HUBBIS ASIAN WEALTH SOLUTIONS FORUM 2022

Bijal joined the Firm in 2013 as a Partner to expand and build the Tax and Investment Funds practice. On private client matters she has advised individuals and family businesses from a legal, regulatory and tax perspective. She has experience in rolling out a comprehensive succession plan for clients, re-structuring of family businesses including HUFs and family arrangements, drafting wills, creation of trusts, etc. She is frequently invited to speak at domestic and international conferences on matters of Indian estate and succession planning and has several publications to her credit. Bijal is highly acclaimed for her dedication, in-depth understanding and knowledge of taxation, estate planning and structuring of funds; and for her solution oriented approach. Bijal regularly features on an annual basis in the Chambers & Partners (Asia – Pacific), Citiwealth Leaders List, Legal 500, International Tax Review (Asia Pacific), Who’s Who Legal “Corporate Tax Guide, Private Client Global Elite, Expert Guides – Tax 2018, Indian Lawyer 250 Law Business Research as a leader in the field of taxation and private client in India. She has also been ranked as a Band 1 lawyer for Private Wealth Law by Chambers & Partners for 2019 and 2020. Bijal served as an officer-elect on the Individual Tax & Private Client Committee of the International Bar Association. She is ex-officio member of the Steering Committee of the International Wealth Advisors Forum, which is a global think tank for the exchange of emerging trends in estate and succession planning.

Claire Tan joins Swiss Life with an extensive experience across various industries which include family office, asset management, private banking and insurance. Her specialties include HNW business development, strategic relationship development and holistic wealth planning. Claire’s expertise in HNW relationship development as well as investment management arms her with the right knowledge and skill sets to provide sophisticated advice on VUL and PPLI cases

John Shoemaker is Senior Counsel with Butler Snow in their Singapore office. John has more than 30 years’ experience in tax, legal & regulatory compliance, and is a common law lawyer with educational emphasis on taxation, trusts & estate planning. He also has extensive experience in ensuring multi-jurisdictional compliance for fiduciary product offerings (working with multijurisdictional outside counsel & adapting products for sale in relevant jurisdictions), including product management skills to direct complex products from concept to fully operational status.

Lee Wong is Head of Family Services, Asia at Lombard Odier. Lee is responsible for leading Lombard Odier’s wealth planning and family services proposition, which is a key component of the Bank’s growth strategy in the region. Before joining Lombard Odier, Lee amassed over 22 years of experience in the wealth management industry. She joined from Union Bancaire Privée in Singapore, where she was Head of Wealth Planning for South Asia and was responsible for leading a team advising high net worth clients on their family wealth transition, family governance, as well as philanthropic aspirations. Lee is a member of the MAS-EDB Family Office workgroup as well as the Wealth Management Institute’s expert panel on Family Offices. She is a regular trainer for Singapore Management University for IBF certification courses on wealth planning and family office. She is also a trainer for Wealth Management Institute’s family office advisor program. Lee holds a Bachelor of Laws from the National University of Singapore. She is a Chartered Trustee appointed by the Singapore Trustee Association.

Gerard Gardner is Global Head of EFG International’s wealth structuring business, EFG Wealth Solutions. Headquartered in Jersey, Gerard has responsibility for fiduciary platforms and wealth planners in Asia, Europe and the Americas. He has been a director of various EFG group companies for over 20 years and is a member of EFG’s senior management college, the International Management Forum. Gerard also serves as a Director on the boards of a number of private client structures and real estate and private equity funds.  

Roger Chi is a Partner of 1291 Group Asia and oversees the development of the Singapore office. Roger has extensive experience working with family offices across Asia and the Middle East advising on cross border investments, succession planning, taxation, family governance, and private equity. Prior to 1291, Roger was a partner at Candareen Capital where he led their family Office advisory activities and was appointed a senior advisor to Sheikh Syed al Maktoun. Roger started his career as a venture capitalist at Brainrush Ventures - a San Francisco Bay Area venture capital firm, before joining a Monitor Company and a leading strategic consulting firm. Roger holds a MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science (BS) from the UC Berkeley.

Woon Shiu has over 20 years of expertise in marketing, client development and professional training in family office structuring, trusts, high-net-worth life insurance and estate planning in Asia Pacific (especially China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia). Over the years, Woon Shiu has handled multiple landmark transactions, advising ultra-high net-worth individuals and founding members of banking conglomerates on matters relating to taxes, multi-generational endowment funds, planning of global assets, and much more. Woon Shiu is also an adjunct professor at the Wealth Management Institute (in Nanyang Technological University) and regularly lectures private bankers, lawyers and trust practitioners on wealth structuring and estate succession. He has also spoken as a guest lecturer at universities in China, and his views on family businesses are regularly featured in the Financial Times, Barron’s Asia, Singapore Business Times, China Daily and other renowned publications. Woon Shiu has advised numerous ultra-high net-worth families across Asia Pacific in the areas of strategic structuring of their estate and succession planning. He commonly engages multi-generation families, giving them advice on successfully establishing and implementing their desired family governance and philanthropic strategies. He holds a STEP certification and is a Solicitor in England and Wales, as well as an Advocate and Solicitor in Singapore. Woon Shiu is fluent in English and Mandarin – often lecturing in both languages – and is also conversant in Cantonese, Hokkien and Hainanese.

Kevin is one of the leading partners of Stephenson Harwood’s Private Wealth practice. His practice focuses on trusts, tax, regional corporate structuring and transactions with over 30 years of experience in the areas of private wealth advisory, trusts, tax, corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, cross-border transactions, and a wide range of business law. He is qualified in Hong Kong and Canada, and advises clients in respect of both jurisdictions. Kevin acts as counsel for major corporations headquartered in Hong Kong, China, the USA, Canada, Japan and other jurisdictions. He also represents numerous high net worth clients from around the world on diverse matters including succession planning, tax advisory and compliance, asset preservation, family businesses, private equity investments and philanthropy.

Tan Woon Hum is widely regarded as one of the rare senior market leaders specialising in investment funds, REITs and trusts, especially Variable Capital Companies (VCCs) and family offices. He heads a team of specialist lawyers in the Trust, Asset & Wealth Management practice at major Singapore law firm Shook Lin & Bok LLP. He is ranked as a Band 1 leading investment funds lawyer by Chambers Asia-Pacific since 2014 and top 100 lawyer in Singapore by Asia Business Law Journal in 2023. He advises on fund formation, (including hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, real estate funds and single-family funds) using Singapore funds (including VCC) and offshore funds structures (eg. Cayman LP funds and segregated portfolio companies). He drafts and reviews the full range of fund documents and is extremely well versed with independent asset managers, external asset managers, multi-family offices and single-family offices, and has an extremely strong track record in securing the relevant regulatory licences and exemptions. His excellent and long-term professional relationship with the local regulators, authorities and major industry players add credence to his practice. He has advised on and helped clients launched about 100 VCCs as at May 2023. He has extensive experience in advising private clients (including ultra-high net worth individuals and single-family offices) and trustees on the establishment of private trusts, family offices, single-family funds, Sections 13O and 13U (formerly 13R and 13X) structures and drafts trust documents, fund documents, global investor programme documents and family charters. Woon Hum is bi-lingual (English and Mandarin), has a law degree and a MBA (Finance). He is a highly sought after speaker and speaks regularly at public conferences, forums and seminars since 2002 in Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Dubai, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh and Kuala Lumpur.

Edmund is a senior partner heading up the firm’s Tax practice with three decades of experience in advising multinational organisations on cross-border tax planning, transfer pricing and tax disputes. He also advises on international trade issues such as customs, WTO and free-trade agreements. Edmund also leads the firm’s Trust, Estates and Wealth Preservation practice and advises high net worth individuals, private banks and trust companies in personal tax, as well as in trust and estate planning matters. Edmund was invited by the government to serve as a Judicial Commissioner at the Supreme Court and served from 2013 to 2016. On stepping down, he was appointed Senior Counsel in 2017, making him the first and only Tax and Trust lawyer to be given this accolade nationwide. Prior to his appointment to the Singapore judiciary in 2013, Edmund was named a Tier 1 lawyer by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific for Tax in 2012. His views on tax and wealth management were widely sought and publicised in the media, such as Bloomberg, BBC, Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, The Financial Times and The Straits Times. He was also a founding partner of a Singapore law firm that was associated with an international law firm, where he headed up the Tax and Wealth Management practices in Singapore. Edmund is a former President and an honorary member of the Singapore Trustees Association (STA).

Rohit Ganguli is the Head of Wealth Planning Asia at EFG Bank, he has two decades of experience working with clients to assist them in achieving their wealth planning objectives especially in relation to succession, legacy and asset protection needs. This often involves the use of trusts, foundations, corporate entities and other holding vehicles. Rohit is responsible for all aspects of the insurance activity in EFG in Asia. This involves supporting all insurance related discussions – including identifying life insurance referral opportunities based on clients’ wealth and liquidity planning needs, extensively interacting with external counter parties (such as insurance brokers and carriers) and also actively engaging with related stake holders within the bank. He manages all discussions around single family offices (SFO) and works closely with clients on the benefits and processes involved in the set up of SFOs. Rohit has a background in accountancy and also holds a Master’s degree in International Tax Law from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He is a registered trust and estate practitioner (TEP) and holds a diploma from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and is also certified with the Singapore College of Insurance. He has worked across geographies and has been with Big 4 consulting firms and MNCs prior to joining the bank.

Gerard is responsible for the overall operation and performance of Equiom Singapore ensuring that the business operates in line with group strategy. A highly experienced financial services professional, Gerard plays a key role in executing Equiom Singapore's financial performance strategy, providing direction and leadership for strategic planning and reporting processes. He oversees the growth of Equiom Singapore and its provision of trust and corporate services. Gerard has a proven track record in wealth management, relationship management, fiduciary services, business development and project management developed over 20+ years. Prior to joining Equiom, Gerard was the Managing Director of Relationship Management at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in Jersey where he managed the delivery of several strategic change initiatives to improve the profitability, efficiency, and effectiveness of the business. Gerard holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and a Bachelor of Science in Finance (BSc). He is an Associate of the Institute of Canadian Bankers (AICB), and a qualified member of STEP.

Hrishi is a member of the leadership team at Taurus. He has over 16 years of private banking experience across New York, London, Singapore and East and Southern Africa. He has worked in the private banking divisions of Citibank, Barclays Wealth and Standard Chartered. Hrishi has managed high net worth clients based in Kenya, Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa. He has leveraged his knowledge and experience in banking, credit, investments, and wealth structuring to address the financial needs of clients. At Taurus, he advises families of various nationalities based in Zambia, Botswana and Singapore. His extensive experience across East and Southern Africa allowed Taurus to establish a footprint in Africa. He travels to Zambia, Botswana and Kenya to continue to develop strong relationships with clients who require a family office service. In 2017, Hrishi won the Outstanding Young Private Bankers Award at the Private Banker International Global Wealth Summit and Awards. Hrishi is from Kerala, India and grew up in Tanzania, Zambia and Swaziland, but maintains strong ties with Kerala. He earned his International Baccalaureate Diploma from Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa in Swaziland. He has a BA in Economics with distinction from Cornell University in the US and Masters in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering also from Cornell. He has an MBA from the INSEAD business school. Hrishi is a keen tennis player and golfer. He is married with one son and takes his family time very seriously.

Christopher Tanchou works as Business Development Director at Swiss Life Singapore. He has 11 years of working experience within Swiss Life in various locations (Zurich, Luxembourg and Singapore) where he has been specializing in the life insurance solutions for HNWI distributed through Private Banks, External Asset Managers and International Brokers. With his expertise in the Wealth Structuring area as well as Business Development, he is well suited to managing complex cases and Partner relationships in order to support business submissions. Christopher has now been working for six years in Singapore, focusing on the development of new partnerships and the sale of Variable Universal Life (VUL) and Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI).

Nirbhay Handa is the Group Head of Business Development at Henley & Partners and the Managing Director and Head of the firm’s Global South Asia team. He focuses exclusively on advising high-net-worth individuals and their families on residence and citizenship by investment. Nirbhay has been on the forefront of the investment migration industry across Asia and the South Asia subcontinent, advising some of the most respectable and established private banks, family offices, and law firms. His articles, commentary, and overall thought leadership in the investment migration space is often quoted in some of Asia’s leading wealth management forums and publications. He is passionate about developing people and growing high-performance teams. Nirbhay received his formative education at the University of Nottingham and executive education at the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford.

Zac has experience in all areas of international private client law including cross border tax, trust, estate, family, divorce and succession laws. Zac also has extensive experience advising in relation business family and family office governance and succession planning, and international private client regulatory laws, including the Common Reporting Standard, Mandatory Disclosure Rules, Economic Substance Rules and Beneficial Ownership Registers.

Michael has an extensive background in financial services in Asia, Europe and North America. He has been in Asia-Pacific since 1995 – first in Hong Kong for six years, then in Sydney and Singapore, returning to Hong Kong in 2007. Before setting up Hubbis in early 2009, Michael founded Pacific Prospect in 2002 and sold it to global business-to-business publisher Incisive Media in 2006, continuing to serve as Chief Executive Officer until October 2008. Prior to Pacific Prospect, Michael worked for nine years in financial markets publishing. He joined Euromoney Publications in 1993 as the publisher of a quarterly magazine, International Bond Investor. In 1995, Michael joined Thomson Financial Services (now Thomson Reuters) to conceive and launch Finance Asia magazine. While he was Managing Director of Finance Asia, Michael also started the Asian Debt Review, Asian Private Capital Magazine and started the Finance Asia Conference Business. In 1997, Michael founded FIA Limited. Born in North Wales, Michael was head boy of St David’s College Llandudno. He has a degree in Business Administration from Cardiff University. And is married with three children - Reanna, Garett and Tarryn.

Woon Shiu has over 20 years of expertise in marketing, client development and professional training in family office structuring, trusts, high-net-worth life insurance and estate planning in Asia Pacific (especially China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia). Over the years, Woon Shiu has handled multiple landmark transactions, advising ultra-high net-worth individuals and founding members of banking conglomerates on matters relating to taxes, multi-generational endowment funds, planning of global assets, and much more. Woon Shiu is also an adjunct professor at the Wealth Management Institute (in Nanyang Technological University) and regularly lectures private bankers, lawyers and trust practitioners on wealth structuring and estate succession. He has also spoken as a guest lecturer at universities in China, and his views on family businesses are regularly featured in the Financial Times, Barron’s Asia, Singapore Business Times, China Daily and other renowned publications. Woon Shiu has advised numerous ultra-high net-worth families across Asia Pacific in the areas of strategic structuring of their estate and succession planning. He commonly engages multi-generation families, giving them advice on successfully establishing and implementing their desired family governance and philanthropic strategies. He holds a STEP certification and is a Solicitor in England and Wales, as well as an Advocate and Solicitor in Singapore. Woon Shiu is fluent in English and Mandarin – often lecturing in both languages – and is also conversant in Cantonese, Hokkien and Hainanese.

Lee Wong is Head of Family Services, Asia at Lombard Odier. Lee is responsible for leading Lombard Odier’s wealth planning and family services proposition, which is a key component of the Bank’s growth strategy in the region. Before joining Lombard Odier, Lee amassed over 22 years of experience in the wealth management industry. She joined from Union Bancaire Privée in Singapore, where she was Head of Wealth Planning for South Asia and was responsible for leading a team advising high net worth clients on their family wealth transition, family governance, as well as philanthropic aspirations. Lee is a member of the MAS-EDB Family Office workgroup as well as the Wealth Management Institute’s expert panel on Family Offices. She is a regular trainer for Singapore Management University for IBF certification courses on wealth planning and family office. She is also a trainer for Wealth Management Institute’s family office advisor program. Lee holds a Bachelor of Laws from the National University of Singapore. She is a Chartered Trustee appointed by the Singapore Trustee Association.

Rohit Ganguli is the Head of Wealth Planning Asia at EFG Bank, he has two decades of experience working with clients to assist them in achieving their wealth planning objectives especially in relation to succession, legacy and asset protection needs. This often involves the use of trusts, foundations, corporate entities and other holding vehicles. Rohit is responsible for all aspects of the insurance activity in EFG in Asia. This involves supporting all insurance related discussions – including identifying life insurance referral opportunities based on clients’ wealth and liquidity planning needs, extensively interacting with external counter parties (such as insurance brokers and carriers) and also actively engaging with related stake holders within the bank. He manages all discussions around single family offices (SFO) and works closely with clients on the benefits and processes involved in the set up of SFOs. Rohit has a background in accountancy and also holds a Master’s degree in International Tax Law from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He is a registered trust and estate practitioner (TEP) and holds a diploma from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and is also certified with the Singapore College of Insurance. He has worked across geographies and has been with Big 4 consulting firms and MNCs prior to joining the bank.

Roger Chi is a Partner of 1291 Group Asia and oversees the development of the Singapore office. Roger has extensive experience working with family offices across Asia and the Middle East advising on cross border investments, succession planning, taxation, family governance, and private equity. Prior to 1291, Roger was a partner at Candareen Capital where he led their family Office advisory activities and was appointed a senior advisor to Sheikh Syed al Maktoun. Roger started his career as a venture capitalist at Brainrush Ventures - a San Francisco Bay Area venture capital firm, before joining a Monitor Company and a leading strategic consulting firm. Roger holds a MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science (BS) from the UC Berkeley.

Christopher Tanchou works as Business Development Director at Swiss Life Singapore. He has 11 years of working experience within Swiss Life in various locations (Zurich, Luxembourg and Singapore) where he has been specializing in the life insurance solutions for HNWI distributed through Private Banks, External Asset Managers and International Brokers. With his expertise in the Wealth Structuring area as well as Business Development, he is well suited to managing complex cases and Partner relationships in order to support business submissions. Christopher has now been working for six years in Singapore, focusing on the development of new partnerships and the sale of Variable Universal Life (VUL) and Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI).

Claire Tan joins Swiss Life with an extensive experience across various industries which include family office, asset management, private banking and insurance. Her specialties include HNW business development, strategic relationship development and holistic wealth planning. Claire’s expertise in HNW relationship development as well as investment management arms her with the right knowledge and skill sets to provide sophisticated advice on VUL and PPLI cases

Edmund is a senior partner heading up the firm’s Tax practice with three decades of experience in advising multinational organisations on cross-border tax planning, transfer pricing and tax disputes. He also advises on international trade issues such as customs, WTO and free-trade agreements. Edmund also leads the firm’s Trust, Estates and Wealth Preservation practice and advises high net worth individuals, private banks and trust companies in personal tax, as well as in trust and estate planning matters. Edmund was invited by the government to serve as a Judicial Commissioner at the Supreme Court and served from 2013 to 2016. On stepping down, he was appointed Senior Counsel in 2017, making him the first and only Tax and Trust lawyer to be given this accolade nationwide. Prior to his appointment to the Singapore judiciary in 2013, Edmund was named a Tier 1 lawyer by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific for Tax in 2012. His views on tax and wealth management were widely sought and publicised in the media, such as Bloomberg, BBC, Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, The Financial Times and The Straits Times. He was also a founding partner of a Singapore law firm that was associated with an international law firm, where he headed up the Tax and Wealth Management practices in Singapore. Edmund is a former President and an honorary member of the Singapore Trustees Association (STA).

Hrishi is a member of the leadership team at Taurus. He has over 16 years of private banking experience across New York, London, Singapore and East and Southern Africa. He has worked in the private banking divisions of Citibank, Barclays Wealth and Standard Chartered. Hrishi has managed high net worth clients based in Kenya, Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa. He has leveraged his knowledge and experience in banking, credit, investments, and wealth structuring to address the financial needs of clients. At Taurus, he advises families of various nationalities based in Zambia, Botswana and Singapore. His extensive experience across East and Southern Africa allowed Taurus to establish a footprint in Africa. He travels to Zambia, Botswana and Kenya to continue to develop strong relationships with clients who require a family office service. In 2017, Hrishi won the Outstanding Young Private Bankers Award at the Private Banker International Global Wealth Summit and Awards. Hrishi is from Kerala, India and grew up in Tanzania, Zambia and Swaziland, but maintains strong ties with Kerala. He earned his International Baccalaureate Diploma from Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa in Swaziland. He has a BA in Economics with distinction from Cornell University in the US and Masters in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering also from Cornell. He has an MBA from the INSEAD business school. Hrishi is a keen tennis player and golfer. He is married with one son and takes his family time very seriously.

Zac has experience in all areas of international private client law including cross border tax, trust, estate, family, divorce and succession laws. Zac also has extensive experience advising in relation business family and family office governance and succession planning, and international private client regulatory laws, including the Common Reporting Standard, Mandatory Disclosure Rules, Economic Substance Rules and Beneficial Ownership Registers.

Gerard Gardner is Global Head of EFG International’s wealth structuring business, EFG Wealth Solutions. Headquartered in Jersey, Gerard has responsibility for fiduciary platforms and wealth planners in Asia, Europe and the Americas. He has been a director of various EFG group companies for over 20 years and is a member of EFG’s senior management college, the International Management Forum. Gerard also serves as a Director on the boards of a number of private client structures and real estate and private equity funds.  

Tan Woon Hum is widely regarded as one of the rare senior market leaders specialising in investment funds, REITs and trusts, especially Variable Capital Companies (VCCs) and family offices. He heads a team of specialist lawyers in the Trust, Asset & Wealth Management practice at major Singapore law firm Shook Lin & Bok LLP. He is ranked as a Band 1 leading investment funds lawyer by Chambers Asia-Pacific since 2014 and top 100 lawyer in Singapore by Asia Business Law Journal in 2023. He advises on fund formation, (including hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, real estate funds and single-family funds) using Singapore funds (including VCC) and offshore funds structures (eg. Cayman LP funds and segregated portfolio companies). He drafts and reviews the full range of fund documents and is extremely well versed with independent asset managers, external asset managers, multi-family offices and single-family offices, and has an extremely strong track record in securing the relevant regulatory licences and exemptions. His excellent and long-term professional relationship with the local regulators, authorities and major industry players add credence to his practice. He has advised on and helped clients launched about 100 VCCs as at May 2023. He has extensive experience in advising private clients (including ultra-high net worth individuals and single-family offices) and trustees on the establishment of private trusts, family offices, single-family funds, Sections 13O and 13U (formerly 13R and 13X) structures and drafts trust documents, fund documents, global investor programme documents and family charters. Woon Hum is bi-lingual (English and Mandarin), has a law degree and a MBA (Finance). He is a highly sought after speaker and speaks regularly at public conferences, forums and seminars since 2002 in Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Dubai, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh and Kuala Lumpur.

Kevin is one of the leading partners of Stephenson Harwood’s Private Wealth practice. His practice focuses on trusts, tax, regional corporate structuring and transactions with over 30 years of experience in the areas of private wealth advisory, trusts, tax, corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, cross-border transactions, and a wide range of business law. He is qualified in Hong Kong and Canada, and advises clients in respect of both jurisdictions. Kevin acts as counsel for major corporations headquartered in Hong Kong, China, the USA, Canada, Japan and other jurisdictions. He also represents numerous high net worth clients from around the world on diverse matters including succession planning, tax advisory and compliance, asset preservation, family businesses, private equity investments and philanthropy.

John Shoemaker is Senior Counsel with Butler Snow in their Singapore office. John has more than 30 years’ experience in tax, legal & regulatory compliance, and is a common law lawyer with educational emphasis on taxation, trusts & estate planning. He also has extensive experience in ensuring multi-jurisdictional compliance for fiduciary product offerings (working with multijurisdictional outside counsel & adapting products for sale in relevant jurisdictions), including product management skills to direct complex products from concept to fully operational status.

Bijal joined the Firm in 2013 as a Partner to expand and build the Tax and Investment Funds practice. On private client matters she has advised individuals and family businesses from a legal, regulatory and tax perspective. She has experience in rolling out a comprehensive succession plan for clients, re-structuring of family businesses including HUFs and family arrangements, drafting wills, creation of trusts, etc. She is frequently invited to speak at domestic and international conferences on matters of Indian estate and succession planning and has several publications to her credit. Bijal is highly acclaimed for her dedication, in-depth understanding and knowledge of taxation, estate planning and structuring of funds; and for her solution oriented approach. Bijal regularly features on an annual basis in the Chambers & Partners (Asia – Pacific), Citiwealth Leaders List, Legal 500, International Tax Review (Asia Pacific), Who’s Who Legal “Corporate Tax Guide, Private Client Global Elite, Expert Guides – Tax 2018, Indian Lawyer 250 Law Business Research as a leader in the field of taxation and private client in India. She has also been ranked as a Band 1 lawyer for Private Wealth Law by Chambers & Partners for 2019 and 2020. Bijal served as an officer-elect on the Individual Tax & Private Client Committee of the International Bar Association. She is ex-officio member of the Steering Committee of the International Wealth Advisors Forum, which is a global think tank for the exchange of emerging trends in estate and succession planning.

Gerard is responsible for the overall operation and performance of Equiom Singapore ensuring that the business operates in line with group strategy. A highly experienced financial services professional, Gerard plays a key role in executing Equiom Singapore's financial performance strategy, providing direction and leadership for strategic planning and reporting processes. He oversees the growth of Equiom Singapore and its provision of trust and corporate services. Gerard has a proven track record in wealth management, relationship management, fiduciary services, business development and project management developed over 20+ years. Prior to joining Equiom, Gerard was the Managing Director of Relationship Management at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in Jersey where he managed the delivery of several strategic change initiatives to improve the profitability, efficiency, and effectiveness of the business. Gerard holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and a Bachelor of Science in Finance (BSc). He is an Associate of the Institute of Canadian Bankers (AICB), and a qualified member of STEP.

Michael has an extensive background in financial services in Asia, Europe and North America. He has been in Asia-Pacific since 1995 – first in Hong Kong for six years, then in Sydney and Singapore, returning to Hong Kong in 2007. Before setting up Hubbis in early 2009, Michael founded Pacific Prospect in 2002 and sold it to global business-to-business publisher Incisive Media in 2006, continuing to serve as Chief Executive Officer until October 2008. Prior to Pacific Prospect, Michael worked for nine years in financial markets publishing. He joined Euromoney Publications in 1993 as the publisher of a quarterly magazine, International Bond Investor. In 1995, Michael joined Thomson Financial Services (now Thomson Reuters) to conceive and launch Finance Asia magazine. While he was Managing Director of Finance Asia, Michael also started the Asian Debt Review, Asian Private Capital Magazine and started the Finance Asia Conference Business. In 1997, Michael founded FIA Limited. Born in North Wales, Michael was head boy of St David’s College Llandudno. He has a degree in Business Administration from Cardiff University. And is married with three children - Reanna, Garett and Tarryn.

Zac has experience in all areas of international private client law including cross border tax, trust, estate, family, divorce and succession laws. Zac also has extensive experience advising in relation business family and family office governance and succession planning, and international private client regulatory laws, including the Common Reporting Standard, Mandatory Disclosure Rules, Economic Substance Rules and Beneficial Ownership Registers.

Michael has an extensive background in financial services in Asia, Europe and North America. He has been in Asia-Pacific since 1995 – first in Hong Kong for six years, then in Sydney and Singapore, returning to Hong Kong in 2007. Before setting up Hubbis in early 2009, Michael founded Pacific Prospect in 2002 and sold it to global business-to-business publisher Incisive Media in 2006, continuing to serve as Chief Executive Officer until October 2008. Prior to Pacific Prospect, Michael worked for nine years in financial markets publishing. He joined Euromoney Publications in 1993 as the publisher of a quarterly magazine, International Bond Investor. In 1995, Michael joined Thomson Financial Services (now Thomson Reuters) to conceive and launch Finance Asia magazine. While he was Managing Director of Finance Asia, Michael also started the Asian Debt Review, Asian Private Capital Magazine and started the Finance Asia Conference Business. In 1997, Michael founded FIA Limited. Born in North Wales, Michael was head boy of St David’s College Llandudno. He has a degree in Business Administration from Cardiff University. And is married with three children - Reanna, Garett and Tarryn.