14 - 15 March 2016 Conrad Hotel, Dubai, UAE
StatisticsAttract new partners and clients by delivering a speech on hot practical topic. Being a speaker at the conference is a unique chance to show your perspective connections the level of your knowledge and professionalism.
For information on how to become a speaker and what are our conditions please contact us at info@intax-group.com
The information about speakers will appear on this page upon confirmation.
You just won’t believe
whom I am going to meet!
Intax
Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Hanafin joined Arton as the Chief Executive Officer in January 2016. He brings to Arton over 20 years of proven leadership experience in global financial services focused on corporate structures, financial instruments, residency and citizenship planning, tax optimization and other services tailored for high net worth individuals. Before joining Arton, Mr. Hanafin spent 12 years with the Sovereign Group where he led the group’s expansion in the MENA region. He has been credited for developing the brand in the region, through opening of multiple regional offices and building the most productive and motivated sales team of the group. Mr. Hanafin is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments (CISI), the International Tax Planning Association (ITPA), maintains a number of international board positions and is a regular speaker at conferences around the world.
Arton Capital
United Arab Emirates
www.artoncapital.com
Managing Director
Mr. Jean-Luc Jourdan was born in 1959, Luxembourg Citizen, Master in Management Science studies and is founding partner of Global Management & Services Group a Luxembourg Trust and corporate services company.
Mr. Jourdan gained a large experience for 18 years in the banking sector and by managing a Stock Broker Company. He is today Chartered Accountant, Expert witnessed with the Luxembourg Court and President of GMS GROUP.
Mr. Jourdan created GMS GROUP in 1999 as a service group that could be generally defined as a family office group including Corporate Services, Tax Advisor, International Tax Planning, Corporate Finance Advisor, Chartered Accountant, Real Estate Advisor and Economical Advisor.
GMS GROUP and its partners serve an international client base, well diversified geographically and economically.
Global Management & Services Group
32, Avenue Monterey, L-2163 Luxembourg
Tel: +352 44 55 10 1
Mobile : +352 621 16 20 22
Email: jljourdan@gmslux.com
Stephen Balzan is the tax partner of ACT, heading the International Tax and Corporate Departments of the firm. ACT is a multi-disciplinary firm providing tax, advisory and corporate services.
He was actively involved in various committees in the fields of taxation and he has on a number of occasions lectured on topics related to international tax, both in Malta and overseas. Stephen continues to give various lectures and presentations and is the author of various articles on taxation.
He has extensive experience in advising HNWI to take up residence in Malta and to acquire Maltese Citizenship by Investment. He is an advisor to a number of clients in the set-up of complex cross-border structures through the use of Maltese limited liability companies. Main areas of interest include tax and international tax planning, capital gains and business development. Apart from his experience in international tax matters, including tax planning, treaty interpretation and advice, he also has a great deal of knowledge on corporate matters, company law, management, and administration. He specializes in treaty planning, holding companies and treasury and finance operations.
ACT Advisory Services Limited
Malta
www.act.com.mt
Managing Director
Vikrant is an Australian national with Indian domicile. His expertise are in the tax and estate planning field including corporate tax structures for international investments, investment holding structures for high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs and family offices and facilitating trade transactions.
Following his MBA from Melbourne Australia in 2007, Vikrant worked with National Australia Bank where he acquired his experience in banking in the Asia Pacific region before moving to Dubai. Since 2010, he has been focusing on proactively developing new methods and solutions for clients to minimize the impact of changing tax legislation.
In August 2013, Vikrant joined Amicorp Group’s Dubai office as a Senior Director – Business Development and has been successfully managing the growing Sales and Business Development Team in the region. In 2015 he was appointed Managing Director of the Dubai office.
Vikrant speaks English, Hindi and Marathi. In his spare time he enjoys, travelling, playing golf and cricket.
Amicorp Group
v.pangam@amicorp.com
+97143042900
United Arab Emirates
www.amicorp.com
Michael Fitzpatrick is a partner at Baker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP (“Baker Tilly”), the 12th largest CPA firm in the United States and the largest member of Baker Tilly International, the 8th largest worldwide network of accounting and consulting firms. With the firm since 2000, Mr. Fitzpatrick is a managing director of Baker Tilly Capital, LLC (“Baker Tilly Capital”), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Baker Tilly. Baker Tilly Capital is a broker-dealer firm registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
At Baker Tilly Capital Michael where he is a leader in the EB-5 and New Markets Tax Credits practice areas. Baker Tilly Capital is specifically approved by FINRA to offer EB-5 investments and works with EB-5 regional centers and migration agents to offer EB-5 investments that pass its diligence process to EB—5 investors seeking permanent US residency. He has overseen the closing of over $300 million of private placement investments and over $1 billion of new market tax credit investments. Mr. Fitzpatrick is a CPA, and holds FINRA Series 7, 63, 24, 28 and 79 securities licenses. He received his BBA in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Business at Northwestern University.
Baker Tilly Capital
United States
www.bakertillycapital.com
Arnaud Cywie is an attorney-at-law with Borel & Barbey in Geneva. He operates in the field of Swiss and international taxation (tax planning, trusts and foundations, lump sum taxation, restructuring, profit-sharing plans). He advises and represents private and institutional clients, both in negotiations with tax authorities and in litigation.
From an academic viewpoint, Arnaud Cywie graduated from the University of Lausanne (Bachelor in Law, BSc in economics, MLaw and economics) and received the 1st Prize of the Western Switzerland Association of Certified Tax Experts.
His recent English publications include the following ones:
A Win win plan – Switzerland and Oman recently signed an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation, bq Doha Magazine, Doha (Qatar) (2015).
Free Zones in the United Arab Emirates – Domestic and international tax issues, International Tax Review, with Jon Truby (2015).
Switzerland’s great allure beckons foreign investors, India Business Law Journal, with Gautam Khurana (2015)
Getting the Word Out/Relations between Qatar and Switzerland- the power of bilateral and multilateral treaties, bq Doha Magazine, Doha (Qatar) (2014).
Borel & Barbey
arnaud.cywie@borel-barbey.ch
+41(0)227071800
Switzerland
www.borel-barbey.com
Roustam Vakhitov is an expert in international taxation.
Before joining International Tax Associates B.V. Rustam worked for consulting companies in Russia, Ukraine, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. He has been addressing international taxation issues since 2002.
Specialization: international taxation, tax structuring and consulting with the use of international tax treaties, supporting transactions with the use of financial instruments, as well as structuring private investments (funds) and supporting international mergers and acquisitions, as well as Islamic finance transactions.
Roustam is the member of the International Fiscal Association (IFA) since 2001 and of Dutch Chamber of Tax Advisers since 2011.
Roustam speaks Russian, English and Dutch and is an author of numerous publications on international taxation.
International Tax Associates
Tel NL: +31208943767
Tel UA: +380675499787
Tel RU: +79060598008
E-mail: vakhitov@intertaxlaw.nl
Address: P.J.Oudweg 4, 1314CH Almere, the Netherlands
www.intertaxlaw.nl
Education
DEA in Private Law – 1982 – St Joseph University of Beirut
Master in Private and Public law -1979- St Joseph University of Beirut
BA in law -1978- St Joseph University of Beirut
Experience
Law office of Farid El Khoury, Beirut -1992- Present
• Founder and Principal of Law Office of Farid H .El-Khoury (ISO9001:2008 since 2007)
• Founder and Principal of Lawyer’s office of Farid H. El-Khoury FZE – Ras El-Khaimah acting as corporate service provider for RAK
• Counselor, advisor and advocate to a full spectrum of clients ranging from commercial private corporation to financial institutions
• Fields: Mergers, Acquisition, Joint ventures, Banking Laws, Corporation and Partnerships, Corporate Law, Contracting, Construction, Offshore Services
Academic Activities
• Lecturer and Instructor of Commercial and Corporate Law at St Joseph University of Beirut
• Former coordinator of the Banking Law courses in the “Centre d’Études Bancaires” founded by St. Joseph University in collaboration with the Lebanese Banks Association
• Author of Several law articles
Public and Governmental activities
• Board member of the Beirut Bar association (2008-2011)
• Member of the Professional Ethics Committee of the Beirut Bar Association ( 2005-2010)
Law Office of Farid H. El Khoury
Lebanon
www.faridkhourylaw.com
Senior Principal
International Tax Services
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Background
•Vladimir is the Partner with the Ernst & Young MENA International tax practice, Head of International Tax Practice in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
•Vladimir graduated from the Moscow State University of Commerce in 1996. He also obtained a MBA Degree from the Bielefeld University (Germany) in 1996
•Vladimir has a combined 19 years in the tax profession, of which 12 years he has been focusing on international taxation issues
•Spoken languages are Russian (native), English (fluent) and German (good)
Skills
•Vladimir is a specialist in international tax law
•Strong tax technical knowledge of Russian /international tax law, Saudi Arabia domestic tax law; Saudi tax treaties, but also broad understanding of tax systems of major OECD countries
•Good team leadership capabilities
•Strong commitment to delivery and implementation
•Market development skills, including organization of client seminars and business trainings
Professional experience
•Vladimir started his career in Arthur Andersen in Tax in 1996, then having joined Ernst & Young CIS through the combination in 2002. In 2014 Vladimir has retired from the EY CIS firm and joined EY Ar Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as Tax Partner.
•Vladimir‘s wide experience includes managing of projects related to structuring of cross-border transactions, acquisitions and disposals, as well as business combinations aimed at enhancement of tax efficiency and reduction of tax leakages
•Vladimir’s current areas of focus include taxation of operations of international companies in Saudi Arabia, application of double tax treaties to cross-border transactions, structuring of transactions in cross-border financing, mergers & acquisitions, transfer of IP rights and international trade, as well as supply chain structuring and transfer pricing
•Vladimir’s recent projects included advising large multinational companies with foreign assets or operations from, formation of holding structures for outbound and domestic acquisitions, intragroup financing and income repatriation, international procurement and formation of global trading companies.
•Vladimir is familiar with international aspects of tax law in Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, United Kingdom, Cyprus, Netherlands, Luxembourg and other jurisdictions.
•Vladimir’s portfolio includes clients mainly in mineral resources extraction sector, including metallurgical, oil & gas and utilities sector companies.
•Vladimir authored over 20 publications on international tax matters in the Russian and international professional press and currently is a Russian correspondent for the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation.
Ernst & Young
Saudi Arabia
www.ey.com
Chief Executive Officer
Eesh Aggarwal is a UK chartered accountant, registered auditor and licensed trustee with over 20 years experience in accounts and international tax planning. Current clients range from start-up entrepreneur to ultra-high net worth individuals and their related businesses.
For 3 years he was a final professional examinations marker for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He has guest lectured for many institutions including the London School of Economics, ICSA, Moscow Institute of Risk Management.
Eesh enjoys the intellectual challenge of researching tax laws and finding holistic solutions to meet clients’ needs.
Specialties: formation and management of offshore companies, trusts & foundations, full international tax planning, audit & accounting, wealth management.
Azure Consultants DMCC
United Arab Emirates
www.azure-consultants.com
Partner, Corporate and M&A
Rima is a Partner with the Corporate and M&A practice, based in our DIFC offices in Dubai. She is an experienced corporate and insurance lawyer who has practiced in the UAE for over eight years. Rima specializes in advising insurance companies, corporate organisations, financial institutions, energy companies and private equity funds on a wide range of legal issues including M&A transactions, due diligence, commercial agreements, commercial related disputes, IT related transactions and various regulatory matters.
Rima has also advised and assisted international clients in developing their business throughout the GCC, particularly in relation to regulatory and compliance matters and provides employment advice to companies in relation to policies, structuring and breach of contract.
BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates LLP
Email: rima.mrad@bsabh.com
United Arab Emirates
www.bsabh.com
Attorney at Law, Partner
Sam Bayat is a Quebec (Canada) licensed attorney with background in international law and is specialized in corporate migration. He was the former president and vice president of Canadian Bar, International Section in Quebec and had lectured in the International Law at the Concordia University in Montreal. He is the senior resident lawyer of the law firm, Bayat Legal Services (BLS) in Dubai. He has contributed several chapters in “The Corporate Immigration Review”, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th editions and several other books on immigration laws and immigrants of Canada.
In 1993, Sam set up a small law practice in Dubai. Today BLS is an international law firm, working with a network of law firms, legal professionals and trade consultants around the world. Bayat Group has specialists working on economic sanctions, corporate/commercial, investment/banking and taxation laws. But the group’s main specialty continues to be in business migration, residency and economic citizenship laws.
With globalization, business migration and increased movement of specialized and qualified labor force worldwide, a new legal discipline has been created: Corporate Immigration. Relocating companies across international boundaries mean that staffs, managers and the owners are subject to a growing number of administrative and regulatory hurdles, thus it requires proper legal advice for optimal strategy to ensure a smooth and successful transition.
Bayat Group has been actively connecting international business with key decision makers and business establishments in the Middle East since 2007. With the strong market knowledge and understanding of the local business culture, the group has supported many companies from different countries in order to develop business connections in the Middle East.
The group assists both new and experienced companies in entering the rapidly growing market of Middle East, and is committed to increasing the number of international companies doing business within Middle East, year by year. The group helps companies to identify new potential opportunities, assists in developing market entry strategies and introduces them to prospective distributors and representative partners for their products or services.
Mr. Bayat is an immigrant too and migrated from Iran to Canada in 1974.
Bayat Group
United Arab Emirates
www.bayatgroup.com
Director, Business Development
Hugh Darwell is a Director of Business Development for Vistra in Singapore with his main responsibilities being in the Corporate Services area. Vistra provides Corporate, Trust and Funds Management Administration Services in over 40 jurisdictions around the world.
Prior to joining Vistra, Hugh spent over 25 years at investment banks in the Asia Pacific region, specializing in cross border financing structures. A strong focus on accounting, regulatory, tax and legal issues throughout the region was required for his transactional and advisory work at those banks. Hugh has vast experience in structured finance, securitisation and structured treasury products. He has spent over 10 years living and working in Singapore.
Hugh has both Economics and Law degrees from the University of Sydney and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the Taxation Institute of Australia.
Vistra
Singapore
www.vistra.com
Manager
International and M&A Tax
Olivia is a tax manager specializing in project management for tax structuring and due diligence for M&A transactions and reorganizations across a number of industries and jurisdictions. She has been involved in a wide variety of international engagements for globally based groups operating and investing in the Middle East, Asia and Balkan region.
Selected recent experience:
•Provided tax advisory services to a leading Chinese construction company with regards to structuring their operations in the Middle East
•Olivia has recently worked on a tax due diligence and structuring on the potential acquisition of a Saudi FMCG business.
•Olivia provided tax advisory services for one of the biggest US technology companies with respect to their expansion plans in the GCC.
•Provided tax due diligence and structuring advice to a large investment fund in respect to their proposed investment in Europe.
•Tax structuring services to a leading USA energy company looking to invest in the energy sector in Saudi Arabia.
Deloitte LLP
Telephone: +971 4 506 4798
Email:olmatheou@deloitte.com
www.deloitte.com/middleeast
Managing Partner
John has that enchanted charm when it comes to leadership. Under his guidance, HLB Hamt has scaled up to new heights. He is a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and possesses more than 30 years of experience in the accounting and auditing profession including big4 audit firms. His knowledge of the UAE business rules and regulations enable him to advise clients on many aspects of their financial as well as business matters. As Managing Partner, John leads from the front, setting, implementing and monitoring HLB Hamt’s corporate strategy. He is also the firm’s point of international contact for HLB International.
HLB Hamt
United Arab Emirates
www.hlbhamt.com