Roy Saunders

Founder and Chairman, IBSA

Since qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 1967, Roy Saunders has accumulated a wealth of commercial experience working independently in commercial property, international tax, advertising and other industries. He is the Chairman of IFS, a boutique international tax practice based in central London. Academically, he is known throughout the world for his many books and publications, the foremost being his red book, International Tax Systems & Planning Techniques published by Sweet & Maxwell. Roy has also taught an MA Course on International Taxation at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies at the University of London.

Roy is very proud of the fascinating client base of entrepreneurial individuals that he has built up at IFS. He feels strongly about the role that ethical tax structuring plays in the growth of an economy, and that this needs to be better understood by the public at large. Roy founded the IBSA to enable business professionals around the world to discover new business relationships and promote best practice by creating sustainable business structures compliant with international transparency, corporate governance and social responsibility.

Philip Baker KC, OBE

Field Court Tax Chambers

Philip Baker KC joined Chambers in 1987, having been a full-time lecturer in law at London University from 1979 until then. He has maintained some links with academia, and is now a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London.  He took silk in 2002.

He specialises primarily in international aspects of taxation, which covers both corporate and private client matters. He has a particular interest in taxation and the European Convention on Human Rights, and is the author of a book on Double Taxation Conventions.  He has appeared in cases before courts and tribunals at virtually every level from the Special Commissioners (now the Tax Tribunal) to the House of Lords, Privy Council and European Court of Justice.

He is a former member of the Council of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, and remains a member of several committees of the CIOT and of the International Tax Sub-Committee of the Law Society.  He is a member of the UK Committee of the International Fiscal Association and a member of the Permanent Scientific Committee of IFA.

He is married with twin sons and a younger daughter.  His children are now too old for bedtime stories, but his ambition is to get home each night in time to prise them away from various screens and get them to bed.
In 1997 he was awarded an OBE for work with Chinese political refugees in the UK.

Aliasghar Kanani

Tax Partner, LE/AX Avocats

Aliasghar Kanani is a tax partner with LE/AX. His favorite field of activity is Swiss and International corporate tax law, which covers varied topics, such as international tax planning for multinationals and SMEs, group and financial restructurings. He also advises high net worth individuals on Swiss and international tax planning aspects, as well as non-profit organizations.

Following his graduation in Swiss Law, he obtained a Master of Advanced Studies in business law (MBL). In order to complete this Master degree, he wrote a thesis on “Merger and its tax treatment”. He completed an LL.M. in International Taxation, during which he specialized in Swiss and International Business taxation and wrote a thesis on “IP restructurings”.

Aliasghar Kanani teaches corporate taxation at the High School Arc, Bachelor in Business Law www.he-arc.ch/gestion/bachelor/droit-economique/, member of the University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland (HES-SO), as well as at the CAS in taxation of SMEs at the University of Neuchâtel, Law Faculty www.unine.ch/droit/home/formations/formation_continue/cas-en-fiscalite-des-pme.html. In addition, he is a regular speaker at the University of Lausanne, for WEKA Business Media AG and various organizations of which he is an active member. He is also the author of various publications on tax law, in particular in specialized magazines such as Tax News International (TNI) in the USA and for various professional associations.

He has been an active member of the Tax Law Commission of the Association International of Youngs Lawyers (AIJA, www.aija.org), for which he has been the annual national reporter since 2009. He received the Past President Award for his 2009 national report on "Thin capitalization regulations and similar tax limitations on leveraged buy-outs". Finally, he is a member of the International Tax Specialist Group (www.itsgnetwork.com), the International Business Structuring Association (www.theibsa.org) and the Private Client Dining Club (www.pcd.club), as well as the Geneva Bar Association (www.odage.ch) and the International Bar Association (www.ibanet.org). Aliasghar Kanani is fluent in French, English, Hindi/Urdu and Gujarati.

Liz Palmer

Partner, Head of Private Client and Family, Howard Kennedy

Liz advises a variety of clients about the establishment and structuring of trusts for the effective devolution of family wealth and tax mitigation. She has particular expertise acting for non-UK resident/domiciled individuals and specialises in the creation of off shore trusts and complex asset structuring for high net worth individuals.

Liz deals with all forms of inheritance tax and capital gains tax planning and also advises on wills and estate planning particularly for clients with interests and connections with the USA.

Liz is dual qualified being a solicitor and Chartered Tax Adviser (member of Chartered Institute of Taxation).

John Hull

Partner, Beck Greener

John Hull is a partner at Beck Greener. He has over 15 years’ experience as a patent attorney, helping clients to protect inventions, designs and other intellectual property, working mainly in the chemical sector. His practice focuses on the specialist areas of polymers, catalysts, medical devices and scientific instrumentation.

He has also advised extensively on pharmaceuticals, chemical engineering, packaging and mechanical devices.

As well as prosecuting cases at the European and UK Patent Offices for a variety of multinational corporations, John has comprehensive experience of handling oppositions and appeals at the European Patent Office, with a high success rate. 

John has passed the Intellectual Property Litigation and Advocacy course providing him with enhanced rights to conduct IP litigation in the UK courts and has recently run a case before the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court.

John enjoys representing small and medium-sized UK companies, working closely with clients from early stage development right through to product launch. John has considerable experience and understanding of inventors and bringing new inventions to market including assignments and licensing.

Graham Wakerley

CEO, Missing the Linq

Graham Wakerley is the founder of Missing the Linq, a technology firm which specialises in helping businesses connect strategy to delivery and people to technology.

Having spent the last 25 years working in the IT industry developing, deploying and supporting information management systems for large, medium and small organisations, Graham's skill set is varied and experience wide. 

Graham is a senior executive with a strong track record of delivering software and services across large scale projects in different sectors, leading technological change and driving innovation to facilitate business change and maximising growth.

Graham is a dynamic leader known for quickly identifying solutions to problems, resolving technical issues and creating marketing leading products and services. He now specialises in Corporate and IT Governance writing and consulting about Information Security, Data Protection, Business Continuity with an emphasis on making it simple.

Combining his knowledge of information management with security and protection gives Graham a unique insight into the demands placed on systems and organisations to protect data as well as share information in a structured and easily consumed manner. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Applied Chemistry and a master’s degree in Information Technology.

Amy Lazenby

Investment Director, Close Brothers

Amy is an Investment Director at Close Brothers Asset Management, Head of Discretionary Management Service and a key member of the Multi Asset Class (MAC) Committee investment team deciding our house asset allocation. Amy runs many different risk rated portfolios as well as some of the firm’s largest individual mandates, trusts, charities and socially responsible investment portfolios. 

Prior to joining Close at the beginning of 2013, Amy was a founding partner of a private client discretionary investment management business which she ran for 10 years before selling her 45% share to her co-founder. 

Amy is a Chartered Wealth Manager and a Fellow of the Securities Institute. She sits on the editorial panel for the Securities and Investment Review and for 9 years sat on the committee for the Wealth Management Forum organising bimonthly events. She also acts as a mentor in the 30% Club Cross Company Mentoring Scheme.

Filippo Noseda

Partner at Mishcon de Reya LLPs

Filippo is a Partner in Mishcon Private. A dual qualified English solicitor and Swiss lawyer (Rechtsanwalt) he advises clients on international tax and estate planning issues. Able to approach both common law and civil law issues from a practical perspective, he routinely advises on the establishment and restructuring of both trusts and foundations as well as on UK and international tax and succession planning issues, including family governance and disputes. Filippo has also advised a number of governments on the introduction of private foundations' laws and successfully lobbied the Swiss government on the recognition of trusts in 2007 (various amendments to ratification bill).

More recently, he appeared as an expert before the Council of Europe and the EU data protection authorities in connection with the introduction of the OECD's Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and the EU's Beneficial Ownership Registers.

Filippo is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law.

A keen lecturer and avid commentator, he is rated as a leading individual in Legal 500, a Top Recommended Tax Lawyer by Spear's Magazine and as one of the UK Top Influential Private Client Lawyers by ePrivateclient.  Legal 500 praises his "tremendous reputation" and "broad range of expertise" whilst Chambers & Partners says that he is a "major figure in co-ordinating cross-border European issues. He has got a unique character, is great fun and injects a light-hearted approach to a complex area while being very technically able."

Thomas Prock

Partner, Marks & Clerk

Thomas advises clients in the high tech field, in particular, the electronics sector on internet related subject matter and computer-implemented inventions. Thomas is moreover active in protecting inventions in the Cleantech and medical device field.

He has worked on patent applications relating to non-volatile semiconductor storage devices, data processing and exchange, mobile telecommunications, smart grid related inventions, waste reduction and medical imaging, to name a few. Thomas also has experience in contentious related matters, including European oppositions and litigation.

Thomas graduated with a Diploma in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Applied Science in Ulm (Germany) and went on to obtain his PhD from the Institute of Cancer Research, where he investigated the interaction between radio frequency electromagnetic fields and conducting tissue, with particular emphasis on its application to the design of phased array resonators.

Having qualified as a Chartered (UK) and European Patent Attorney in 2007, in 2014 Thomas became one of the few professionals to also qualify as a Patentanwalt (German Patent Attorney).

Chris McLeod

Partner, Elkington & Fife

Chris McLeod is a registered trade mark attorney and an authorised representative at OHIM, with over 25 years’ experience in the field of trade marks, designs and copyright.  He was the president of ITMA, the UK Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys, and has been active in ITMA for over 15 years.  He has extensive experience of managing large trade mark and registered design portfolios in many sectors, including fashion, sports, healthcare, publishing, foodstuffs and beverages and has represented numerous charity clients on a pro bono basis.  Chris is a regular conference speaker on IP issues and a frequent press, radio and TV commentator on trade marks and related matters.

Hazem Danny Al-Nakib

Partner, 7BC Venture Capital

Hazem Danny Al Nakib is a fintech and regulatory expert and sits on the advisory boards of multiple companies leveraging blockchain, DLT, and AI particularly in the financial sector. Mr. Nakib is also a partner at the venture capital firm 7BC, the founder of several incubators and think tanks which link the private and public sector with the aim of implementing new emerging technology solutions and supporting early-stage venture creation. 

Mr. Nakib also advises several multinational organizations and governments on how to understand, leverage and use blockchain, AI, digital assets and other emerging technology related projects at scale through new business models to benefit their organizations and society as part of their digitalisation and digital strategic to both unlock and capture value. 

Robert Kiggins

Partner, Culhane Meadows

Robert J. Kiggins is a member of Culhane Meadows' Corporate & General Business and Taxation groups. After 30 years of practice, he has gained extensive experience in corporate finance and tax matters, securities broker-dealers, investment advisors, investment companies, life insurance companies, hedge funds, medical practice purchases and sales, insurance agencies and bank expansion into insurance and securities fields. His focus is on helping organize start-up companies. Robert also represents a number of closely held businesses in such industries as medicine, dentistry, hospitality, direct mail monitoring and list protection, computer software, insurance agency, securities brokerage, and investment management. He is especially familiar with the regulations and compliance imposed on securities broker-dealers, investment advisors, insurance companies and insurance agencies.

Dmitry Zapol

Tax Advisor, IFS Consultants

Dmitry Zapol is an international tax advisor with practical knowledge of the principles of individual and corporate international taxation and cross-border business planning. He joined IFS in September 2010 after earning his LLM (Tax) degree at King’s College, London. Five years prior to this, Dmitry earned his LLB at Durham University and completed an LPC at the College of Law. Dmitry is a qualified Russian lawyer — he came to the UK from Moscow, where for five years he worked as an associate at Moscow City Bar Association "Barshchevsky & Partners". Dmitry specialised in advising foreign investors exploring opportunities in Russia on corporate tax implications together with Russian and cross-border tax planning. Dmitry holds the Advanced Diploma in International Tax and is studying to become a CTA.

Omleen Ajimal

International Tax lawyer

Omleen was formerly Director of International Tax in the Tax Strategy & Benefits group at Squire Patton Boggs, a global law firm.

She has extensive experience, from over 14 years of practice, in prominent City firms, of a very wide range of cross-border corporate, real estate, funds and financing tax issues and structures.  She has worked with FTSE 100 companies, Fortune 100 companies and major international banks, funds and financial institutions. She has vast experience advising financial institutions on international tax structuring, compliance and risk management, in the context of recent intergovernmental, EU and OECD initiatives on international tax transparency and exchange of information.

Over a number of years, she has advised members of the UK House of Lords and several UK Government departments on various matters relating to international business.  She is regularly invited to travel abroad with high-profile UK Government business delegations.  She has also been involved in consultations on a number of EU-wide and OECD-level international initiatives. She is regularly invited to speak at high-profile conferences and events. She has also written for journals and books, on issues relating to corporate tax, international tax and international business relations.

London Mozart Players

How does an orchestra play without a conductor? How does the leader direct a group of world-class musicians to produce extraordinary results?

As a self-directed team of highly talented individuals, the LMP acts as a strong metaphor for businesses of all types, and holds up a mirror to many of the leadership and teamwork issues that exist throughout other organisations.

LMP’s leadership initiative Podium is an interactive event that focuses on the dynamics of this orchestra at work, and, in particular, interactions between the leader and members of the ensemble. 

Samiul Hussain

Digital Engagement Manager, Barclays

Samiul has worked for Barclays for close to 10 years in various different roles.  He currently work as an Digital Engagement Manager for Business Banking in London, Hertfordshire and Essex.  His role is to support SMEs In my community adopt digital tools that may help grow and protect their business.  Cyber Security awareness is a big priority currently, as SMEs continue to be targeted with sinister social engineering techniques.

Julian Pike

Partner, Farrer & Co

Julian heads Farrer & Co's Reputation Management practice.  He has more than 20 years' experience of advising high profile individuals, corporations and institutions who find themselves the subject of attention, whether from mainstream media, online attacks or campaigning/obsessed individuals.

Often Julian will work with public relations advisers, in-house and external, to achieve the best outcomes. This recognises that the law has its limitations, but also that there is a need to take account of the client's long term business and strategic interests, as well as dealing with immediate issue.  Having also represented major UK media organisations throughout his career, Julian knows the "art of the possible" and how best this is achieved.

David Kinch

Partner, Edwin Coe

David qualified as a solicitor in 1986 and joined Edwin Coe’s Corporate & Commercial team in 1999. He has wide experience in acting for corporate and individual clients in relation to commercial transactions including mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganisations, fund raising and debt financing. He has advised many overseas companies on their European investment strategies whether by way of outright acquisition, joint ventures or start-ups.

In addition, David provides general corporate and commercial advice on joint ventures and shareholder agreements and on directors’ duties and liabilities. His clients include owner-managed businesses, public and multinational companies and banks.

Cees-Frans Greeven

Partner at BUREN / BUREN Avocats S.a.r.l.

Cees-Frans Greeven, attorney and tax lawyer, focuses on advising clients on the Dutch and Luxembourg aspects of corporate and PEVC transactions, including spin-offs, international restructurings and corporate joint ventures. Cees-Frans also works with institutional and private clients on issues related to investment management. Admitted to the Amsterdam Bar, a member of the Dutch Bar of Tax Advisors, IFA and serving on the Tax Committee of the IBA. Admitted to practice in Luxembourg (Liste IV).

Cees-Frans Greeven is "extremely experienced, very structured and efficient, and very reliable," according to commentators. He is noted for his expertise in investment fund formation and tax aspects of financial transactions." Chambers and Partners 2016

David Gubbay

Partner, Farrer & Co

Corporate tax expert David Gubbay works across the firm's sectors to help clients through some of the most complex issues they face. He is known for his considered style allied with a grounded pragmatic manner.

Corporate tax expert David Gubbay works across the firm's sectors to help clients through some of the most complex issues they face. He is known for his considered style allied with a grounded pragmatic manner.

David has been practising for over 25 years and has a broad base of experience, falling into three areas.

His corporate tax practice covers all aspects of mergers, acquisitions, disposal, joint ventures, demergers, flotations, re-organisations, capital raising and private equity. The work he does is often international, advising non-UK corporates and funds active in the UK and Europe, and advising clients on the appropriate structures for overseas acquisitions and holding entities in conjunction with other advisers. He also advises individuals selling their companies and businesses, giving advice on entrepreneurs relief, rollover and tax clearances plus new investment structures.

His investment fund work sees him advising both fund managers and funds including the establishment of open and closed-ended offshore funds and onshore funds and investment trusts, the merger and reorganisation of offshore and onshore funds, private equity and property fund work. This includes setting up tax efficient structures for onshore managers and owners, many of whom are non-doms, the use of LLPs and the use of offshore manager structures.

The third part of David’s work portfolio is a mix of real estate, finance and employment and incentive tax work. The real estate work includes property acquisitions, development projects and real estate finance work, including for non-UK purchasers and charities, VAT and stamp duty land tax planning and property fund structures. He advises on a variety of incentive schemes, including EMI and growth share plans, and on the tax issues relating to the commencement and termination of employment, and related employment related securities issues.

George Morris

Partner, Simmons & Simmons, UK

George is a Partner at Simmons & Simmons, specialising in technology, regulatory and contractual issues.  George joined Simmons & Simmons in 2007 and since then has worked for a wide variety of clients from large major international financial institutions, tech, media and telecoms companies, all the way to FinTech and other technology start-ups. 

For the last three years, George has focussed in particular on the developing world of distributed ledger technology, and has advised a number of organisations, large and small, on the implementation of DLT into existing and new business lines and on the establishment of consortia for the development of DLT amongst competitors.   Key issues which George is experienced in advising on in the DLT context include contractual finality (particularly on the context of “smart contracts”), confidentiality, establishment of transaction participants and contractual relationships between them.

George also specialises in digital currencies and the legal and regulatory issues surrounding these, and has advised digital currency exchanges, brokers and other market participants on the establishment and operation of their businesses, regulatory issues surrounding the trading and holding of digital currencies, and on cross-border legal risks inherent in the operation of digital currencies.