Meet the Sawa Team
Your leadership at SAWA puts kindness, open-mindedness,
and integrity at the forefront of our work.
Charles Phillips
Co-Founder & CEO
Charles has deep experience in business and financial development for industrial and technology companies. He has been a sales, marketing, and operations executive at a variety of new and established firms in the arenas of infrastructure, software, telecommunications, and professional services. He worked at the Boston Consulting Group, where he analyzed operations and planned strategies for domestic and international corporations. He has been an entrepreneur in multiple verticals, including telecom, defense contracting, private equity, and industrial water treatment. Charles received his MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business and a BA in Government from Harvard University.
Andrew Henry
Co-Founder & CFO
Andrew has an exceptional record of performance on Wall Street in his 20 years as a derivatives portfolio manager. He also has an impressive track record as a C-suite financial services professional with extensive expertise in volatility, trading, risk management, compliance, and fundraising. He is a skilled leader in negotiation, consensus-building, and forging alliances across diverse groups to drive growth of organizations and their values. He was previously the co-founder and CFO at CreditIQ, a leading provider of digital retailing APIs to the automotive industry. Andrew has a BS in Finance from Indiana University's Kelly School of Business
Clara Cott
Director of Product & Customer Engagement
Clara has a passion for how people make decisions and interact with brands. Prior to joining the Sawa team, she ran a marketing consulting firm that worked intimately on branding & product design for multiple startups who aimed to disrupt their industries and emerge as industry leaders. An expert in product experience, digital marketing, user experience, branding, customer communications and go-to market digital strategy, Clara leads our customer engagement and digital experience at Sawa. An entrepreneur at heart, Clara holds a BS in Marketing Management & Business from The University of St. Thomas.
Chauncey Dewey
Operations Manager
Chauncey is a graduate of Santa Clara University’s undergraduate business school. Chauncey’s prior work has included internships at multiple early-stage start-up companies in the San Francisco Bay area. He is an operations and product management professional with a knack for research and data analysis. Chauncey has led cross-functional teams, optimized processes, and fueled innovation through product development. His expertise lies in operations for Sawa, spotting market trends, identifying customer needs, and strategizing ways to elevate business performance.
Neil Peretz
Chief Legal Officer
Neil has been General Counsel of multiple high-growth fintech companies, including SmartBiz Loans, the #1 marketplace for SBA-guaranteed loans. He co-founded the Office of Enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and served as a Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he represented federal agencies in complex financial litigation. He also worked for the SEC and a large international law firm. Outside of his legal practice, Neil co-founded two successful technology startups, and was an investment banker and U.S. diplomat. He is co-inventor on three patents. Neil has an LLM from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (where he was a Fulbright Scholar focused on consumer protection issues), a JD from UCLA School of Law, Bachelors and Masters degrees from Tufts University, and was ABD at the George Mason School of Public Policy.
Sandro Pierre
Customer Success Manager
Amplifying voices. Advocating for justice. Sandro Pierre, a passionate criminal justice graduate from John Jay University, stands as a relentless force for change. With a heart rooted in faith, raised on the beautiful island of Turks and Caicos; Sandro is on a mission to make a difference. Post graduation, Sandro’s career journey began with dipping his toes in the water with companies who help underserved communities such as Kforce, Freedom Mortgage, & Audience CO; Today Sandro has fully submerged into his career and found his home at SAWA creating one on one connections with customers and getting to the root of issues to help underserved communities both on and off of work. A customer service aficionado and music lover, he believes in the power of compassion and empathy to transform lives.