Preventing and Managing Conflict in Family Enterprises - Manama

Brian is the resident managing partner in Trowers & Hamlins' Bahrain office and heads its corporate team in Bahrain as well its international funds practice. He has 20 years' experience working with clients from or investing in the GCC. He advises clients in respect of public and private company mergers and acquisitions, corporate structuring and regulation (including corporate finance, company and group structuring, shareholders' and joint venture arrangements, constitutional documents and corporate governance) in addition to a broad range of commercial and contractual matters. Brian also advises a number of banks, private equity clients and sovereign wealth institutions in respect of Bahraini and offshore fund establishment in addition to international private equity investments and disposals. In addition, Brian works on development of board and management incentive platforms, employee benefit trusts, board charters and associated policies for several banking institutions.

Richard is the Head of International Private Wealth for Trowers & Hamlins. Richard has over 25 years of experience discreetly helping sovereign families, SFOs and UHNW individuals and families with the creation of offshore structures across the globe, and advising on matters of family governance, asset structuring, succession, international conflict of laws, international probate and on the application of UK tax where appropriate.

Deborah is a Partner in Trowers' Bahrain office where she has been for 18 years, having previously worked in their London and Oman offices. Deborah specialises in international dispute resolution and litigation and has many years of experience working in the region on high profile complex cross border disputes.
Much of Deborah's client work and experience includes acting as lead partner in litigation both in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia including a number of recent high-profile cases in the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution.

David is Head of Dispute Resolution in the Middle East and Practice Partner of Ogier's Dubai of f ice. He is a barrister with broad experience of commercial and financial disputes, with a focus on cross -border company, trusts, insolvency and restructuring matters. He has particular experience of interim remedies including asset freezing, disclosure and receivership orders, especially in the context of multi-jurisdictional disputes. Previously, David practised at the Commercial Chancery Bar in London. Before coming to the law he worked as a corporate finance analyst at Perella Weinberg Partners in London.

Aslam Shareef is Managing Director of Fairway Kuwait. He has a wealth of knowledge of the offshore funds industry having been involved in the finance industry for over 15 years; he is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and holds a diploma in Fund Administration. Aslam has a wide range of experience across financial services businesses, and his experience on the boards of various regulated entities and managed client entities puts him in good stead. Prior to Fairway, Aslam was a financial regulator within the funds supervision division of the Jersey Financial Services Commission. Aslam spent 7 years in audit before moving into the Funds industry, where he was responsible for a fund administration department.

Danielle is Chief Product officer at The Family Office Co BSC in Bahrain, and is currently focusing on the firm’s wealth planning support to clients in the region, as part of the firm’s holistic approach to wealth management. She relocated to Bahrain at the start of the year having worked with GCC clients for 10 years+. Before joining The Family Office, Danielle held a leadership role at a US headquartered bank based in Europe, and prior to this a senior management role at an offshore Trust firm. Danielle is an Accountant, Chartered Governance Professional, and has an MBA from Cass Business School in London.

Having started his career in professional advisory services in 1995 with a ‘Big 4’ firm, Wajdi founded the Keypoint group in 2006. As managing director of the Keypoint group, his primary business focus includes advising clients on structuring (and re-structuring) businesses - including trusts, funds, joint ventures and limited liability entities – and their ongoing administration and compliance with Bahrain’s business regulations and legislation. A bilingual Bahraini national, Wajdi fosters close relationships with key decision makers – helping him to develop an unmatched regional network – and has a deep understanding of regional statutory frameworks and differing corporate cultures and needs. Widely recognised as a key decision maker in both Bahrain and Jordan with an unrivalled business network, Wajdi is licensed as a real estate broker by Bahrain’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).