.
Salil Seshadri
Co-founder, One Madison Group, New York
B.A. (Columbia University)
Salil received a full bursary to attend Columbia University as a recruited athlete. He majored in Economics and Finance, and worked for top-tier finance companies, such as Goldman Sachs, before starting his own company, One Madison Group, in New York City.
Laxmi Poruri
Senior Director of Client Growth, Pillsbury Winthrop, Austin, Texas
B.A. (Stanford)
Laxmi played tennis on the WTA tour, reaching a ranking just over the top 100. Laxmi was a child tennis prodigy with her contemporaries, including Andre Agassi, Monica Seles and Michael Chang. She attended Stanford University after receiving a full athletic scholarship, graduating with a B.A. Honours in Humanities. After working for a few years at a top international company, she attended McGill University in Canada, receiving an M.B.A. Laxmi, until very recently, was on the board of Stanford Athletics.
Cathy Lee
Former Snr Analyst, Alibaba Group, Hong Kong
B.Sc Computer Science (Cornell)
Cathy was valedictorian at her high school and studied Computer Science and Engineering at Cornell University. After several years working at Morgan Stanley, she attended U Penn (Wharton Business School), graduating with an M.B.A. She worked personally for many years with one of the co-founders of Alibaba Group.
Taj Gill
Former Partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York
B.Sc Computer Science, (Bond University), LL.M (Cambridge)
Taj was a scholarship recipient and studied Computer Science and Law at Bond University - Australia's sole private university. After a year teaching at Bond Uni, Taj attended Cambridge University, receiving a Master's of Law. After working at a major international law firm in Sydney, Taj joined the elite and prestigious corporate team at Davis Polk in New York City. After a 25-year law career, including 20 years as a partner, Taj retired in 2024. He enjoys mentoring young lawyers at Davis Polk as well as capturing incredible photographs.
Karan Seghal
Partner & Portfolio Manager, One Madison Group, New York
B.A. (Columbia University)
Karan studied finance and economics at Columbia University. After very successful stints at Lazard, Morgan Stanley and a major New York City hedge fund, he joined One Madison Group in NYC as a partner and a portfolio manager a few years ago.
Dr. Ramnath Dukkipati
MD, Nephrologist & Medical Director, Los Angeles
Associate Professor, M.D., David Geffen School of Medicine, Harbour-UCLA Medical Centre
After studying medicine at KMC in India, Ram did his residency and fellowship at UCLA in nephrology. He has spent nearly 20 years at UCLA Medical Centre as a medical director specialising in interventional nephrology and dialysis access.