Post on 22-May-2020
transcript
SPEAKERS
Julia Abrey TEP, Withers LLP, UK
Julia Abrey, a solicitor and partner in Withers LLP London, heads its multi jurisdictional
elder law and Court of Protection team. As chair of STEP's cross border Mental Capacity
Special Interest Group, Julia has a particular interest in international and cross—border
mental capacity matters. She is a regular writer and lecturer on elder law topics and one
of the two UK members of the US National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Inc. A top
rated Court of Protection practitioner in Legal 500 and Chambers 2016/17, Julia was the
STEP Trusted Advisor of the Year 2015/16.
Sim Bock Eng TEP, WongPartnership LLP, Singapore
SIM Bock Eng heads the Specialist & Private Client Disputes Practice and is a Partner in
the Private Wealth Practice at WongPartnership LLP. She has over 20 years of experience
in trusts, estate and family laws.
Bock Eng is a leading Trusts & Estates lawyer in Asialaw Leading Lawyers and a
recommended lawyer in the areas of Dispute Resolution and Private Wealth in The Legal
500: Asia Pacific. She is appointed as a Mediator for the Small Claims Tribunal of
Singapore and is a tutor for Probate in Preparatory Course Leading to Part B of the Singapore Bar
Examinations.
Simon Bruce, Farrer & Co, UK
Simon is trained as a mediator, and practises as a collaborative lawyer in international family
law cases. He advises UK and international individuals, families, trustees, beneficiaries and
family offices. His cases involve complex children, and confidentiality and pre-marital
agreements, trust and tax.
Simon’s track record for obtaining the best outcome for his clients has seen him involved in
four family law cases that have reached the Supreme Court in England, and one in
France. This includes the landmark children and abduction cases Re A (Children) (AP), Re
B (A Child), Radmacher re prenups, and Prest re corporate veil.
Romain Caillaud, Asia Group Advisors, Singapore
Romain Caillaud is a director at Asia Group Advisors. Based in Singapore, he provides
strategic advice to clients and oversees Asia Group Advisors' project execution teams
across the region. He has worked extensively in extractive industries, telecoms and
technology, financial services, and the food & beverage industry.
Caillaud has lived in Asia for more than ten years, including seven in Myanmar during which
he established the Yangon office of Vriens & Partners, a government relations advisory firm.
He holds a degree in Burmese language and previously served as President of the French-
Myanmar Chamber of Commerce. Caillaud is considered a leading expert on Myanmar politics and
economics, and is frequently quoted in international publications and news channels.
Prior to joining Asia Group Advisors, Caillaud was a Senior Director at FTI Consulting in Singapore. He
provided financial institutions, multinational corporations and law firms with intelligence and advice to
understand, assess and mitigate reputational, regulatory and political risks affecting their operations in
Southeast Asia and the wider Asia Pacific region.
Caillaud holds a Masters degree in International Affairs from Sciences Po Paris. He was an exchange
student to the University of Pennsylvania in the United States and to Waseda University in Japan. Caillaud
is fluent in English and his native French, and conversant in Burmese.
Prof Keith Carter National University of Singapore, School of Computing, Singapore
Keith Carter’s mission is to “Help Business succeed with Actionable Intelligence”. Keith is
an Associate Professor at the NUS School of Computing, preparing students and
workforce with innovative thinking and get them ready to deliver business solutions
integrating data visualization and machine learning. He is also the Actionable Intelligence
Senior Strategist at KBC Global Partners, helping senior leaders to develop data driven
business strategy; leveraging big data and develop capabilities to seize opportunities;
leading digital transformation across Finance, Banking, Fintech and Supply Chain. He is
also the Chief Information Officer and Machine Learning Lead at Datarama, a Fintech
start-up. He is the author of Amazon Bestseller Actionable Intelligence: A guide to
delivering Business Results with Big Data, Fast! Keith's mission is to help others succeed, through his work
in lecturing, writing, mentoring and consulting. In his previous roles, he has worked with Accenture, KPMG,
Goldman Sachs and Estee Lauder. Keith received his MBA from Cornell University.
Aseem Chawla TEP, Phoenix Legal, India
Aseem is Partner, Tax Practice Leader based out of New Delhi office of Phoenix
Legal. His areas of expertise are taxation, including international taxation, private
client and business advisory. He is India Bar Council member, fellow, Institute of
Chartered Accountants of India, STEP member, and is certificate holder of the Tax
Policy program of Harvard Kennedy School.
Aseem’s experience includes advising large Indian and multinational corporate houses on tax matters,
including international tax, inbound & outbound investment structuring, cross-border tax issues. He has
represented them on tax litigation matters before various appellate for a. He advises families on variety of
matters such as estate planning, inheritance & governance matters. He has consistently been recognized
as a leading lawyer in Asian region.
Ambassador Chan Heng Chee, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore
Ambassador Chan is Chairman of the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities in the
Singapore University of Technology and Design, Chairman of the National Arts Council,
Member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights, a Member of the Constitutional
Commission 2016 and Deputy Chairman of the Social Science Research Council.
Ambassador Chan is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the National University of
Singapore and a Member of the Yale-NUS Governing Board. She serves as a Member
of the Executive Board of the Chinese Cultural Centre. She is a Member of the
Advisory Council of Temasek Foundation Connects.
Ambassador Chan serves as a Trustee of the Asia Society, New York and a Member of the
International Advisory Panel, AXA Group, GIE AXA, Paris (France).
She was Singapore’s Ambassador to the United States and Singapore’s Permanent Representative
to the United Nations with concurrent accreditation as High Commissioner to Canada and
Ambassador to Mexico.
Adam Clark, JP Morgan Chase, USA
Adam Clark is Global Head of Trusts and Estates at J.P. Morgan Private Bank,
overseeing approximately $160 billion in assets across the globe. One of the
industry’s recognized trust and estate professionals, he leads approximately 500
employees who advise and support clients’ legacy planning and management.
A leading fiduciary specialist, Mr. Clark has held various leadership positions in the
industry. As Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Goldman Sachs
Trust Company, he led a team that operated in five jurisdictions and oversaw $24 billion in assets. During
his tenure, he also served as Head of International Strategic Wealth Advisory, where he worked directly
with the firm’s most sophisticated clients. Previously, Mr. Clark spent nearly a decade with WTAS LLC,
formerly Arthur Andersen, where he focused on tax planning issues for families with multi-jurisdiction
considerations, including multiple citizenships and residencies, as well as global business and investment
interests.
A graduate of the University of Liverpool, with a Bachelor of Laws in English and German Law, Mr. Clark
lives with his family in New Jersey.
Jason Collins, Pinsent Masons LLP, UK
Jason is one of the leading tax practitioners in the UK and represents corporates
and ultra-high net worth individuals during tax enquiries and investigations,
including taking cases to litigation before the tax and higher courts.
Jason also represents clients under criminal investigation including representation at "dawn raids" and
interviews under caution.
He has a particular expertise around the exchange of information and international cooperation, and
advises trustees, banks and governments on issues arising from the OECD's Common Reporting Standard.
Jason sits on the Management of Taxes Committee of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and is
consistently top ranked in Legal 500 and Chambers, where he is described as a "fantastic name in the
market.
Jonathan Conder TEP, Macfarlanes LLP, UK
Jonathan is a partner in the private client department of Macfarlanes. He advises
international private clients, trustees, private banks and family offices on all aspects of
international tax, trust, estate and succession planning and on philanthropic matters.
Typical clients range from high-net-worth entrepreneurs and their families who are
resident in Asia or resident in the UK but non-UK domiciled, taking in the trusts, other
structures and financial instruments such clients use to hold their business interests or
manage their wealth.
“Peers further praise him as ‘the best of the best, with a breath-taking reputation in this market’.” Chambers
Global 2017
Sean Cortis TEP, Chapman Eastway, Australia
Sean Cortis is the CEO of Chapman Eastway. Sean has over 30 years’ practice experience
and specialises in family office, estate and succession planning, business advisory and
taxation services. He has worked with many prominent families on matters of family
governance and structures, including the design and implementation of family office
infrastructure, applying his learnings as a former CEO of a US based single family office
firm.
Sean is a recognised thought leader in the family office arena and regularly writes and
presents on topics that are challenging for families. He has a special interest in Asia and has an acute
understanding of the bespoke cultural and business entrepreneurship issues relevant to Asian families.
Sean serves on the STEP Steering Committee for Business Families, and is a Chartered Tax Adviser and
member of the ICAA in Australia. He has a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting from UNSW and a
certificate in Fiduciary Governance from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. Sean also serves
as the Chairman for Epilepsy Action Australia.
Cass Goh, Silverglobal, Malaysia
Ms. Goh spent 12 years in the United States and returned to join the Silverlake Private Entities in 2014
In her current role in Silverlake Private Entities, Ms. Goh participates in the evaluation of investment
opportunities as well as in a wide range of corporate initiatives and has todate contributed to the strategic
new acquisitions to enhance the Silverlake Private Entities' Digital Economy offerings. She is also
spearheading several corporate initiatives focusing on growth and value creation in the Silverlake Private
Entities.
Prior to Silverlake, Ms. Goh worked at Cornerstone Research, a leading U S. based economic consulting
firm which provides analytical support and expert testimony in complex litigation and regulatory
proceedings. As an economic consultant, she analysed litigation cases involving market manipulation in the
Financial Services, Energy and Commodities sectors. She also conducted investment decisions analysis
involving complex foreign tax, auction rate securities and mortgage backed securities. The analysis
produced were used to backup testifying experts' reports for large litigation cases involving class-action
lawsuits, U.S. Futures Commodity Trading Commission, Securities Exchange Commission and Department
of Justice.
Ms. Goh graduated from Duke University in 2010 and holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics and
Mathematics (Dean's List).
Ms. Goh currently holds directorships in a number of private companies. She does not hold any
directorships in other listed companies.
Seow Chee Goh TEP, JP Morgan, Singapore
Seow Chee Goh, Managing Director and Head of the Wealth Advisory
South East Asia at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, is dedicated to serving the
international tax, trust, succession and strategic planning needs of our
clients. Based in Singapore, she is responsible for the firm’s Wealth
Advisory practice and will be advancing the firm’s efforts to develop
customized and leading edge wealth planning products and solutions for
clients, especially in the areas of trust structuring, multi-jurisdictional tax
planning, estate and family office planning as well as philanthropy.
Seow Chee has 16 years of practical experience working in trust
companies. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, she was a Senior Director at
HSBC Trustee Singapore, advising clients on estate planning issues and
handled a wide spectrum of clients from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia,
India, Japan and Europe.
Prior to that, Seow Chee was with Equity Trust Singapore (now known as TMF Group), where she
set up the Equity Trust Group’s Singapore office and subsequently set up their trust
company in Singapore duly licensed by Monetary Authority of Singapore. While in trust practice, she was
invited to speak at clients’ seminar organized by banks and she was also
invited to speak to industry participants. She has extensive knowledge on Singapore taxation issues
while working as a Tax Investigator with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.
Seow Chee graduated with a degree in accountancy from National University of Singapore. She served 3
years as Chair of STEP Singapore Branch (“Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners”) from 2011 to 2014.
She is also the Council Representative for STEP Singapore and STEP Malaysia to STEP Worldwide.
Richard Hay TEP, Stikeman Elliott (London) LLP
Richard Hay is a tax and financial regulation partner at Stikeman Elliott (London) LLP.
Richard acts for financial institutions, private clients and high net worth families on cross-
border estate and tax planning. He also advises professional and private equity firms on
policy related to financial regulation and cross border tax data exchange. Richard served
as chair of the London-based STEP International Committee for ten years and is a
member of the STEP Public Policy Committee. He is counsel to IFC Forum, which
represents the principal professional firms in the British offshore centres.
George Hodgson, STEP, UK
George Hodgson is CEO at STEP, the worldwide professional body for those specialising
in advising families across generations. Prior to joining STEP he held senior policy
positions at the Association of British Insurers, the main UK insurance industry trade body,
and served on the staff of the Treasury Committee of the UK House of Commons. These
posts followed a career in investment banking that spanned over 20 years as a top rated
economist and investment strategist in London. Mr Hodgson holds degrees in economics
and has authored many articles and research reports on trusts, taxation and investment
issues.
Kim Kit OW, Bird & Bird ATMD LLP, Singapore
Kim Kit is a partner in the Banking & Finance group of Bird & Bird, based in
Singapore
Her practice encompasses advising clients on issues relating to financial regulatory
matters advice, corporate, investment and private banking and Fintech.
She has spent a number of years working in-house, at Scotiabank and Credit Suisse,
where she advised on the legal aspects of investment and private banking product
development, transactions and documentation. Kim Kit also worked as Senior Legal
Counsel at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) where she was involved in the
development calibration and drafting of Singapore's banking laws and regulations and
the development of the wealth management, intermediaries and trust industry in Singapore.
Kim Kit was appointed as the Asian regional director for the International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”)
International Court of Arbitration and ICC Dispute Resolution Services in December 2009. In that role, she
was responsible for promoting ICC’s dispute resolution services throughout South and East Asia and
Australasia. She was then appointed the Managing Director of the ICC Academy and was responsible for
the setting up of its operations and e-Learning platform.
Prijohandojo Kristanto, PB Taxand, Indonesia
Mr. Prijohandojo Kristanto is the Chairman of PB Taxand, one of the largest Tax
Consulting Firm in Indonesia. He started his career as a Tax Consultant in 1971.
Currently he also serves as the Chairman of the Tax Committee of Apindo (The
Employer’s Association of Indonesia).
He was active in several organizations such as Chairman of the Tax Committee of
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the International Department of Indonesian Tax
Consultants Association, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Indonesian Tax Consultants Association,
Chairman of International Fiscal Association – Indonesian Branch.
With the above positions, he is constantly involved in the discussion of Indonesian Tax Policies.
Edmund Leow S.C. TEP, Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP, Singapore
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. In addition, Edmund also advises high net worth
individuals, private banks and trust companies in personal tax, as well as in trust and
estate planning matters. 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.
Mark McMullen, Stonehage Fleming, Switzerland
Mark is a Partner and the Chief Executive Officer of the Family Office Division. He
serves as a Key Adviser to a number of high net worth international families.
Mark joined the Stonehage Fleming Group in 2001 and was based in the Neuchatel
office before moving to the Geneva office in 2009. Prior to this he worked for four
years in London. He completed his professional training with Deloitte's in South Africa
and the USA.
Mark is a Chartered Accountant and has a Bachelor of Commerce degree and Post
Graduate Diploma in Accountancy from the University of Cape Town. He is a member
of SAICA and affiliate member of STEP
Martina Mettgenberg-Lemiere, AVPN, Singapore
Martina Mettgenberg-Lemiere is Head of Insights and Capacity Building at AVPN’s
Knowledge Centre.
She has over 10 years experience of leading applied research focusing on social investing, human capital,
education and impact. In Singapore, she led projects at INSEAD and the Human Capital Leadership
Institute and mentored students at aidha. Previously, she researched and consulted in India. She also
taught at the Universities of Manchester and Sussex and worked for INGOs and investment agencies in
London and Manchester.
She holds a PhD from Manchester Business School and an MSc and BA in Anthropology from the
Universities of Sussex and Manchester respectively.
Clifford Ng TEP, Zhong Lun Law Firm, Hong Kong
Clifford is one of the co-managing partners of Zhong Lun’s Hong Kong office. His
practice is focused on complex private client issues including cross-border
transactions, succession planning and cross-border compliance issues.
Clifford has worked with some of Asia’s leading businesses and families for over 20
years. He provides strategic advice on investments, tax, regulatory, estate and inter-
family planning, asset preservation, governance and philanthropy. Clifford is noted
for providing innovative solutions to complex issues having worked extensively in
multi-jurisdiction transactions and handling a broad range of issues including asset
protection investment strategies, trust and estate litigation, securities regulatory issues, family estate battles
and creditor claims.
Richard Norridge TEP, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, UK
Richard heads Herbert Smith Freehills' Asia Private Wealth practice and Trusts and
Estates Disputes Team.
Richard acts for High Net Worth individuals, their families, private banks and other
advisers on contentious and non-contentious trust and probate issues together, often
advising estate administrators and mental health committees. Richard advises
international banks and individuals in fraud and asset tracing cases, and also
provides advice on insolvency issues.
Richard speaks German, is admitted in England & Wales and Hong Kong, and is a member of STEP and
ACTAPS. He co-founded the STEP HK Dispute Resolution Sub-Committee, and lectures widely on trusts
and probate issues.
Filippo Noseda TEP, Mishcon de Reya, UK
Filippo is a Partner of Mishcon de Reya in London.
Filippo's unique background (he is admitted in England & Wales,
Switzerland and the BVI) enables him to advise families and
governments alike on complex matters straddling the common law/civil law divide.
Notable work includes advising a number of territories on the introduction of foundations' laws, advising a
European government on the ratification of the Hague Trust Convention and advising an EU territory on
their residency offering to UHNWIs.
He recently appeared as an expert before the Council of Europe and the EU's data protection authorities to
testify on the privacy and data protection implications of the CRS and the EU's Beneficial Ownership
Registers.
Clare Joan Pearson, DLA Piper, China
Clare is the International Development Director at DLA Piper. She is also the Chair of
the British Chamber of Commerce, China (2015-17). At DLA Piper her role involves
advising clients on inbound and outbound investments. She also advises Corporate
foundations and NGOs on their work in China and Chinese foundations on their
operations overseas. As the Chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in China, Clare
works closely with the British Embassy in Beijing. She sits on the Board of the China
Britain Business Council as Vice-Chair in London and is the Chair of China Development
Foundation.
James Price, Stewarts Law LLP, UK
James heads the firm's trust and probate litigation practice, specialising in disputes
relating to private wealth matters, trusts and succession. He has substantial
experience in handling complex, high value and often high profile litigation in
England and other leading trusts jurisdictions. James has acted for high net worth
individuals, trustees and beneficiaries in disputes in the Bahamas, Cayman,
Jersey, Guernsey, Singapore and Hong Kong. These disputes have involved allegations of breach of trust,
fraud, sham, the removal of trustees, requests for disclosure of documents, applications for trustee
approval and issues arising out of divorce.
Dawn Quek, Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow, Singapore
Ms Dawn Quek, Principal at Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow, has more than 15 years
of international tax and wealth management experience. She has worked in both the
Singapore and Hong Kong offices of Baker & McKenzie. Dawn’s practice focuses on
providing international tax advice for multinational corporations and financial institutions
on cross-border transactions and on restructurings. Dawn also advises wealthy families
and family offices on their tax and estate planning issues and is the Asia Pacific
representative on Baker & McKenzie's Global Wealth Management steering committee.
She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Singapore Trustees Association.
Kurt G. Rademacher TEP, Butler Snow LLP, Singapore
Kurt represents ultra-high net worth families and family controlled businesses throughout
the world with respect to US Federal income, gift and estate tax issues. Kurt is a Fellow of
the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and he has been ranked as a leader in
his field by Chambers, Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, Legal Week and
Citywealth. The international financial press frequently seeks Kurt’s expert comment on
US tax developments with recent interviews by CNBC Squawk Box, Bloomberg Radio, the
Financial Times and CNN Money.
Vikna Rajah, Rajah & Tann, Singapore
Vikna Rajah is recognised as a leading Tax and Trust lawyer. He is praised in
legal directories as being an “experienced litigator” with “extensive tax
knowledge”, who is “an extremely intelligent man”.
Vikna was recognized by the Asia Legal Awards 2017 as Private Client
Lawyer of the year. He also led the tax practice to clinch Singapore’s Tax
Disputes and Litigation Firm of the Year (International Tax review 2017). He is
recommended by Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2016 as a leading
individual in Tax and ranked by Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2016 Edition) in Brand
1 for Private Wealth.
Ziva Robertson TEP, McDermott Will & Emery, UK
Ziva Robertson is a solicitor-advocate who advises clients in complex
trust disputes, contested estates and commercial disputes containing
fiduciary elements, with extensive experience in cross-jurisdictional and
international litigation. She also advises, writes and lectures on
structuring trusts and other arrangements to minimize the risk of future
disputes, ensuring the best choice of jurisdiction, and providing effective
litigation deterrents. Ziva advises on and conducts mediation as well as
other forms of alternative dispute resolution. In litigation, she has
successfully pursued and defended cases in the UK and abroad,
including the Caribbean, the Channel Islands and the Middle East.
Pieter de Ridder, Mayer Brown, Singapore
Pieter de Ridder has been based in Asia as an adviser on Asian taxation matters since
1991. He has worked and lived in Indonesia, Hong Kong and, since 1996, Singapore.
He is one of the few truly regional tax experts in Asia. He advises private equity investors, venture
capitalists, real estate developers, financial institutions, multinationals and individuals on their tax planning.
Before becoming the regional head of tax of Mayer Brown, he worked at a big 4 accounting firm and
headed the Singapore office of Loyens & Loeff for many years. He has an LLM in taxation from Leiden
university in the Netherlands and is an accredited tax adviser in Singapore. He has published widely on tax
matters in Asia, is vice chair of the Singapore branch of the International Fiscal Association, he is on the
board of editors of the Asia Pacific Tax Bulletin and a guest lecturer on Asian taxation matters at SMU.
Gurbachan Singh TEP, GSM LLP, Singapore
Mr. Gurbachan Singh is a Senior Partner of Khattar Wong & Partners and serves as the Head of its Tax
DepaTment. Mr. Singh serves as the Honorary Tax Advisor of Real Estate Developers Association of
Singapore (REDAS). Mr. Singh was the Managing Partner of KhattarW'ong LLP until December 2013. He
has been actively involved in tax work for more than 35 years having started his career as a Legal Officer
and a State Counsel in the then Inland Revenue Department in Singapore. His practice included tax
advisory work for corporate and individual clients. He has been the Non-Executive Chairman and Director
of Indiabulls Property Management Trustee Pte. Ltd since April 01.2014. He served as Chairman of the
Board of Neocorp International Ltd. (formerly, Presscrete Holdings Ltd.) until March 10, 2008. He has been
an Independent Director of A-Sonic Aerospace Limited since April 29, 2016. He serves as a Director of
Singapore Institute of Taxation as a representative of the Law Society. He served as an Independent Non-
Executive Director of Neocorp International since March 14, 2003. He was a Director of the Tax Academy
of Singapore. Mr. Singh is a Member of the Revenue Chamber of the Editorial and Research Committee of
the Malaysian Institute of Taxation. In February 2012, Mr. Singh was presented the’George Tasker
Outstanding Achievement Award’ by UK Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) for his
exceptional and outstanding contributions to the Society above and beyond that normally expected of a
member. Mr. Singh is also a Registered Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) and a Member of the UK
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. Mr. Singh is regarded as one of Singapore's leading tax lawyers
and is consistently ranked highly in legal publications such as Who's Who Legal, Asia Legal Business and
PLC Which Lawyer. Mr. Singh has graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree from the then University of
Singapore in 1977.
Paul Stibbard TEP, Rothschild Trust, UK
Paul Stibbard is Executive Vice Chairman of Rothschild and formerly Co-Chairman of
the Global Wealth Management Practice, Baker & McKenzie London. He graduated
from Cambridge University and INSEAD International Business School Fontainebleau.
He specialises in advising individuals on cross border tax, trust, succession and
governance issues. In September 2012, he received the STEP Lifetime Achievement
Award. He was Chairman of the Presiding Judges of the STEP Awards 2013, 2014,
2015 and 2016, and is a Presiding Judge again in 2017.
Dmitri Surendran, Edwin Coe LLP, UK
Dmitri joined Edwin Coe LLP in February 2017. He was previously an
Operational Leader in HMRC’s elite Fraud Investigation Service, Offshore,
Corporate and Wealthy unit, where he was responsible for leading the London
team which undertook HMRC’s most serious civil tax investigations. He also had
responsibility for projects utilising offshore data. Dmitri has delivered seminars on
tax evasion typologies to the Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce
comprised of international banks and law enforcement agencies. With the focus on global transparency,
CRS and inter-government information exchange agreements Dmitri ensures that clients with multi-
jurisdictional affairs and structures are, and remain, tax compliant.
Dino Tan, Economic Development Board, Singapore
Dino is the Deputy Director of Contact Singapore, an EDB entity which advises business
owners and entrepreneurs with business and residency interests in Singapore. He is also
Co-Director of Asian Businesses Team, which engages Asian Conglomerates on
partnership opportunities in Singapore.
Dino had earlier roles in EDB’s Lifestyle Programme Office and Global Operations
covering Southeast Asia, Australia & New Zealand. He spent four years in EDB’s Jakarta
Office.
Dino has a BBA (Honours) from National University of Singapore. He also spent a year at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology on the Sloan Fellows Program, a MBA for experienced professionals.
Mason Tan, Garden Impact Investments Pte Ltd, Singapore
Mason Tan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Garden Impact Investments Pte Ltd, a
social impact fund founded in late 2013 in Singapore, focusing on providing
expansion capital to sustainable social impact enterprises in Southeast Asia. In
addition to being a Certified Public Accountant with Big Four public accounting firm
in the US, Mason was also the President Director of a securities and money
broking firm in Indonesia, Corporate Finance Manager cum Investor Relations with
a NSYE listed company based in Singapore and CFO of Venture Capital funded
internet venture. Mason was also a former owner of US F&B master franchise for
Singapore, Malaysia and China.
Desmond Teo, Ernst & Young Solutions LLP, Singapore
Desmond is a Tax Partner within Ernst & Young (EY) FSO, focusing
on Asset Management and International Tax and leads the EY WAM
Tax and CRS/FATCA practices for ASEAN, as well as the Singapore
FS ITS practice. With a working knowledge of transfer pricing,
individual taxes, indirect taxes and transfer taxes, he offers holistic tax solutions to clients with global and
regional presence, and provides clients with an end-to-end solution. In addition to helping clients set up of
family office structures, Desmond’s experience also includes providing tax advisory services covering
cross-border structuring, group restructuring, tax due diligence, merger & acquisition structuring, feasibility
and implementation of fund structures.
He co-contributes tax write-ups to internal and external publications such as EY Singapore’s “You and the
Taxman” publications, the Journal of International Taxation and the Business Times.
Professor Kitipong Urapeepatanapong, Baker McKenzie, Thailand
Kitipong is chairman of the Bangkok Office and head of both the Financial Services
Division and the Tax practice group. He began his career as a general commercial and
tax lawyer more than 34 years ago and is now a widely-read author of popular books
on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and tax planning in Thailand, as well as Corporate
Governance books. He also authors popular articles on family business and the law in
the Nation newspaper. In 2012, he was appointed by Royal Order as Professor at the
Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University.
In the course of his experience in Thailand, and his time spent in Baker McKenzie’s
Singapore Office, Kitipong has gained extensive experience in tax planning and providing legal and tax
advice in respect to mergers & acquisitions, capital markets & securitization, and corporate & debt
restructuring
Xiaogang (Steven) Wang, King & Wood Mallesons, PRC
Steven is specialized in private clients and wealth management.
He is experienced in advising HNWIs on succession plan, wealth planning and assets
protection. He has also assisted many financial institutions to set up their wealth
planning business platform, design structures, development products, build up teams
and provided continuing support.
Mr. Wang was ranked as Band 1 lawyer by “Chambers and Partners HNW Guide 2016” in the category of
private clients/wealth management, PRC law firm, China.
Publications: “Private Trusts and Wealth Planning”, 2012; “Common Law Trusts: Theory and Practice”,
2016.
Patricia Wass TEP, Worldwide Chair of STEP, UK
Patricia has over 30 years' experience working as a Solicitor dealing with all
aspects of private client law. Patricia is a consultant in the mental capacity team at
Enable Law (part of the Foot Anstey Group) and specialises in Powers of Attorney,
Court of Protection work and legal issues relating to the elderly and vulnerable. She
is a Panel Deputy for the Office of the Public Guardian, one of only 71 people acting
in this role throughout England and Wales. She lectures regularly on her
practice area for various legal training providers and contributes articles to legal journals.
Patricia has written for the Law Society, the Elder Law Journal, and has been interviewed by industry
publications including STEP and CityWealth Magazine.
Patricia is the current Worldwide Chair of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners. Patricia served
as a member of the West of England STEP Committee between 2000 and 2013 (Chair between 2006
and 2009) and is a Past Chair of the Law Society Private Client Executive Committee. Patricia is also
a past Chair of the STEP England and Wales Regional Committee, a member of the STEP
Governance Council, and acts as a Director on the STEP Worldwide Board.
She is also a fully accredited member of Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE) and assisted on the
Committee for the Devon & Cornwall SFE Regional Group. Patricia is recognised as a Top Ranked
'Leader in her Field' by Chambers UK legal directory.
Linda Wong TEP, Chair of STEP Singapore, Singapore
Linda is one of the Founder Members of the Group. She is a graduate of Monash
University, Australia, with a Bachelor of Economics degree majoring in Accountancy.
She trained as an Auditor with one of the top 4 auditing firm. She went on to join the
hospitality industry as an accountant before moving on to the trust industry.
She was attached with a global independent trust company for 15 years, where her
last position held was as Managing Director of the Singapore office with more than
50 employees and the office had asset under administration of well over USD100
million.
Among her accreditations are: Chairperson of Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), Singapore
Branch for the Year 2016/2017 and 2015/2016; Member of the Singapore Trustee Association; Member of
CPA Australia; Chartered Accountant registered with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants; Certified
Financial Planner with the Financial Planning Association of Malaysia; Registered Filing Agent with ACRA
Singapore; President of Rotary Club of Labuan for the Year 2004/2005, President of Rotary Club of
Sentosa Singapore for the Year 2010/2011.
Patricia Woo, Squire Patton Boggs, Hong Kong
Patricia Woo is a Partner of Squire Patton Boggs. She is a fund, trust and tax
lawyer noted for her practice in helping global ultra-high-net-worth families set
up and operate investment-centric, service-centric and comprehensive value-
centric family offices.
Her expertise spans structuring of single family offices and multi-family offices,
regulatory licensing and exemption, family investment guidelines, internal
control and compliance manual, family constitutions, family council, hiring and compensation, internal
hedge fund and private equity fund formation, management and administration, negotiations with private
bankers, prime brokers, global custodians, execution brokers and administrators, and such charitable and
philanthropic ventures as establishing and restructuring of charities.
She also handles matters arising at different stages of a trust’s lifecycle, namely, creation of trusts and
private trust companies, their management, restructuring and termination, and loan and acquisition
transactions. She drafts complicated wills, enduring powers of attorney and handles other cross border
succession and tax issues and advises private banks and trust companies in the launch of new products
and services that target ultra-high-net-worth families.
Tammy Woo, ARK Trust Limited, Hong Kong
Tammy Woo is the Executive Director of ARK Trust (Hong Kong) Limited, a subsidiary of
Noah Holdings Limited, the first independent PRC wealth management firm listed in NYSE
(NYSE: NOAH) with >185 branches in China and over 135,000 clients.
Tammy has 25 years’ experience in the trust and company secretarial fields and is
specialized in administration of complicated family and ESOP trust structures.
Tammy has worked in TMF Trust (HK) Limited as Head of Trust Department and HSBC
Trustee (Hong Kong) Limited as Head and Director of Clients Support Services.
She is a STEP member and associate of ICSA/HKICS.
Bruce Zagaris TEP, Berliner Corcoran & Rowe LLP, USA
Bruce Zagaris is a partner in Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe LLP. His practice includes tax
controversy work, criminal tax investigations, exchange of information, evidence
gathering, and extradition. He has also represented governments and international
organizations, including negotiating tax treaties, advice on FATCA, bilateral investment
treaties, mutual assistance in criminal matters treaties, and proposing and drafting
financial products to attract investment. He appears regularly as an expert witness in
international tax and financial regulatory cases. He has authored six books and many
law review and other articles. He has been an Adjunct Professor at several law schools.