Navigate the Complexity of Global Capital Deployment

James Williams

Editor-in-Chief at Private Equity Wire

James is an alternative Funds Investment expert, covering major developments in the Hedge, PE/RE and Private Debt markets for the last eight years.

He runs the editorial agenda for Hedgeweek and Private Equity Wire, producing myriad industry reports on the regulatory, technology, compliance and jurisdictional developments shaping the face of the hedge fund industry.

James also moderates webinars, produce and host events in London and New York as well as conduct research; all in the quest to foster debate and drive fresh insights on global industry dynamics.

Gilles Dusemon

Partner at Arendt & Medernach

Gilles Dusemon is a Partner in the Private Equity & Real Estate practice of Arendt & Medernach. He specialises in the formation of alternative investment funds (AIF). He is qualified in corporate and tax law matters with a special interest in private equity, venture capital, private debt, infrastructure, real estate funds and related acquisition structures.

He has been a member of the Luxembourg Bar since 1997.

Gilles Dusemon is actively involved with the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI). He serves as co-chairman of ALFI’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Working Group. He is also a founding member of LPEA, the Luxembourg Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, and is sitting on its Executive Board. He is also a member of the Legal & Regulatory Committee of Invest Europe (Brussels) and former chair (2019-2020).

He is a regular speaker at international seminars and conferences addressing fund structuring topics in particular.

Prior to joining Arendt & Medernach, he was a partner of the Benelux firm Loyens & Loeff, heading its Luxembourg investment management practice group. He started his career with Loeff, Claeys & Verbeke in 1996 in Luxembourg (which was later integrated into Allen & Overy) and served in Allen & Overy’s New York office from 2000 to 2001.

Gilles Dusemon holds a Master’s degree in business and tax law from the Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis (France), as well as an LL.M. in International Taxation from New York University (2000).

Languages: English, French, German, Italian and Luxembourgish.

Stéphane Pesch

CEO of the LPEA

After his role as the Director of Strategy, he became the CEO of the LPEA in September 2020. He has 15 years of experience in the investment funds industry, a great entrepreneurial spirit and a deep local network.

Stéphane is in charge of different LPEA Technical Committees and Clubs (Legal, Tax, Operations, VC and others), public advocacy, governance and the LPEA Academy. He loves education and not only is he a professor and mentor for many young talents in town, but also he has an irresistible desire to improve his own knowledge and skills.

Barbara Martin

Global Commercial Director of Funds at Intertrust Group

Joe Molloy

Presenter at Off The Ball

Radio and Television presenter. He is the host of “Off the Ball”, Ireland’s most popular sports radio show. Joe has been named National Sports Broadcaster of the Year on five occasions. He has attended and covered the 2012 Olympic Games, 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, numerous Ryder Cups and European Football Championships.

On television, Joe fronts the rugby coverage for Virgin Media Television, including the annual flagship Guinness Six Nations Rugby event. He also presents the long-running “Golf Weekly” podcast and has interviewed Padraig Harrington many times over the years.

Pádraig Harrington

Europe’s Ryder Cup Captain

After an amateur career including three Walker Cup appearances, Pádraig’s professional career began in 1995, when he secured his European Tour card, shortly before gaining his maiden tour victory at the 1996 Spanish Open after only 10 events as a professional.

In 1999 he fulfilled one of his career ambitions, qualifying for the European Ryder Cup team, thus beginning an association with the famous trophy that continues to the present day.

After achieving the European number one ranking and securing the Harry Vardon Trophy in 2006, the following year Pádraig won the Irish Open at Adare Manor, the first Irishman to win the national title for 25 years, emulating the victory of John O’Leary in 1982. A few months later he became the first European to win a Major Championship since 1999 and the first player from Ireland in 60 years since Fred Daly at Hoylake in 1947 to capture the Claret Jug, when he was victorious at the Open Championship at Carnoustie.

The following year he became the first European since James Braid in 1906 to successfully defend his title, retaining the Open Championship title at Royal Birkdale, becoming only the 16th player to defend The Open and the 24th player to record multiple Open victories. Only three weeks later, Pádraig won the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills, Michigan, in the process becoming the first European since Scotland’s Tommy Armour in 1930 to acquire back-to-back Major titles.

The three Major victories in the space of 13 months helped him to reach a career high of third in the World Rankings and earned him the European Tour, PGA Tour and PGA of America Player of the Year awards. In addition, he won the Golf Writers’ trophies on both sides of the Atlantic and the European Tour Shot of the Year.

With a career total of 30 victories around the world, Pádraig continues to compete at the elite level and has achieved the great distinction of been appointed Captain of the 2020 European Ryder Cup team, which will take place at Whistling Straits, Wisconsin, this coming September. As a player, he was a regular in the side for over a decade, winning on four occasions and has been a Vice-Captain for the last three Ryder Cups.

Born in Dublin, Padraig is a proud family man and is married to Caroline with two children, Patrick and Ciaran.

Devin Banerjee

Editor at Large at LinkedIn

Devin Banerjee is an editor at large at LinkedIn, covering business and leading finance coverage for its 756 million global members.

Banerjee was previously an editor and reporter at Bloomberg, where he covered investment management before overseeing coverage of M&A and the private equity industry. He’s an honours graduate of Stanford University and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Lucinda Creighton

CEO at Vulcan Consulting

Lucinda Creighton is a barrister, former European Minister (2011-2013), Council member of the European Council on Foreign Relations and a TD (Member of Parliament) Dáil Éireann (May 2007 – February 2016)

She possesses a unique blend of legal, regulatory, policy, media and political experience. She is an experienced political strategist and negotiator. As Minister for European Affairs, she represented Ireland in key negotiations on Ireland’s EU/IMF bailout, leading to a reduction in interest rates and the extension of Ireland’s repayment schedules. She has extensive knowledge of the domestic and EU bureaucratic infrastructure and regulatory systems.

During Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of European Union, Creighton led negotiations with 28 Member States on the €960 billion EU Budget, as well as representing the continent in bilateral trade discussions in the United States leading to the start of formal TTIP negotiations. During the 2013 Irish Presidency, Creighton played a significant role in agreeing key policies on EU banking union and economic governance of the EU between the European Council, Commission and the European Parliament.

Ian Lynch

Chief Commercial Officer at Intertrust Group

Ian has a track record of over 20 years in the alternative investment space. He joined Intertrust Group in 2019 as Chief Commercial Officer. Prior to that, he was at BNP Paribas Security Services where he was the Global Head of Alternative Investors and member of the company’s executive team. Since joining BNP in June 2015, he has successfully integrated the Credit Suisse Prime Fund Services business into BNP and created a scalable Alternatives franchise, delivering a multi-asset platform to support clients’ changing needs.

Prior to that, Ian was Global Head of Prime Fund Services at Credit Suisse for eight years, where he also simultaneously managed its Irish business. Ian has held several other executive positions with Citco and Citigroup.

Mike Rodwell

Reporter for HFM

Andrew O’Callaghan

Global Advisory Leader at PwC

Andrew has significant experience in the asset management industry in the US and Dublin and his clients include large US, UK and Japanese asset managers and their fund vehicles.

Andrew has been actively involved in the Dublin Funds Industry since 1995 and has assisted many of the leading global players structure products in Dublin.

Andrew has written and spoken widely on the challenges and opportunities facing the industry and currently specialises in providing performance improvement solutions to fund managers and service organisations.

Andrew is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, England and Wales and a member of the Marketing Committee of the Irish Funds Industry Association. Andrew is also Chairman of the Competitiveness Sub-Committee of the IFIA.

Maelle Lenaers

Head of Luxembourg AIFM at Intertrust Group

Maelle Lenaers holds a Master Degree in Law with First Class Honors from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. Before joining Intertrust Group in January 2017, Maelle was managing the Fund Legal Department of a renowned Japanese Bank and Senior Fund Counsel in the Legal Department of a major third-party Management Company in Luxembourg.

Maelle has extensive experience in advising global asset managers and fund promoters in structuring and setting up all types of Luxembourg investment vehicles, with a specific focus on Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and Northe American clients.

Maelle has created and launched Intertrust’s Luxembourg AIFM back in 2017 and is managing it since then. As Head of AIFM, she is leading the Luxembourg AIFM team, composed of legal counsels, portfolio managers, risks managers, valuation and compliance experts. As Conducting Officer in charge of Legal and Compliance, she handles regulatory and compliance matters relating to AIFs, in close collaboration with the Luxembourg Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF). Maelle also ensures ongoing coordination with clients and service providers. She is an active member of Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) marketing and distribution committee and a member of Association of Luxembourg Compliance Officers (ALCO).

A native French speaker, Maelle is also fluent in English.

Niamh Ryan

Partner at Simmons & Simmons

Niamh is a partner in the Asset Management and Investment Funds group at the Irish office of Simmons & Simmons.  Simmons & Simmons is a leading international law firm that has market-leading asset management practices in London, Dublin, Luxembourg, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Bejing, Singapore, New York (though alliance firm Seward & Kissel), among other cities.

Niamh has over 20 years’ experience working in the Irish funds industry,  advising promoters and asset managers on the  structuring and establishment of Irish funds pursuing various strategies in all types of structures from corporates to partnerships. Niamh has served on several industry committees over many years and spoken at numerous investment funds and regulatory conferences.

David Sarfas

Head of Private Capital at Intertrust Group

David Sarfas joined Intertrust Group in 2020 as Head of Private Capital. Located in New York, David is responsible for driving the growth of the Private Capital market in the Americas. Working across Global Product & Solutions sales, GRM and regional offices, David is supporting the development of new funds and private capital-related offerings, working closely with clients and prospects alike to grow the business.

David brings with him over 25 years of experience in financial functions, serving large multinational corporations and private equity firms with extensive financial, accounting and transaction experience. He joined Intertrust Group from MUFG Investor Services and has also previously held roles at EY and PwC.