Speakers

The Honourable Dr. Natalio D. Wheatley, Premier and Minister of Finance of the British Virgin Islands, is a dedicated leader deeply rooted in his Virgin Island heritage. His educational journey began and flourished within the BVI. After graduating from the then BVI High School in 1996, Dr. Wheatley dedicated a year to teaching at Enis Adams Primary School. He attended Clark Atlanta University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in English in 2001, followed by a Master of Arts in Literary Studies in 2003. His academic prowess was further recognised with Commonwealth Scholarship, enabling him to obtain his Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, culminating in 2016. Returning to the BVI in 2006, Dr. Wheatley commenced his tenure at HLSCC in 2007 as a lecturer in English composition and literature, contributing significantly to the academic landscape. Beyond academia, his track record of community engagement, includes active involvement in the Lion’s Club, impactful social and political commentary on radio platforms, and advocacy efforts. Dr. Wheatley's multifaceted interests encompass poetry, music, history, and sports, reflecting his diverse passions and well-rounded persona. 

Lorna Smith, OBE, a prominent figure in the British Virgin Islands, is elected as a Member of the House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands as a Territorial At-Large Representative and appointed the Deputy Premier. She serves as the Minister of Financial Services, Labour and Trade. With over 30 years of experience at the highest levels of public service, she has been instrumental in the BVI's rise from relative obscurity to its present position as a top-flight tourist destination and premier centre for global finance. In addition to her public service roles, Lorna is the Founder and President of LGS & Associates, which provides strategic advice to governments and global organizations on business and financial services initiatives. As a thought leader with a deep network in the public, private, and non-profit worlds, Lorna offers her clients critical insight into the challenges and opportunities facing organisations that seek to operate in the BVI and across the Caribbean. Lorna previously served on several financial institution boards and is a regular speaker and writer on digital offshore banking, trust and estate practices, best business practices, and global financial services. Lorna was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen for her contribution to Public Service in the British Virgin Islands. She is a four-time Paul Harris Fellow with Rotary International, most recently serving as Assistant Governor for all Rotary Clubs in the BVI. In 2019, she received the Lifetime Defender Award from BVI Finance.

Mr Kenneth Baker was appointed the second Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Services Commission in February 2021. As the Managing Director/CEO, he is responsible for the administration and operation of the Financial Services Commission. His responsibilities include regulating the BVI’s financial industry; the development of new service and product offerings aimed at developing and enhancing the attractiveness of the BVI as a situs for legitimate cross border financial services; and liaising with Government and private sector stakeholders in pursuance of this objective. Mr Baker’s track record spans 37 years in the banking and financial services sector. He joined the Financial Services Department in June 2000 as the Inspector of Banks and Trust Companies after a private-sector career in banking. He was appointed Deputy Managing Director, Regulation in April 2005 and jointly held the position Director, Banking, Insolvency and Fiduciary Services Division.

Mr. Glenford has over twenty years of experience within the regulatory environment, having first worked as an assistant Registrar of Mutual Funds for the Financial Services Department and later with the Financial Services Commission from 2002. He is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist and is a trained Financial Examiner in relation to the IMF/FATF Methodology of Assessing Compliance with the FATF 40 Recommendations plus 9 Special Recommendations. Glenford has a Master of Laws (Distinction) in Law and Finance, 2005 as well as a Bachelor of Business Administration (Economics and International Business), 1997.

Ayana Glasgow is a BVI regulated trust and corporate services provider. Ayana has accumulated over twenty-five years’ experience in the BVI financial services industry, with an emphasis on regulatory matters and expertise in the administration of trust and corporate vehicles. Ayana began her career as a regulator with the BVI Financial Services Commission, having served as its Deputy Director - Banking & Fiduciary Services at the time of her departure. Prior to joining Aleman, Ayana held compliance and private wealth roles with a Jersey based legal and fiduciary services group. Ayana holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Acadia University and a Master of Business Administration Global Management from the University of Phoenix. She is a Fellow of the International Compliance Association, a member of the Association for Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialists and a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. Ayana has served as a member of several government statutory boards and other regulatory committees and is currently a member of the Company Law Review Advisory Committee.

Dr. Ricardo Wheatley presently serves as the Government of the Virgin Islands’ (BVI) Asia-Pacific Representative and Director of the BVI’s Representative Office in Hong Kong (2019 - present). Prior to his diplomatic posting Dr. Wheatley served as a University Lecturer in the area of International Politics and Development Studies in South Korea (Ajou University), the United States, (Clark Atlanta University), Bangladesh (North South University), and the United Kingdom. He holds a PhD in International Politics (Clark Atlanta University), MA in Political Science (Clark Atlanta University), MSC in Public Administration & Economy (Leiden University), and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Shan Greer is an international arbitrator and mediator associated with Arbitra International in London. Taking the helm as Chief Executive Officer at the BVI International Arbitration Centre in January 2023, she brings over two decades of unparalleled expertise to the forefront of the industry. With a specialized focus on construction law, Shan Greer is celebrated for her pragmatic and commercially astute approach, consistently guiding clients through a myriad of transactions and disputes. Her extensive track record spans diverse jurisdictions in the Caribbean, Europe, and North America, showcasing her versatility and proficiency in handling intricate legal matters. Educated at Kings College London with a Master's degree in Construction Law and Dispute Resolution, Shan Greer holds dual qualifications as a barrister and solicitor in England, alongside admissions to practice in Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, and Belize. Regularly sought after as an arbitrator, adjudicator, and mediator, Shan Greer's expertise extends to ad hoc, institutional, international, and domestic arbitrations, bridging civil and common law jurisdictions with her insightful perspective and unwavering commitment to equitable resolution.

Elise Donovan is the chief executive officer of BVI Finance and brings to the role wide-ranging work experience in Asia, North America, the Caribbean and Africa. Elise has played a major role in expanding and deepening the BVI’s financial services footprint in cities around the world, specifically in the Asia Pacific region, through strategic relationship building, conducting forums and seminars on the BVI’s financial services business, including at major financial institutions. She previously served as Director and Asia Pacific Representative at BVI House Asia, EU/UK Representative and Director of the BVI London Office, and at BVI International Affairs Secretariat, the BVI Financial Services Commission and the BVI International Finance Centre (now BVI Finance), and a member in the BVI’s Tax Information Exchange Agreement Negotiating Team with countries such as China, the United Kingdom, France, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, and the Nordic countries. She has authored numerous articles on the role of the BVI as a leading international finance centre. Elise also holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Carleton University in Ottawa and Columbia University in New York.

Mr. Baptiste manages the delivery of services offered from the Commission's office as the Asia Pacific liaison for the jurisdiction's regulatory and registry sectors. He champions the Commission's undertaking to bolster and strengthen deeper relations in the Asia market. Mr. Shane Baptiste offers more than 14 years of Financial Services experience and has previously held various positions within the Commission as a Senior Enforcement officer.

Jerome Rubin-Delanchy is the CEO of ATU Advisory Services AG in Zurich, a member of ATU Group and the Swiss Rep office of ATU’s operation in the British Virgin Islands. The company offers wealth structuring and tax and estate planning services to HNWI as a one stop shop, covering corporate, trust, fund, and legal services, all under one roof. A French national, Jerome holds a master’s degree in Management from ISEG in Lyon. He started his career in Financial Services in the early 2000’s, as a Wealth Planner in Geneva. Prior to moving to Zurich in 2019, he spent ten years in the British Virgin Islands as Deputy MD of ATU Group’s second largest operations, where he participated actively in various industry groups and served on the board of steering committees chaired by the BVI Government. Overtime, through ATU, Jerome has built an extensive and global network which gives HNW families and their advisors, a useful platform to source cross boarder deals and connections for their day to day private and business affairs.

David Chong is the Founder and President of the Portcullis Group. He has been described by the Singapore Academy of Law as “the Guru of Asian Family Offices". He is also President of Portcullis Group’s subsidiaries: Baxian Bank Ltd (the first homegrown digital full bank in Malaysia); Baxian Trust (Labuan) Limited and SSTC Ltd (one of the oldest independent trust companies in Labuan), all of which are regulated by the Labuan Financial Services Authority. David Chong and his family also owns Fusang Exchange Ltd, the first fully regulated stock exchange in Asia providing end-to-end infrastructure to support Digital Securities. David is the former President of the Singapore Trustees Association (STA). He served as the Founding President of Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP) Singapore Branch and was the Founding President of the Singapore Fund Administrators Association (SFAA). He leads the Family Office Association Ltd. He is a Fellow of Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford. David is the Managing Director of David Chong Law Corporation, Singapore, and is qualified as a Barrister-at-Law, Lincoln's Inn; Advocate & Solicitor, Singapore; Malaya and Brunei; Barrister & Solicitor, British Virgin Islands; Solicitor, New South Wales and Queensland, Australia; Barrister & Solicitor, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, Australia. David has a Master’s Degree in Law from National University of Singapore and a Master’s Degree in Business from City University, London.

Tiger Zhang, the Director of ICS Fund Services, is a specialist in bespoke services for domestic General Partners (GPs). Additionally, he fulfills the role of an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance officer for numerous well-regarded Private Equity and Venture Capital (PEVC) funds, guiding regulatory compliance and best practices. Earlier, Tiger served as a Finance Director for various GPs, where he managed fundraising, fund operations, finance, tax, and compliance, thereby gaining an extensive understanding of fund management. His career foundation was built during his seven-plus years as a fund audit manager with KPMG Hong Kong and Deloitte United States. A graduate of San Francisco State University, Tiger has dual bachelor's degrees in accounting and finance. He has earned the title of Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in both the US (AICPA) and Hong Kong (HKICPA), and is also a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS). Given his broad experience, robust educational credentials, and respected certifications, Tiger is a significant figure in the industry.

Daniel Moore is an associate of Maples and Calder's Regulatory & Financial Services team in the Maples Group's Hong Kong office. His practice covers a broad range of offshore regulatory matters, including virtual assets, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing, beneficial ownership, CRS and FATCA, data protection, economic substance and securities investment business. Daniel has a particular interest in virtual assets and decentralised finance. 

Cherrin Wong is of counsel of Maples and Calder's Dispute Resolution & Insolvency team in the Maples Group's Singapore office. She specialises in complex multi-jurisdictional commercial litigation and arbitration, and regularly advises and acts for investment funds, public companies, and other multinational corporate clients on a wide range of contentious matters including shareholder disputes, fair value appraisal litigation, cross-border interim applications such as worldwide freezing injunctions and stay / anti-suit injunction.

Carson Wen is the Founder of Bank of Asia (BVI) Limited and BOA International Financial Group Limited which also includes various entities with Types 1,2,4 and 9 licenses issued by the Hong Kong Securities and Future Commission. He has practiced law for over 30 years at his own Hong Kong partnership and subsequently as partner at leading global law firms, retiring from Jones Day at the end of 2016. In his long professional career he handled the capital markets entry of the first PRC-controlled Hong Kong listed company Guangdong Investment, the first window company to be directly listed Guangnan Holdings, some of the first PRC private enterprises to be listed via the "round-trip investment" structure which became standard practice, and some of the first "VIE" structures which also became standard practice. He has also handled many complexly structured transactions as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer. He was regularly listed in the likes of "Who's Who in the Law" and "Chambers".

Deon Vanterpool has been with Bank of Asia since Sept 2017. He has over a decade worth of executive success expanding organisations. He specializes in strategic operations as well as generating and managing wealth within international corporations and government agencies. Mr. Vantepool has provided guidance, training, and planning for companies across various industries around the world in every phase of business development, human resources planning, project management and financial planning.
Prior to joining Bank of Asia, Mr. Vanterpool managed cash flow and budget planning for the British Virgin Islands Government, executing projects for the Financial Secretary, preparing budgets for legislature approval, and integrating new tax and customs systems to improve efficiency and accuracy. At ATKearney Consulting, he provided an international perspective to research and implemented cutting-edge solutions for multi-national organizations.

Cecilia Li is a partner based in Ogier's Hong Kong office. She has a broad corporate finance practice with particular expertise in using BVI and Cayman companies in capital markets transactions, mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, corporate reorganisations and joint ventures. She also has extensive experience in banking and syndicated loan transactions, mortgage-backed securities transactions and debt restructurings. As a native Mandarin speaker (also fluent in English and Cantonese), Cecilia regularly advises both international and Chinese clients across a broad range of corporate, fundraising and financing transactions. She is highly valued for her combination of legal expertise and superior language proficiency. Cecilia's clients include major Chinese state-owned enterprises, listed and private companies, major investment banks, financial institutions and private equity houses.

Alan Wong’s practice focuses on the establishment and structuring of private equity funds, hedge funds and crypto funds in the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands, as well as their regulatory compliance and downstream transactions. Alan is a core member of Ogier's global Technology and Web3 team and is also part of Ogier's multi-disciplinary Private Equity team. He specialises in fund formation, with a recent focus on blockchain and Web3-related strategies, as well as capital raising and downstream corporate advisory work. He has also advised on various corporate finance matters, including IPOs, M&A, and debt and equity capital market transactions.

David Lin has significant experience in representing PRC and Hong Kong managers in the structuring, establishment and maintenance of domiciled private funds, including hedge and private equity funds. These funds may take the form of standalone corporate, segregated portfolio companies (SPC) or exempted limited partnership (ELP).
David is part of Ogier's multi-disciplinary Private Equity team. He specialises in (a) fund formation and capital raising, including (i) structuring advice and fund formation; (ii) advising on ongoing fund operation (including regulatory compliance); (iii) LP advisory services, and (b) downstream corporate advisory work. He regularly establishes and advises private equity firms based in China or Hong Kong on the launch of their private equity fund based in Cayman, by utilising structures such as exempted partnerships or segregated portfolio companies (SPCs).

Janice Skelton is currently the Chief Executive Officer of DR Asset Planning (BVI) Ltd. She held the Managing Director of Newhaven Corporate Services from 2005 to 2022 and led a team of ten professionals to meet global trust and corporate objectives. With over 30 years of leadership experience in the British Virgin Islands, she began her career at Harney Westwood & Riegels before advancing to roles at Deloitte & Touche and Caribbean Corporate Services Limited. Janice holds a Bachelor of Science in Management with honors from the University of the West Indies and a master's degree in International Management from the University of Phoenix. She is certified in international trust management by the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and holds an international advanced certificate in compliance and financial crime from the International Compliance Association. Janice's expertise, professionalism, and personal touch make her a valuable asset in achieving business goals.

Ayana Hull is head of the BVI Private Wealth and Regulatory practice groups at Harneys.  She has over 15 years of experience practising BVI commercial law.  When her regulatory hat is on, her clients include banks, corporate services providers,  insurance companies, funds and fund managers, advising them on restructurings and the impact of BVI regulatory legislation on their investment vehicles. As a member of the firm’s FinTech Group, she regularly handles/oversees a variety of digital asset related enquiries and advises on the impact of BVI regulatory legislation on virtual asset provider services being structured through BVI companies together with the AML/CTF risks attendant to BVI structures involved in this digital space.  She also acted as in-house counsel to the BVI Financial Services Commission and its regulatory divisions. Ayana is the current chairperson of the BVI Financial Services Commission Securities, Investment Business Act Advisory Committee as well as a member of the BVI Financial Services Commission FinTech Advisory Committee. She is also a steering member of the Virgin Islands Virtual Assets Association.  She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing: Florida State University (high honours); a Bachelor of Laws Degree: University of the West Indies (high honours); and Masters Degree in Commercial Law: University of Cambridge (high honours). Ayana is recognised by Legal 500 as a leading individual in the British Virgin Islands Regulatory & Compliance rankings in 2023 and 2024. She was recognised as a next generation partner in the BVI Investment Funds rankings in 2022 and 2023, and was recommended in the BVI rankings in 2019.  Ayana is also recognised as a highly regarded lawyer by IFLR rankings for 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Siobhan Flax is the Deputy Director/Asia-Pacific Affairs Officer at the British Virgin Islands Hong Kong Office, Government of the Virgin Islands (2023). Prior to her posting in the Asia-Pacific, Siobhan served as Deputy Director in the British Virgin Islands Gov. Rep. Office – London (2011 – 2023). Across a decade of diplomatic service her responsibilities have included representing the interests of the Virgin Islands in the United Kingdom & European Union and the Asia-Pacific region. Siobhan holds a Master's Degree in “Diplomacy, Statecraft and Foreign Policy” (Loughborough University - UK), and a Bachelor's Degree in “Business Administration” (Georgia State University - USA). Prior to her career in diplomatic service, Siobhan worked in the Virgin Island’s Public Sector in Human Resource Management, as well as the private sector in the Hospitality & Tourism industry.

John is Head of Maples and Calder's Asia Dispute Resolution & Insolvency team. In addition, he advises on all aspects of mergers and acquisitions, banking and general corporate matters.  He has a broad international client base comprised of major corporates, financial institutions and insolvency-related officeholders.  His expertise covers both Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands law. John joined the Maples Group in 2005 and was elected as a partner in 2009.  He previously worked for Herbert Smith in Hong Kong and, before that, Buddle Findlay in New Zealand.  John has been recognised on multiple occasions by Asian Legal Business as one of Asia's top 10 offshore lawyers, and has been named among Hong Kong's best dispute resolution lawyers.  He is also recommended as a leading litigation lawyer by The Legal 500 in its tier 1 recognition of the Maples Group, ranked as a highly regarded practitioner by IFLR1000, and named by Who's Who Legal as one of Hong Kong's leading insolvency and restructuring lawyers.

Lilian Huang, the Head of China and Taiwan Market, and a member of the APAC Executive Committee of TMF Group. TMF is a global leading corporate service provider with 10,000 experts and 125 offices crossing 86 jurisdictions worldwide serve financial institutions, corporates, asset managers, family offices. Before joining TMF Group, Lilian held numerous leadership roles at renowned financial services organizations, including JPMorgan Chase, GE Capital, Citigroup and SMBC. She is a financial executive and has over 24 years of experience with a demonstrated history of leadership positions in international capital markets, corporate and investment banking and industrial finance. She has a proved track record of successfully leading financial service, banking business as well as corporate service in Greater China region. Besides her professional role in TMF, Lilian is also the Director of the Advisory Board of E-Youth, a NGO which supports the university students and entrepreneurial young generation by connecting leaders from business. Lilian holds a master’s degree in international business administration (MBA) from Hong Kong University. She is also the senior mentor of Finance Industry as appointed by New York University (NYU) Shanghai. In October 2023, Lilian is listed on China’s 50 Most Powerful Women (“MPW”) in business of 2023 by Fortune. 

Shagun Kumar is a business leader with over 25 years of experience. Shagun has a proven track record in driving transformation, unlocking growth (organic & inorganic), managing profitability and forming & inspiring teams to achieve sustainable results. Shagun’s expertise ranges from multinational corporate structures to medium sized enterprises across emerging markets with diverse cultures. With significant exposure and understanding of international market, Shagun has been able to leverage this to adapt and inspire local performance while delivering on corporate priorities. As the Head of Asia Pacific in TMF Group, Shagun is responsible for creating vision, implementation of strategies and the ultimate growth of the APAC region. Prior to joining TMF Group, Shagun spent half of his career consulting for Anderson, General Electronics and Microsoft. His experience includes leading business enabling functions and consulting across sectors like power, infrastructure, real estate, hardware, manufacturing, food & beverage, private equity and he sits on the boards of several MNCs’ clients as Independent Director.

Henry is a Member of the Fusang Exchange's Exchange Committee, and is the Chairman of its Listing Committee. Henry works closely with global institutional investors and financial regulators to bring professionalism and structure to the industry, and is a regular keynote speaker on the subject of digital assets. He is also a member of the University of Oxford’s Digital Assets Project at the Commercial Law Centre. Henry is a Board Director of Portcullis: The Asian Wealth Manager. Portcullis is Asia's biggest independent group of trust companies, and provides a one-stop shop for corporate, trustee and fund administration services to high-net-worth individuals, family offices, philanthropies, private banks, and investment managers.

Adam Hinks joined Walkers' Singapore office in 2017 and is a partner in the Insolvency and Dispute Resolution Group. Adam specialises in British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Bermuda commercial litigation and all forms of dispute resolution. Adam also advises on insolvency and corporate restructuring matters. Adam has over 15 years of experience advising on a broad range of corporate and commercial disputes, ancillary proceedings, corporate restructurings and insolvencies including complex multi-jurisdictional disputes, shareholder and fund disputes, forum and jurisdiction challenges, unfair prejudice proceedings, fraud and asset tracing claims, freezing orders and other forms of interim relief. Adam also has experience in contentious and non-contentious restructuring of companies and partnerships. Adam advises on all forms of formal appointments of insolvency officeholders and advises creditors, debtors, private equity and hedge funds and other advisors with respect to insolvent or distressed situations.
 
 

Victoria Raymond is a partner in the Walkers (Hong Kong) Insolvency and Dispute Resolution Group. She specialises in Cayman Islands, BVI and Bermuda commercial litigation, dispute resolution and insolvency. Victoria has a wide range of experience representing clients in Asia, Europe and the US in a broad array of business sectors. Her experience includes advising clients in relation to commercial disputes, shareholder disputes, distressed investment vehicles, derivative actions, unfair prejudice claims, contentious valuation exercises, fund related matters, enforcement of rights, debt recovery and contentious issues relating to digital assets. She also provides both contentious and non-contentious advice relating to company law and banking issues. Victoria has worked on matters before the Grand Court's Financial Services Division in the Cayman Islands, the Commercial Court in the BVI and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

David is a Partner in Ogier’s Asian finance practice, based in Hong Kong. He has extensive experience advising on the BVI and Cayman law aspects of a broad range of debt financing transactions, including leveraged and acquisition finance, fund finance, margin lending, structured finance, real estate finance and secured and unsecured general corporate lending. David Nelson is part of Ogier's multi-disciplinary Restructuring & Corporate Recovery team. He specialises in refinancing, restructuring of loan financing and distressed debt investment. His achievements include advising a lender (a global alternative investment firm headquartered in Hong Kong) on the sale of its non-performing loan made to a BVI company; advising an investor in a convertible loan made to a global education provider to assist with its financial restructuring; and advising lenders and borrowers on numerous loan amendments, extensions and restructurings in a distressed context. David is part of Ogier's multi-disciplinary Private Equity team. He acts for private equity sponsors and lenders to them, on financing transactions, including cross-border leveraged and acquisition financing transactions, margin loans, minority ‘back leverage’ financings, mezzanine financings, fund-level financings, syndicated facilities and loan restructurings. David was recognised in Asian Legal Businesss' 2018 list of Asia's Top 40 Lawyers Under 40

James Lo joined DBS in 2011. He heads up the Institutional Treasury Management within the Institutional Banking Group at DBS Bank, Hong Kong Branch. With 20 years’ experience in the banking industry, he focuses primarily on corporate wealth management for non-bank financial institute (NBFI), paytech / fintech / tech startups and cash rich corporates.

Fiona Chan is a partner in the corporate department of Appleby’s Hong Kong office, leading the Banking and Finance practice in the Hong Kong office as well as Appleby’s Technology & Innovation Group in Asia. Fiona has over 20 years of offshore and onshore experience in the Asian market and advises on the laws of Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands. Her broad offshore law practice spans banking and finance transactions including acquisition, leveraged and project financing, privatisation financing, shipping and aircraft financing, structured products, fund financing, crypto/digital financing, non-contentious insurances, bond issuance and restructuring of corporates and financial institutions. Fiona is routinely instructed by major international and Asian financial institutions, listed and private companies, securities providers and leading law firms. Fiona is fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

Eason Huang is a Partner and Registered Foreign Lawyer (England & Wales) of Appleby’s Shanghai office and Hong Kong office respectively, and a member of the Corporate Department. Eason has almost 10 years of offshore experience specialising in the structuring, formation, organisation and operation of all types of open- and closed-ended funds, including private equity and hedge funds, and their related investment management entities. He counsels funds in all stages of their operations, and regularly advises them on fund formation and governance matters. Eason has significant experience in representing a wide range of sponsors on fund formation matters, as well as a select group of well-regarded institutional investors in making investments in both private equity and hedge funds around the region. He also has deep knowledge in assisting on crypto-related fund launches. Eason is a native Mandarin speaker and fluent in English and Cantonese. With his Chinese capability, he has extensive experience in handling PRC clients. He is able to work closely with our wider global team and provide advice on Bermuda, BVI and Cayman Islands law matters in the Asia time zone. His clients comprise of Mainland Chinese fund managers, fund sponsors, venture capitalists, as well as local Hong Kong SFC licensed fund managers. He also has a particular focus on fund clients with a China nexus. Prior to returning back to Appleby, Eason was a counsel at another leading offshore law firm.

Richard Grasby is a Partner in Appleby’s Hong Kong office, leading the Private Client, Trusts and Family Office practice. Richard advises trustees, ultra-high net worth individuals, private trust companies and family offices on the establishment, restructuring and administration of trusts. He regularly assists in estate administration, succession planning and family governance. Private clients and family offices instruct Richard to advise on the use of corporate vehicles for asset holding and succession planning purposes. Richard is an expert in regulatory law including AML, AEOI, economic substance, sanctions and licensing and risk management for trust companies. He also advises on collective investment funds, particularly unit trusts and private label funds. Richard has acted for many of the world’s leading trust companies, financial institutions, wealthy individuals and related structures. He has experience with dealing with clients and advisors across the globe. Richard has over 23 years’ post qualification experience with the majority spent in offshore firms. Richard has lived and worked in Jersey, London, the Cayman Islands and (since 2009) Hong Kong. He is admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales and the British Virgin Islands and is a Registered Foreign Lawyer in Hong Kong. He has also been admitted as an Attorney in the Cayman Islands. Recently, he has been recognised in the 2023 edition of the Private Client Global Elite Directory and also selected as one of the world’s leading practitioners in the Who’s Who Legal Thought Leaders: Private Client 2023 report.

Lily Miao (苗蕾) is a Partner in the Corporate department of Appleby’s Hong Kong office. Lily has over a decade of offshore and onshore experience in the Asia and UK market. She advises on a broad spectrum of banking and general corporate transactions, including leveraged and acquisition finance, reorganisations and general corporate lending, with a particularly strong focus on fund finance. Her clients include major international and PRC financial institutions, asset managers, listed and private corporations and investment funds. With her proficiency in multiple languages, being a native speaker of English, Mandarin, and Shanghainese, and fluent in Cantonese and German, she is able to work closely with our wider global team and provide advice on Cayman Islands, BVI and Bermuda law matters in the Asia time zone. Prior to joining Appleby, Lily worked at another offshore law firm in Hong Kong, as well as at Clifford Chance’s offices in Hong Kong, London, and Singapore.

Keith B. Carter's mission: help businesses achieve value from their data investments by monetizing data and delighting customers with actionable intelligence. He is the author of Amazon Bestseller "Actionable Intelligence: A guide to delivering Business Results with Big Data, Fast!" Wiley, New York 2014. Reached top 100 books in Amazon and Top 3 books for Competitive Intelligence by Cipher Systems. He is a contributing author to the book "Leading with IT: Lessons from Singapore's First CIO" by Professor Alex Siow published by Wiley 2021. Keith is an IE University Future World Fellow. He has taught at NUS’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and was an Associate Professor, National University of Singapore (NUS) School of Computing. and was Founding Director, NUS Ripple FinTech Lab and was Founding Co-Director, Crystal Centre a deep-tech research center. He has an MBA from Cornell University and a Bachelor’s in Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Before joining NUS, he worked at Estee Lauder and Accenture.

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