Judges - Global Private Banking Awards 2014 - Awards

From Awards 03 May 2013

By Emmanuel Adeyemi

The judges at the Global Private Banking Awards 2014

Gerard Aquilina

Advisor, Founder alexosAdvisors based in London, UK

Gerard is the co-founder of alexosAdvisors, an advisory firm based in London. The firm assists families and family offices in identifying exceptional private equity opportunities and in meeting their succession planning and philanthropic objectives. Gerard is also an advisor to Avington Financial Ltd., a London-based merchant bank which specialises in the luxury hospitality, real estate and consumer brand sectors, and Madeira Global, a NY based impact investment firm.

Gerard has held senior management positions at the global level at UBS, Barclays, HSBC and Merrill Lynch. His positions have included Vice Chairman, Global Emerging Markets at UBS, where he oversaw the bank’s relationships with key clients, Vice Chairman and before that Head of Europe, Middle East, Africa, and the Americas at Barclays Wealth. Previous roles included CEO HSBC Private Bank for Canada, the US and Latin America, Global Head for Product, Sales, Marketing and Communication at Merrill Lynch International Private Client, CEO Merrill Lynch International Trusts & Generational Planning, Country Head Merrill Lynch Private Client Brazil, and Associate Director at Merrill Lynch International Prior to his career in Wealth Management, Gerard worked as an investment banker and Gerard holds an LLM from the School of Advanced Legal Studies at the University of London, a Juris Doctor from the American University in Washington, D.C., and a BA in International Relations from Columbia University, NY. He is a citizen of Canada and Malta, is conversant in six languages and has lived in Lebanon, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Greece, the UK, the US and Brazil. He resides with his family in London and maintains a home in Uruguay.

	Yuri Bender, Editor-in-Chief, Professional Wealth Management based in London, UK Yuri Bender is a financial journalist focusing on private banking, international asset management and capital markets. He has edited and launched a variety of titles at the Financial Times group and is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Professional Wealth Management pan-European and Asian magazine, website and events hub. He has promoted and led debate on how private banks and asset management groups must match customer needs. He moderates panels on financial, business and cultural issues in Europe, the US and Asia, has reported from developing markets including Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Russia and Ukraine and writes a regular column for FTfm, the fund management section of the FT newspaper. He studied Investment Management at the London Business School.

	Steven L. Cantor Managing Partner, Cantor & Webb, based in Miami, USA Steven L. Cantor is the Managing Partner of Cantor & Webb, a Miami based law firm focused exclusively on the representation of high net worth international private clients in the areas of tax and estate planning and real estate matters. He is the founder of the STEP Miami Branch where he subsequently served as Chairman for seven years. Mr. Cantor has been recognized as one of the world’s leading international private client attorneys by Chambers Global and Chambers USA, Citywealth Magazine Leaders List and Legal Week’s International Trusts & Private Client Elite List. He is a frequent author and lecturer on various topics of international tax and estate planning.

Seb Dovey,

Partner, Scorpio Partnership,
based in London, UK

Sebastian focuses on the execution and development of strategy recommendations for Scorpio Partnership. He has completed assignments around the globe for private banks, global banks, asset managers, family offices, technology firms, service providers, aggregators and start-up wealth management initiatives. He is also currently involved in creating and building education-based solutions for a number of clients.

He is a lecturer at The Swiss Finance Institute (formerly the Swiss Banking School) for its executive MBA programme, speaking on family offices and wealth management. He is also a regular commentator on the wealth management industry in the press and at conferences and academies.

Sebastian’s industry views have been broadcast on Bloomberg TV and CNBC and published in several leading industry journals, and publications.

Sebastian has been an advisory board member of the Wealth Congress since 2003. He is also the creator and faculty director of the International Wealth Management Academy developed with the Financial Times Group.

Before establishing Scorpio Partnership, Sebastian was the London-based managing editor of Global Private Banking, an Institutional Investor trade publication covering international wealth management. He joined in 1995 in Hong Kong to assist with the launch of Global Private Banking in Asia, having previously been with Euromoney.

Sebastian holds a first class BA (Hons.) degree in Modern History from University College London and was awarded an MSc (Econ.) with distinction from the London School of Economics.

	Shelby du Pasquier, head of Banking and Finance Group, Lenz & Staehelin, based in Geneva, Switzerland Shelby R. du Pasquier is considered as a leading lawyer in banking and financial services in Switzerland. He is the co-head of the Banking and Finance group of Lenz & Staehelin in Geneva. Mr du Pasquier advises a number of Swiss and international financial institutions, as well as Swiss and offshore private equity, hedge funds and fund managers. He has been nominated by Chambers in 2008 as a leading individual in Banking & Finance and as regards Investment Funds. Mr du Pasquier is a frequent speaker at professional conferences on banking and financial law issues, as well as investment funds.

	Faranak Foroughi Founder and CEO of Tharwa Management Consultancy, based in Dubai , UAE Faranak Foroughi is the Founder and CEO of Tharwa Management Consultancy (Tharwa) a wealth advisory and management consultancy firm in Dubai. Tharwa works with a select number of locally based Gulf families, entrepreneurs and corporations advising them on wide range strategic issues related to their investment, succession and funding needs. In particular, Tharwa acts as an independent partner to families and corporations to develop succession planning strategies, reduce risk through appropriate strategic asset allocation, assess feasibility of new projects, and provide solutions and advice for a variety of corporate advisory and direct investment opportunities. Faranak has been advising Middle Eastern families for over 27 years and was previously Head of Private Banking at the National Bank of Dubai (NBD) for over 6 years till May 2007. Her prior working experience includes over fourteen years of private banking and investment experience with leading global institutions such as HSBC, Merrill Lynch, Barclays and Citibank. In 2005, she was runner up in the Emirates Businesswomen Awards for the professional category. She is regularly invited to speak in Family Office Forums and Investment Seminars. Faranak holds a Business Management degree from Ecoles des Cadres et des Affaires Economiques in Paris. She grew up in France and is an Iranian and French citizen. She speaks English, French, Farsi fluently and has knowledge of Arabic.

	Simeon Fowler CEO, Fox Partnership group of companies, based in Hong Kong Simeon Fowler is the Founder and CEO of Fowler Fox & Co, a global private banking executive search firm. Prior to Fowler Fox Simeon was in Financial services for over 10 years. Simeon holds qualifications with the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Chartered Insurance Institute and holds a diploma in financial planning and investment management. Fowler Fox & Co Group of companies was established over a decade ago to offer the world’s best Private Banks a bespoke solution in the search for global talent. We have been tracking key talent for many years and advise when to approach these high caliber private bankers and to position their opportunities in a concise, compelling and thought provoking manner. Fowler Fox has representation in London, Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong. Our market knowledge and embedded contacts enable us to offer wider ranging strategic advice to Private Banks as well as timely and targeted talent hiring solutions. Our reputation of innovative thinking and expert knowledge on talent acquisition is industry recognized.

	Dr. Stefan Jaecklin, Partner at Oliver Wyman, Based in Zurich, Switzerland, Stefan Jaecklin has 15 years experience in consulting and more than 19 years experience in capital markets activities. Stefan has founded our global wealth and asset management. He joined the company in 1997. Stefan has led a range of strategy projects with asset/wealth managers, investment banks, as well as regional banks and exchanges. He has advised asset and wealth managers in topics ranging from overall strategy to production set-up questions and distribution strategies. He has worked extensively in all the adjacent businesses, including custody, investment banking, exchanges and family offices. Stefan has co-authored the Oliver Wyman report “Future of Private Banking: a Wealth of Opportunity” and a number of papers relating to wealth management, including papers on the new crossborder private banking requirements, new advisory models, the FX risk in Private Banking, alternative investments and transaction related integration challenges. Before joining Oliver Wyman, Stefan worked at Credit Suisse in private banking. Stefan Jaecklin holds a doctorate in International Economics of the Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales (Université de Genève, Suisse), a M.Soc.Sci (Economics) of the National University of Singapore and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Julia Leong,

Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers,

based in Singapore

Julia is a Financial Services Partner with PwC, based in Singapore. She is the key Client Relationship Partner for a number of our private banking clients. In this role, she regularly engages senior executives at the private banks at the business level with PwC’s point of view about industry trends and brings in experts to help the banks in areas ranging from client engagement programmes, technology programme management, risk, regulatory, tax and compliance matters.

In her functional capacity as a risk specialist, she has led a range of risk projects with the private banks and banks to help them manage the operational risk, transformation risk and regulatory risk as their businesses transform as a respond to either strategic or regulatory changes. She provides constructive challenge to her clients and guides them in managing the risks associated with the changes to help them gain confidence in their programmes.

Julia has a Bachelor of Accountancy from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and is a FCA member with the Institute of Chartered Accountant of England and Wales. She has worked with PwC in Singapore and London.

Alois Pirker,

Research Director Wealth Management, AITE Group,

based in Boston, USA

Alois Pirker is a research director at Aite Group, LLC, specializing in trends in the wealth management market. He has published extensively on topics including the registered investment advisor space, financial planning, separately managed accounts, and advisor-focused platforms and tools.

Before joining Aite Group, Mr. Pirker was an Analyst within Celent’s Securities & Investments Group, where he published several studies and advised clients on new strategic technologies in the financial services marketplace.

Prior to working for Celent, Mr. Pirker was an Associate Director of investment solutions at UBS Wealth Management in London. In this role he developed business requirements and managed the delivery of various initiatives targeted at the launch of UBS’ separately managed accounts business within the five largest European wealth management markets (the U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Spain). Before assuming this role, he led a team of business analysts responsible for all data warehousing/reporting requirements for the implementation of UBS’ European wealth management platform.

Before moving to London, Mr. Pirker was a data architect within UBS’ enterprise data warehouse program in Switzerland.

Mr. Pirker holds BS and MS degrees (Diplom-Ingenieur) in applied computer science from the University of Klagenfurt in Austria. He also studied at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, where he wrote his master’s thesis on data management. He is fluent in English and German and proficient in French.

	Amin Rajan, CEO, Create-Research based in London, UK Amin Rajan is the Chief Executive of the Centre for Research in Employment and Technology in Europe (CREATE) – a pan-European network of prominent researchers undertaking high level advisory assignments for the UK Government, City institutions, multinational companies and international bodies such as the EU, OECD and ILO. He has also acted as a senior consultant to companies such as ABN-AMRO, Aegon Group, Barclays, BP, BT, Citigroup, Corning, Deutsche Bank, EDS, Fiat, Ford, GSK, HSBC, IBM, ICI, ICL, KPMG Legal & General plc, Lloyds TSB, Merrill Lynch Investment Management, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Motorola, Proctor & Gamble, Prudential, Rolls Royce, Royal Bank of Scotland, Royal SunAlliance, Shell, and UBS. As well as appearing on radio and television regularly, he contributes feature articles to The Financial Times, Global Investor, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, and The London Evening Standard. He has published numerous books and articles on leadership, business cultures, socio-economic forecasting, globalisation, new technologies, diversity and new business models. He has presented the results of his work at over 100 major events in the USA, Europe and Asia-Pacific in the last five years. His expertise covers, amongst others, leadership and new business models in financial services. He is the author of 11 best selling research reports. He is a visiting professor at the Cass Business School, London Metropolitan University, Centre for Leadership Studies at Exeter University, President of the Scientific Committee at Audencia – Nantes Ecole de Management in France, and on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Asia-Pacific Business. In 1998 he was awarded the Aspen Institute’s Prize in leadership. It is a subject on which he has done extensive research involving some of today’s outstanding business leaders. In two resulting publications, he has developed a close link between leadership, strategy and the emerging business models. His work has proved so influential that he now provides leadership coaching to Chief Executives, executive committees and investment specialists in different companies.

	Ivan Sacks Chairman, WithersWorldwide based in New York Ivan Sacks is a private client lawyer and in 2013 became the global Chairman of WithersWorldwide, an international law firm devoted to serving the needs of private clients and the owners of private capital. In that role, he provides strategic leadership to Withers' market-leading legal services platform offered from its twelve offices in Europe, the US and Asia. In his legal practice, Ivan acts as a trusted advisor to international and US families of significant wealth, and is particularly known for his experience advising Latin and South American clients as head of Withers' Latin American Planning Group. Both in the US and in an international context, he counsels families and entrepreneurs on the structuring of their closely held business interests, family offices, and charitable foundations, the design and administration of trusts and estates, and comprehensive risk management, governance and succession planning. He also frequently advises banks and trust companies on fiduciary matters. He is an active member of several bar and professional associations and speaks frequently on topics related to wealth planning. He also serves as a director or other fiduciary for a number of private and non-profit organizations.

	Ray Soudah, Founder, MilleniumAssociates based in Switzerland Ray Soudah is the founding partner and chairman of MilleniumAssociates, the independent international M&A and Corporate Finance Advisory firm, based in Switzerland and the UK. Founded in 2000, MilleniumAssociates specialises in M&A and advisory services for the global financial services industry with particular focus on the global wealth and asset management sectors. As founding partner and chairman Ray takes a strategic advisory role, supporting the operational team and developing MilleniumAssociates’ broad network of senior contacts with financial services companies, investors, institutions and sovereign funds globally. Ray has enjoyed a long and varied career in the global financial services arena working in territories as diverse as the US, Asia, Middle East and Europe. Prior to forming MilleniumAssociates Ray was Managing Director and member of the Private Banking Management Board for SBC/UBS AG where he created and led the global corporate strategic acquisition and development team in asset/wealth management and private banking. Earlier positions include; Chief Investment Officer, Chief Financial Officer and member of the Executive Board of Cedel Bank (renamed Clearstream); Chief Investment Officer for the National Bank of Bahrain including Head of International Banking and Private Banking; CEO of Hong Kong, CEO of Japan, Head of Global Capital Markets office (London) and head of FIG for Midland Montagu Investment Banking and MD/CEO of Midland Montagu Securities as well as various senior positions within Citigroup, including Head of Asia Pacific Treasury and Capital Markets. Ray is a Harvard Business School & INSEAD Alumnus. He has multicultural, multilingual wealth management and private banking/investment banking expertise. Ray is a patron of the British Swiss Chamber of Commerce and speaks English, French, Greek and Japanese.

	William Sullivan Global Head of Market Intelligence, Capgemini Financial Services based in Vancouver, USA With over 15 years of strategy and transformation consulting experience within the U.S., Europe, and Asia, Bill Sullivan is the Global Head of Capgemini’s Financial Services Market Intelligence Group. His main fields of expertise are market analysis and sizing, competitive and trends analysis, primary research initiatives, strategic transformation, and Social Media. He has worked extensively in the Financial Services industry with a focus on Wealth Management. As Head of Global Financial Services Market Intelligence, Bill manages a team of strategy consultants, sector analysts, and information researchers who bring together a wide range of strategic research and analysis capabilities to help Capgemini’s financial services clients across the globe address complex, strategic issues. He is responsible for Capgemini’s global financial services thought leadership studies and has contributed to the development of the World Wealth Report and Asia-Pacific Wealth Report for the last 10 years, including program management for the past eight editions from 2007 through 2014. He has also program managed the 2009 through 2012 Capgemini U.S. Metro Wealth Indexes and the inaugural. Before running the Market Intelligence team, Bill oversaw the Capgemini’s Global Wealth Management Center of Excellence. Previous positions include running Capgemini’s Global Financial Services Lab in Paris, France and managing the Americas’ Strategic Research Bill was born in Boston, Massachusetts and graduated with a degree in Economics and Psychology from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. He currently resides in Virginia with his wife and two daughters after working 2009 through 2012 in Hyderabad, India.

Cara Williams,

Global Head of Wealth Management at Mercer,

Based in London, UK

Ms. Williams has been the Global Head of Wealth Management at Mercer since July 2011 and serves as its Global Head of Technology Solutions. She joined Mercer Investment Consulting as Global Chief Operating Officer in 2005. Ms. Williams has more than 17 years of experience in the pensions and investment industry.

Prior to Mercer, she worked at a number of institutional asset management firms. Ms Williams began her career in finance as a financial advisor in New York with Merrill Lynch. Ms. Williams graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a BA degree, and from the University of Hartford, CT, with an MBA in Finance.