EFG Insurance Summit Singapore 2018

Lisa Leroy is the Head of High Net Worth at AXA Singapore. She is an experienced, global business manager with over 15 years in insurance and financial services, focusing on private wealth management, high value life cover, estate planning and wealth-structuring solutions for the high net worth market. Initially in business strategy and project management roles for international business development and strategic initiatives including e-Business Technology, followed by strategic business development, sales and relationship management. Product expertise in Universal Life (15+ years supporting Universal Life product design and strategy), Variable Universal Life (VUL) and private placement plan designs. Beyond life insurance solutions, experience with global medical and high-end general insurance, including art and collectibles coverage. Sales management and distribution specialist through international brokerage firms, private banks and bancassurance platforms, as well as independent asset managers (IAMs) and family offices.

Sebastien Hayoz joined Asiaciti Trust in October 2016. He has a law degree from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland and worked in a Geneva Law Firm before joining the trust and fiduciary industry. In his previous positions, Sebastien was Head of Private Clients Services in Geneva for international trust companies. Sebastien is a member of STEP.

Starting out as an actuary, there is very little that Walter de Oude does not know about life insurance. As the founder and CEO of Singapore Life, he has achieved what many thought to be an almost impossible task - starting a life insurance company from scratch. This is a role for which he is very well suited - having had diverse experience in the industry in a variety technical actuarial roles with reinsurers and consulting firms, product development, marketing and C-Suite roles. Prior to starting Singapore Life, Mr de Oude was CEO of HSBC Insurance (Singapore), a member of the HSBC Bank Exco, and on the Board of HSBC Asset Management. He has lived in Singapore predominantly since 2000, and considers Singapore to be his long term home.

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.

Zac Lucas is the Founder of Centenal Legal Technology Group. Zac is a practicing lawyer with over 20 years legal experience, admitted to practice in England & Wales, and is a former Partner of various international law firms including, Harneys, Ogier, Lawrence Graham and Gowling WLG advising on all areas of international private client law, including cross border wills, trust and estates and business succession planning. Zac has particular expertise advising on international regulatory law and has lectured and written extensively on the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS). As a result, Zac has been retained by a number of leading private banks, trust companies, wealthy individuals and families and a governmental authority to advise on the practical implementation of the CRS. Zac has now taken the step, in founding Centenal Legal Technology Group, to leverage the power of information technology to create innovative enterprise application software solutions for use by Financial Institutions, Business Professionals and UHNW families and individuals.

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.

Oliver is a banking professional with more than 25 years of experience as a senior banker and leader of high performing private banking teams. His guiding principle to success is his client centric approach and his deep understanding of cultural diversity. Oliver has been in Asia for most part of his career and his responsibilities and coverage span beyond Switzerland and London. He has also developed and expanded the private banking business of a banking institution in London and was responsible to setting up the private banking department of a newly created bank in Singapore beside managing his own clients. As a senior banker, Oliver has lead several successful team of private bankers with clients located in Europe, South East Asia, India, South America and segments such as the External Asset Managers and Global South Asian. Oliver holds a degree from the University of Lausanne Switzerland, an MBA from Cass Business School London and a specialisation from both the London Business School and Columbia Business School New York. Oliver is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Tho Gea Hong is the Chief Executive Officer of EFG Bank AG, Singapore Branch. She returned to EFG Bank in July 2018. Gea Hong was with the Royal Bank of Canada from 2016 to early 2018. Her last position was Chief Executive of the Singapore Branch, and Head of Wealth Management, South East Asia. Prior to this, Gea Hong was the Head of Private Banking, South East Asia, EFG Bank AG, Singapore Branch, from August 2012 to March 2016 and she was also the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Branch. Gea Hong started her career with DBS Bank. During her 17 years tenure, she held several key roles including District Manager and was instrumental in setting up the Priority Banking segment. After which, from 2004 to 2012, Gea Hong was with Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management. Her warm personality and sharp business acumen saw her grew from Sales Manager for South Asia Advisory to the Market Director for Singapore, Malaysia and the Financial Advisory Centre. Gea Hong holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the National University of Singapore and is married with 4 children

Hugh Ellerton was born and educated in the United Kingdom.

Hugh is Senior Director and Head of Business Development of EFG Wealth Solutions (Singapore) Limited, which he established in 2008 and which is a wholly owned subsidiary of EFG Investment and Wealth Solutions AG.

Hugh joined EFG Private Bank in London in 1998 where he was a senior director. In 2004 he moved to EFG in Hong Kong and then to Singapore in 2008, where he is based.

Prior to joining EFG in 1998, Hugh worked as assistant bee-keeper to the King of Libya, then qualified with Binder Hamlyn as a Chartered Account in 1972 

From 1978 to 1998 Hugh worked for the family office of the Ermitage Group in Paris and London; he was an early pioneer of hedge funds as well as specialising in all aspects of wealth preservation for clients in Europe, Africa, and latterly in Asia.

Hugh became a member of Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners in 1991.

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.  

Patrick Tan is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fortis Law Corporation. He is also the Head of the Private Client Practice Group. His areas of practice include general litigation and arbitration, wealth management, real estate and private client matters. He is a Notary Public, Commissioner for Oaths, a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators, as well as an accredited Associate Mediator, appointed by the Singapore Mediation Centre and the Primary Dispute Resolution Centre of the State Courts of Singapore and member of Singapore Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry. He also currently serves as a Volunteer Mediator for Small Claims Tribunal, State Courts of Singapore, as well as State Courts-SMC panel of mediators for the Volunteer Mediator Programme (Magistrate Complaints).

An Actuary by background, Christine has unique experience and skills in the area of life insurance. Christine has vast  a 17 years of experience with Great Eastern Life during which she worked as an Actuary and subsequently in the Agency side. Specializing in Estate and Legacy Planning as well as Retirement Planning, she has served many high net worth individuals, business owners and key executives not only in Singapore but extending to regional countries including Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Christine has been awarded the industry prestigious awards of Million Dollar Round Table and Court of the Table since  2012.  With her passion in the Financial Advisory industry, Christine actively devotes her time back to MDRT. She is the Singapore Country Chair from 2015 – 2017 serving the FA community in Singapore. Christine is a Fellow with the prestigious Institute of Actuary, UK and a Chartered Financial Consultant.

Mark Smallwood TEP is based in the UK from where he advises predominantly Asian UHNW families on the structuring and ongoing administration and management of their estate and succession plan, family office, investment process and governance. He sits on the Business Advisory Council of a successful privately held business spanning multiple jurisdictions. After nearly 35 years in financial services across the global, including the UK, Caribbean, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore and having held senior positions in one of the leading global private banks, Mark has unique insights and brings an independent, unconflicted view which enables UHNW families to objectively evaluate their decision making process.

Reach our to Mark: [email protected]

Daren is a veteran in the life insurance industry and has extensive experience in wealth planning. He has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services sector. Daren believes in giving back to the society. He is president of Blossom World Society, a charity which promotes volunteerism and community service

Benjamin Szeto is the Deputy Head of RHTLaw Taylor Wessing’s Private Wealth Industry Group. His forte lies in crafting structures, solutions and strategies for families, business owners and high net worth individuals (HNWIs). He is a regular speaker on wealth matters. He has 20 years of experience advising HNWIs, entrepreneurs, financial institutions, listed entities and Fortune 500 corporations on a wide range of transactions. These dealings span diverse jurisdictions and include trusts, wealth and legacy planning, investments, real estate matters, acquisitions and divestments, and various deal documentation. ASEAN and international clients rely on Benjamin to separate their business risks from their family wealth. Benjamin is a Registered Trust and Estate Practitioner of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and an author for LexisNexis Practical Guidance Singapore on Trusts. He was called to the Bar as a Barrister-at-Law (Lincoln’s Inn) (1997) and was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor in Singapore (1998). He has been conferred a Master of Science (Real Estate) from the National University of Singapore and holds a Diploma in Financial Management from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. Benjamin is an Expert Panel Member of the SMU Pro Bono Centre. Away from the office, he sits on the Council and heads the Fund Raising and Audit Committees of Nature Society (Singapore), a registered charity with IPC status. In addition, he serves as Assistant Honourary Treasurer on the Management Committee of the Old Victorians’ Association and on the Executive Committee of the Catholic Business Network. He is also a volunteer at Mensa Singapore and the Founder of a special interest group.

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.

Dr. Silvio Struebi is a Partner at Simon-Kucher's Hong Kong and Singapore Office. He is a member of the Global Banking Practice and heads the company's banking operations in APAC. Silvio focuses on international Private Banking and B2B Banking in Hong Kong and Singapore. Silvio has more than twelve years of consulting experience. He advises a broad array of local and global financial institutions on multiple topics, starting from monetisation and product management to market-specific implementation of growth strategies. Prior to focusing in the APAC region, Silvio served Retail, Private Banks and Asset Managers in Switzerland and Europe. Prior to joining Simon-Kucher, Silvio worked for an international Private Bank in Zurich and at a consulting start-up. He received his PhD in Marketing from the University of St. Gallen and has a Masterʼs degree in business administration.

Sean joined Trident Trust in 2016 and has overall responsibility for Trident’s Singapore operations. Sean has held senior positions at both independent and institutional trust companies during his 30-year career, which spans both Asia and Europe. He has advised many international high net worth clients on the use of trusts and other estate planning vehicles. Sean is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and a qualified Trust & Estate Practitioner.