HUBBIS WEALTH SOLUTIONS FORUM - Dubai 2023

Alastair is a Private Wealth partner in our Dubai office and advises high net worth individuals and families, family offices and trustees on global estate planning and tax efficient investment structures. Alastair has significant experience in international succession planning including regional and international trust and foundation structures, tax advice, immigration and family governance. Alastair leads the Private Wealth practice in the Middle East and is ranked in Band 1 in Chambers Global in Private Wealth Law. He is described as "superb; efficient, very knowledgeable... extremely resourceful… succinct and very client-oriented". Much of Alastair's work has an international dimension and often involves cross border succession and tax planning. Alastair's expertise includes advising on family trust and governance structures encompassing both business and private assets, tax efficient UK real estate investment structures, UK immigration, cross border estates and tax residency advice for those moving to or leaving the UK. In addition, Alastair is increasingly advising clients on legacy planning involving regional assets and has a particular focus on DIFC and ADGM foundation structures. Although Alastair's client base is drawn from individuals and families across multiple jurisdictions, he has a focus on individuals and families based in the Middle East, be they GCC nationals or global expatriates. Although there is no "typical" client, our clients' businesses and family assets often go hand in hand and Alastair works closely with colleagues across other areas of the firm to advise on structuring private and business assets. Alastair joined Trowers & Hamlins in October 2016 and has been based in the Middle East since September 2013 following 7 years working in London for a leading private wealth firm. He is recognised as one of the leading private client practitioners in the region. Alastair is a full member of the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners (STEP) and is the current Chairman of STEP Arabia. He regularly speaks at conferences regarding a variety of private client issues.

Chief Executive Officer at SingAlliance Pte Ltd (DIFC Representative Office), an independent asset management firm servicing HNW & UHNW families from four international offices. Significant experience gained in the banking and wealth management sectors having worked at some of the leading financial institutions in London, Singapore and the Middle East. Previous appointments within wealth management include Managing Director at EFG International in Dubai with overall business development responsibilities across the Middle East region, as well as desk head at Bank of Singapore in Singapore leading the MENA and South Europe client coverage activities at the launch of the international market practice in 2010. Furthermore served as Director at Barclays Wealth & Investment Management Dubai and Mirabaud Dubai covering UHNWI clients from GCC markets. Between 2005 and 2009, worked for the Dubai government’s direct investment arm within the CEO office on strategy, funding and relationship management. Commenced career in banking at Goldman Sachs International in London as Financial Analyst within the Fixed Income, Currencies & Commodities (FICC) division. Holds a Bachelor Degree in International Business Administration from the American University in Paris.

Karim is the Founder and CEO of Legacy Line Family Office, established in 2004. Karim is an entrepreneur who parlayed his almost two decades of family financial planning experience into a Company that offers financial coaching to fellow entrepreneurs. As an independent certified Estate Planner and Family Wealth Advisor (CFWA), Karim draws on his own passions to guide individuals and family businesses through their legacy planning, including long-term wealth structuring, family governance, tax planning, citizenship-by-investment, and planned giving that matches an individual’s philanthropic ideals. Karim began his career in 1993 in Ottawa, Canada. His career path brought him back to the Middle East where he works with clients in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the UAE. He is fluent in both English and Arabic and offers services tailored to meet either Shari’a or non-Shari’a compliant client needs.

Marc-André Sola is a serial entrepreneur. He started his first company at the age of 20 and has since founded, or co-founded, a number of businesses in different fields and in multiple countries. Mr. Sola holds a Masters of Law degree from the University of Zurich and serves on the board of various companies. He specializes in insurance and retirement planning, as well as tailored asset protection and estate Tax planning solutions. For over 20 years, he has been advising clients from all over Europe, North & South America, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Mr. Sola is a sought after speaker at international investment, asset protection and estate planning conferences worldwide. Furthermore, he has published a variety of professional articles and co-authored the book, The Insured Portfolio, published by John Wiley & Sons (2010). He is a member of YPO (Young Presidents Organization), Zurich Chapter.

Sunita is a well-known authority and legal adviser in the private wealth community. Her trusted relationships with UAE Regulatory authorities, financial advisors, corporate services providers, family offices and banks enable her to provide expert legal advice to her private wealth clients, especially in the GCC, Southwest Asia and Africa. She is a full member of STEP (Africa and Arabia) and often acts as moderator at international forums and conferences. As a thought leader, Sunita regularly publishes in prominent publications and participated, amongst other in the ground-breaking “Women in Wealth Management” GCC roadshow. She is recognised by various legal directories such as Chambers & Partners, Global Stars Report, and was peer-selected for the Private Client Global Elite Directory (2022 – 2023). Sunita has actively promoted women’s empowerment for young professionals in India and the Middle East and is a professional mentor for young female executives in the Middle East.

Phil is the Senior Executive Officer and Head of Distribution for Investors Trust Assurance in the EMEA region. He joined ITA in July 2014 to build the distribution network for Investors Trust Assurance in the EMEA region. He brings over 26 years of experience in the global insurance markets, from the UK, to Asia and Africa. He has been in the Middle East for most of the last 17 years holding General Management, Board positions (Middle East and Africa) and C suite positions with some of the largest Global insurance companies. He is also the Chairman of the DIFC Insurance Association, a community of professionals committed to shaping a prosperous and sustainable insurance market in the DIFC, UAE and beyond.

Arjun Mittal was born in Zambia, went to boarding school (Haileybury College) in the UK from the age of 11, and studied at the London School of Economics obtaining both a BSc in Economics (1995) and a MSc in Economics & Philosophy (1996). After graduating from LSE, he worked in London for 7 years and then moved to Dubai in 2003 with his then employer American Express Bank. Arjun has made Dubai his home for the last 18 years, raising two children with his wife Nidhi, and enjoying a successful career in banking. The LinkedIn profile below shows Arjun’s timeline in Dubai in detail. He worked with American Express Bank from 2003-2008, culminating in a senior role as Team Leader. He then moved to Bank Sarasin as a Managing Director, which later became Bank Safra Sarasin (2012), and helped build the company into one of DIFC’s most successful wealth management providers. Arjun’s last position was as Deputy CEO for Bank J Safra Sarasin Asset Management. He decided to resign from the bank in November 2020 and pursue his passion and ambition to establish a high quality Multi Family Office in Dubai.

Joining Credit Suisse in 1998 as an analyst, Philipp Piaz commenced his comprehensive career in private banking and wealth management. During his time at Credit Suisse, Philipp held a number of senior roles, relocating from Zürich to Singapore in 2001 to undertake Thailand Private Client Business Development in his role as Vice President. In 2004, Philipp joined the senior management of Deutsche Bank AG, with whom he was affiliated for 5 years. In his role as Director, Philipp was responsible for the development of Deutsche Bank’s Thai Private Client Business. In 2009, he became Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Finaport, overseeing the expansion of the firm's Asian operations. Philipp is a founding member of the Association of Independent Asset Managers (AIAM) in Singapore, and was appointed President of the AIAM in 2018. Philipp undertook Elementary Studies of Economics and Law at University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Tim Denton is a qualified Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) and is the Head of Wealth Structuring for Habib Bank AG Zurich, based in Dubai. Tim has over 20 years of experience in structuring wealth for private banking clients and has lived in Dubai for 18 years. Tim has previously worked for Citi, Barclays and Emirates NBD private banks, as well as being a former chairman (and current committee member) of the Middle East branch of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP Arabia).

Dominic Volek is Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners and a member of the Executive Committee. Originally from South Africa, he now spends his time between London, Dubai, and Singapore as a private client specialist in residence and citizenship planning and provides advice to ultra-high-net-worth individuals and their families across the globe. His work targets countries that are deemed most attractive to wealthy individuals in terms of mobility, security, privacy, personal tax, estate planning, and lifestyle. He is also a member of the firm’s Government Advisory practice, providing strategic advice to governments on the design, implementation, and promotion of successful investment migration programs. Dominic is a certified Chartered Accountant CA (SA), holding both a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting with Honors and Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communication. Prior to joining Henley & Partners, Dominic had a successful career as part of the Senior Management team in one of the big four accounting and advisory firms in Singapore, South Africa, and the USA. Dominic is frequently sought after as a speaker and thought leader on residence and citizenship planning, and he regularly provides commentary on the Henley Passport Index. He has been interviewed by top-tier media such as BBC, Quartz, and Bloomberg.

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.

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.

Ismael Hajjar is a UAE based partner specialising in international tax & wealth structuring, family office and private capital advisory. He started his career in Europe and has been serving international families for over 16 years. He relocated to the UAE in 2013 and is currently acting as a trusted advisor to a number of successful families across the Middle East region. He is leading PwC Tax and Legal service offering to private clients, entrepreneurial & royal families and family offices in helping them understand and manage their global affairs, overcome cross-border tax challenges and identify opportunities to achieve their family and business objectives. Prior to joining PwC, Ismael was acting as head of Private for another big four firm and was responsible for the design and execution of the overall firm strategy for private companies and their owners across all service lines. He also founded and led their MENA family enterprise and family office award-winning consulting practice which specialises in assisting successful families, entrepreneurs, and family offices across MENA at managing risks, preserving and growing wealth. Ismael has contributed to building and currently serves Family Offices. He is a regular speaker in the Middle East and beyond on topics such as family business and private wealth institutionalisation, global tax transparency, succession planning, governance and the role of the family office. Ismael holds a Master Degree in Business Administration, HEC-Ulg School of Management (Belgium) and is a certified chartered accountant in Luxembourg (“expert-comptable”). He also holds an Islamic finance qualification, Institute of Islamic Banking & Insurance (UK). He is a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) and holds a Certificate in Family Business Advising (CFBA, Family Firm Institute).

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.

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.