The Fourteenth WealthBriefing European Awards 2026

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 Financial Services’ industry and has held senior positions in the Wealth Management sector as Operations Director for Schroders Private Bank and Head of Product Development for State Street's Wealth Manager Services division. In addition, he has worked at The Bank of New York
where he managed their enterprise level global banking relationships and at Citisoft Consultants where he was Head of European Business Development.

Steve is a regular keynote speaker at Wealth Management events and is often quoted in the press. He also serves on the judging panel for a number of prestigious industry awards covering the UK, Channel Islands and Switzerland and has been included in the Top 100 Most Influential People in Service Provision for Alternative
Investment Firms for the past 3 years.

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

James Fleming has enjoyed a long career in banking and finance. He is currently a Non-Executive Director and adviser to several small companies across the Wealth Management, Debt Advisory and Commercial Real Estate sectors. Previously James was Head of International Private Banking at Coutts & Co and then Chief Executive and Vice Chairman of Arbuthnot Latham & Co Limited.

More recently, he was Chief Executive of Sandaire, the Multi-Family Investment Office that was sold to Schroders in December 2020. James started his career with Hambros Bank.

Elizabeth Hart ACIB, TEP, MSID

Elizabeth has dedicated her entire career, of over 30 years, to advising private clients and provides holistic

advice on wealth preservation, succession planning & family wellness.

Elizabeth is the CEO & Founder of Legacy Wealth Advisors Pte Ltd which provides independent succession

planning and investment services to support families to ensure a smooth transition of wealth to the next

generation. Legacy Wealth Advisors was awarded Independent Wealth Manager, South East Asia at the

WealthBriefingAsia Awards 2024 and Most Promising New Entrant at the WealthBriefingAsia Awards 2022.

Elizabeth is also Managing Director of The Life Academy Pte Ltd, which provides bespoke family wellness

programs and empowerment coaching to ensure harmony through generations and to prepare the next

generation for being future wealth owners.

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.

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. Elizabeth has

been covering Asia & Australia for over 20 years. The industry awarded Elizabeth Banker of the Year in

2000.

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. Elizabeth sits on the judging panel for the

Financial Times/PWM Global Private Banking Awards and the WealthBriefing Awards and is an Ambassador

for WealthiHer and Ladies Finance Club.

Martin heads the Schroder Wealth Management (US) team specialising in international wealth management for US clients residing in the US, UK and elsewhere. Prior to joining Schroders, Martin was managing director and head of Americas at the Royal Bank of Canada Wealth Management International in London, and before that head of private wealth management at Kleinwort Benson. A stockbroker by training, Martin has over 30 years’ experience in advising clients and working in partnership with clients’ other professional advisors. He is also a Registered Investment Advisor with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and sits on the expert panel for the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Mark Hussein is the UK 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. 

Anne is Founder of the online platform AW❖UNITED KINGDOM at americanswelcome.uk. AWUK introduces UK wealth managers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States and dedicated to providing UK-based wealth management services to US, Canadian, and Latin American citizens, residents, and expats. The platform also offers other wealth management-related services. In addition, Anne is the founder of award-winning AW✚SWITZERLAND at americanswelcome.swiss and AW●ASIA PACIFIC | MIDDLE EAST at americanswelcome.asia. She also provides US-oriented, digital, and traditional marketing, communication, and business development strategies through her agency, Americom.

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.

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

Robert is the Chief Commercial Officer at W1M, responsible for leading the firm’s client facing teams. He works closely with the heads of the different business units to ensure that their clients are receiving the very highest quality service, whilst constantly looking to improve the breadth and reach of what W1M offers.

Robert started with the firm in the US Family office at London & Capital where he was widely regarded as one of the leading experts in advising US-connected families, individuals and trusts. After being instrumental in building the US Family Office into a market leading service he then became Head of Private Clients at London & Capital. After the merger of London & Capital and Waverton Investment Management, Robert became Co-Head of the Private Client Group at the combined W1M business, with Rupert Elwes, before moving on to take on the Chief Commercial Officer role.

Robert has played a key role in developing and strengthening the firm’s client offerings across W1M. Between 2016 and 2025, he was named ‘Top Recommended’ for international clients in the Ultra High Net Worth Wealth Manager section of the Spear’s 500 index. He has also featured numerous times in PAM’s ‘Top 40 under 40’ and recognised as a ‘future leader’ by Citywealth.

Robert lives in Hampshire with his wife, three children and an array of disobedient animals.

Combining both an in-depth knowledge of marketing strategy and business development, Matthew has sat on senior management teams and led significant business growth. His deep experience with HNW/UHNW clients, knowledge of wealth management and expertise in marketing strategy to improve brand awareness, client experience and business development are extensive. Until recently he was Managing Director, Head of Business Development & Marketing at Close Brothers Asset Management having previously held senior management positions at Deutsche Bank, Coutts and Credit Suisse.

Philippe has over 30 years of leadership experience in the Banking and Financial Services’ industry and has held a variety of senior management roles in companies in Switzerland and abroad, having previously served as Country Manager, Sales and Marketing Manager, Chief Operating Officer, Chief financial Officer and Relationship Manager. His most recent role was Managing Director at Reyl Intesa Sanpaolo, based in Geneva. Philippe was in charge of the operations within the Asset Services business line and more specifically for the Fund Representation Solutions department. This service enables foreign fund managers to raise assets in Switzerland in full compliance with the local regulations.

He has thus acquired a wide range of experience that allows him to have a 360° vision of all business lines of an international banking group.

Both Swiss and Italian, Philippe is completely comfortable operating in multicultural and multilingual environments and holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a Marketing Manager diploma.

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.

Richard Thomas is the Global Head of Private Clients at Moneycorp.

Prior to joining Moneycorp, Richard was CEO of EFG Private Bank Ltd, London, EFG International’s wholly owned subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Richard Thomas worked at Barclays UK, where he last held the role of Chief Operating Officer, Savings, Wealth and Investments. He joined Barclays in 2008 and served as Chief Operating Officer UK Private Bank from 2015 to 2017 and Business Head London Region and Specialist Proposition UK from 2012 to 2015. Before that, he was a Managing Director and Team Leader UK. Prior to his career at Barclays, he held senior posts in the UK’s Ministry of Defence and held the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy.

Richard Thomas is a British citizen and was born in 1967. He holds a Sloan Fellowship MSc in Business Strategy and Leadership from London Business School as well as a MA in Defence Studies from King’s College London. He was awarded the MBE by Her Majesty the Queen in 2000 for his service abroad.

Mike is advisor to families, venture capital houses, start-up and growth business (as Board Adviser/NED). He is an investor, Co-Founder and formerly group chief operating officer of wealth manager and multi-family office Artorius. Mike was the architect behind the model that delivers a multi-jurisdictional client-centric wealth-planning proposition. Mike was previously a partner at accountancy firms RSM and Baker Tilly. Prior to this he has years’ experience in financial services and banking with KPMG, Santander and UK mutual societies. He also helped found a Saudi family office and managed a substantial private equity portfolio.

Bruce is a chartered accountant with over 37 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 a non-executive of a number of companies including Fidelity Holdings UK, The Wisdom Council, ComPeer, JDX Consulting and Ten Group.

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.