The Fifteenth WealthBriefing European Awards 2027

Ausaf Abbas founded Coombe Advisors to provide strategic, business and financial advice to a network of clients and associated businesses, with a focus on family offices, the wealth management industry and growth-oriented companies. Prior to that, Ausaf had a 25-year career at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, where he held various senior management positions in both investment banking and wealth management. His international experience includes 13 years based in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo, and extensive experience managing wealth businesses across the MENA region. His broad range of interests include acting as senior advisor to a real estate investment banking firm and serving as a director of SEO London and Tara Arts, two charities focused on education and Asian theatre.

Matthew is a partner and Head of the Private Wealth Team. He has an extensive private client practice and has specialist expertise in a number of areas. His particular expertise includes dealing with complex tax planning, trust and estate issues for both UK and international high net worth individuals and trustees. Matthew deals with complex high-level estate and succession planning with particular emphasis on entrepreneurial clients and family businesses. Furthermore, he has developed a strong contentious probate, trust and disputed wills practice.

Worthy of particular note, Matthew is registered as a will draftsman in the Dubai International Financial Centre’s (DIFC) Wills and Probate Registry where he is authorised to draft and advise on the production of DIFC compliant wills.  Matthew was the first non-Dubai based solicitor to be awarded this title.

Matthew offers pragmatic, practical and personable advice. He is consistently praised by clients and intermediaries for his care and attention and excellent advice. Matthew is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

  Pierre is Managing Partner at WIZE by TeamWork, the all-in-one Wealth & Asset Management solution, which is one of the fastest growing WealthTech companies in Switzerland dedicated to External Asset Managers, Family Offices, Pension Funds, Fund Managers, Securities Firms and Banks.

He brings the judges panel an extensive banking operations & IT expertise acquired in his current role since 2020 but also during the 9 previous years while heading business development of Bank Lombard Odier global custody & reporting services which he joined after 10 years as Private Banking Client Executive at IBM Geneva.

Both Swiss and Belgian, used to work in multi-cultural and multilingual environments, his motivation has been during his whole career to understanding customer's pains, translating those to experts who are able to solve them and setting the right level of expectations on both sides.

Steve is a founding director of Investment & Wealth Management Consultants (“IAWMC”) who provide a full spectrum of consulting services, from strategic advice through to delivery for wealth managers, private banks, family offices, asset managers, software vendors and service providers.

Steve has over 30 years’ experience in the wealth and asset management industry gained at Schroders Private Bank, C Hoare & Co, State Street, Bank of New York and management consulting firms. A dynamic, pragmatic and innovative person with the ability to operate at any level up to and including Board level. An excellent communicator with first-rate people management skills and a proven track record of delivering results. Operated as a member of the senior management team in a number of organisations.

Steve is a regular keynote speaker at financial services’ events and is often quoted in the press. He also serves on the judging panel for a number of prestigious wealth management industry awards covering the UK, Channel Islands and Switzerland.

By utilising his extensive network of contacts, Steve is also able to add value to start-up and scale-up Fintech companies and private equity organisations.

Elizabeth has dedicated her entire career, of over 30 years, to advising private clients and provides holistic independent advice to global families on wealth preservation, succession planning & family wellness. Elizabeth is the CEO & Founder of Legacy Wealth Advisors Pte Ltd, an award-winning independent private office, headquartered in Singapore, that bridges the gap between financial returns and family harmony.

Legacy Wealth Advisors was awarded Independent Wealth Manager, South East Asia at the WealthBriefing Awards 2024 and Most Promising New Entrant at the WealthBriefing Awards 2022. The industry awarded Elizabeth Banker of the Year in 2000 and Thought Leadership in Wealth management at the WealthBriefingAsia Awards 2026.

Elizabeth is an independent non-executive director of British & Malayan Holdings Ltd, an SGX listed company established since 1924 and a pioneering member of the Singapore Stock Exchange. Elizabeth sits on the judging panel of the Financial Times PWM Global Private Banking Awards, the WealthBriefingAsia Awards and the WealthBriefing European Awards. She is also an Ambassador for WealthiHer and Ladies Finance Club.

Elizabeth is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, a member of the Singapore Institute of Directors. Previously, Elizabeth has held senior managerial positions including Managing Director, Head of South East Asia, Rothschild Wealth Management and Director, Rothschild Trust for 12 years until 2016.

Martin heads the US private wealth team for Schroders Wealth Management, where he specialises in advising US-connected clients across the US, UK and other jurisdictions on complex wealth and investment management matters. A stockbroker by training, he brings over 25 years’ experience in growing and preserving client wealth through stock market investments, working closely alongside clients’ professional advisers.

Prior to Schroders, Martin held senior leadership roles including Head of Americas at RBC Wealth Management International in London and Head of Private Wealth Management at Kleinwort Benson. Earlier in his career, he was an investment manager at James Capel & Co and later joined the board of BZW Portfolio Management where he played a key role in its evolution into Barclays Private Bank.

Martin attended IMD in Lausanne and is a Chartered Fellow with the CISI. He is CeMAP qualified, holds the FINRA Uniform Investment Advisor Law qualification and is a Registered Investment Advisor with the SEC.

Mark Hussein is the UK CEO of Chesnara Life, after the sale of HSBC Life to Chesnara PLC. He was formerly the CEO of HSBC Life and Head of UK Insurance at HSBC. Mark has spent more than two decades in a variety of financial services roles, with the majority working for HSBC Group. He was appointed CEO, HSBC Life (UK), and Head of UK Insurance in November 2015. He is responsible for the Life manufacturing business and General Insurance Partnerships across HSBC, First Direct and M&S Bank.

Between two tenures at HSBC, Mark spent three years with Kleinwort Benson as Head of Private Wealth Management UK and the Channel Islands. This gave him responsibility for both Private Banking and Private Fiduciary Services in the UK, Channel Islands and Internationally. He was a member of the Kleinwort Benson group regional executive committee and sat on the board of Kleinwort Benson Trustees.

Sean is the Founder and CEO of Greengage. He has extensive experience in financial services, having worked in various executive management positions. He founded Greengage after working at the first bank in the world to offer crypto products to clients, Falcon Private Bank, where he served as the COO and Interim CEO of the London operation until leaving to establish Greengage.  

 Prior to that he held management positions at Clariden Leu, a division of Credit Suisse, and Zurich Financial Services. Mr Kiernan has an MBA from the University of St. Gallen and a BSc from Georgetown University. 

Rob Lowe is Market Head for Pictet Asset Services in London. He joined Pictet in 2017 as Head of UK Business Development to support the growth and development of Pictet’s Asset Servicing franchise.

Previously, Rob worked at Standard Chartered for 6 years in leadership positions across the Middle East, Luxembourg and the UK; his last role being Chairman and Global Head of Investments for the group’s Trust and Fiduciary business.

Rob’s has spent 3 decades in the financial services industry, gaining a broad range of experience working for hedge funds, private banks and custodians since 1995.

Keith has been a partner advising financial services firms for over 35 years, leading businesses for EY, CapGemini and Capco.  He led EY’s Wealth Management and Private Banking business for over 10 years and continues to advise organisations in this sector.  He is currently advising a range of fintechs and other start/scale ups on strategy, distribution, partnerships and funding.  He is also a trustee and adviser to several philanthropic and charity bodies.

Gail McCourt is Head of RBC International Trusts for RBC Wealth Management’s trust and fiduciary business.

Based in Jersey, Gail is responsible for the award-winning Fiduciary Management and Technical Trust team, providing solutions to help clients preserve their wealth and create a meaningful legacy. She is a member of the RBC Wealth Management Europe Executive Committee, Chair of the PCFS Management Committee, and sits on a number of boards.

Gail joined RBC in 2003 and has held roles including Head of Marketing, Head of Client Experience and Head of Fiduciary Management. She was recognised as one of eprivateclient’s 50 Most Influential in 2023. She is also an active advocate of diversity and inclusion, and in 2018 was recognised by mental health charity Mind, winning its Senior Leader Award in celebration of her commitment to driving a healthy, inclusive and respectful workplace culture.

Gail holds the Institute of Directors Diploma in Company Direction, the ICA International Diploma in Anti-Money Laundering, and the Investment Management Certificate from the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment. She also holds a BA (Hons) and Masters in Applied Languages for Business.

Outside of work, Gail enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters.

Antoine is Head of Business developement of Taranis, a swiss asset management firm. He spent 14 years at UBP in London. He started his career there in 2007 in Hedge Fund advisory and moved to Private Banking in 2010. Antoine developped a strong network amongst family offices, HNWI and EAM.
He holds a Master in Finance and Econometrics from University Paris Pantheon Assas (Paris II)

Mark is a Partner in Aon’s Human Capital practice, leading the management and development of key clients in
Financial Services sector across UK and EMEA.

Leveraging insight from Aon’s unrivalled proprietary data sets, key topics cover Workforce Analytics, RM/Adviser
Productivity gains, Total Rewards Strategy, Skills Based Organisations and Human Capital M&A.

He has over twenty five years’ experience in the Financial Services industry, focused on the Banking and Wealth
Management sectors, both as a consultant and in senior banking leadership roles.

Mark holds a Masters (MEng) from St John's College, Cambridge University

Philippe brings more than 30 years of entrepreneurship and leadership experience in the financial industry, having held a wide range of senior management positions in Switzerland and internationally. Throughout his career, he has served as Country
Manager, Sales and Marketing Manager, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Relationship Manager.

Most recently, Philippe was Managing Director at REYL Intesa Sanpaolo in Geneva, where he was responsible for operations within the Asset Services business line, with a particular focus on Fund Representation Solutions. He has now founded his own
consultancy company Philippe Steffen Consulting in Geneva.

Over the course of his career, Philippe has developed extensive expertise across the full spectrum of banking activities, providing him with a comprehensive 360-degree understanding of the operations and strategic challenges of international banking
groups.

Holding both Swiss and Italian citizenship, Philippe is highly adept at operating in multicultural and multilingual environments. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration as well as in Marketing Management.

Billy is a headhunter and the Chief Executive of Stephenson Executive Search (SES), a multi-award-winning executive search firm focusing on appointments in the financial services and legal sectors.

Billy focuses on C suite and senior appointments in the private banking, wealth management and family office sectors and works across management, investment, distribution and operational functions. He operates at board level and his clients include FTSE 100, FTSE 250, AIM listed and private companies. Billy is a former investment advisor, he is a Chartered Fellow of Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments, a Freeman of the City of London and serves on the board of a charity.

In 2021, SES was awarded Best Wealth Management Executive Search firm at the WealthBriefing Awards, Boutique Recruitment Specialist of the Year in the Innovation and Excellence awards and the company is part of the Race Fairness Commitment.

Kateryna Viy is the Founding Partner of META OCTAV GROUP SA, a Geneva-based advisory and corporate services firm, and META OCTAV GROUP (HK) LIMITED, a Hong Kong trustee company holding a trustee licence.

With over ten years of experience in the international corporate and trustee services sector, she specializes in wealth and estate planning, trust structures, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and cross-border advisory services. Through META OCTAV GROUP's Swiss and Hong Kong operations, Kateryna provides clients with comprehensive estate planning, asset protection, trust administration, and international wealth structuring solutions across two leading financial jurisdictions.

Bruce is a chartered accountant with over 40 years financial services experience, previously a partner in PwC, latterly as Global leader of their Wealth Management practice and the key driver of their bi-annual Wealth Management Report. Bruce is now CEO of Weatherill Consulting providing advice on client centricity and wider strategic matters to wealth managers. He is the author of The Value of Trust: the quest by Wealth Managers for Trusted Advisor status and a number of other thought leadership reports. Bruce is chairman of ClearView Financial Media and Ten Lifestyle Group Plc as well as a non-executive of a number of companies including , The Wisdom Council and ComPeer.

Ian is an experienced plural board and executive advisor to wealth managers ,technology providers and is part time Strategy Advisor to Multrees Investor Services. Through an innovative partnership approach, he helps craft market responsive strategies, navigate client, operational, technology and partner changes to optimise success.

He is recognised as a trusted advisor, having supported a range of firms as an independent advisor and as executive of major technology and business consulting brands. These include EY,IBM, PwC and Orbium ,a core banking software platform integrator, sold to Accenture in 2019, where he then held a European wealth industry business and technology transformation advisor role across key markets and clients until late 2023, when he became an independent plural board advisor.