Our carefully curated council of global sector experts are exemplary sounding boards, each in their area of work and the geography.
Mark is a former British Diplomat and a successful entrepreneur. His diplomatic appointments included Deputy British High Commissioner in India 2002-2006, Counsellor at the UK Mission to the UN (New York), and Acting Head of South-East Asian Department. He established the Confederation of British Industry office in India and led the British Business Group in Delhi. He is Senior Adviser to the ASA Group, one of India's leading domestic audit/advisory firms.
He sits on several Advisory Boards, including JPIN VCATS a venture capital firm; AvianWE/Chase India, India's leading independent PR/Public Affairs firm; and Better Boards Ltd. Mark is also a Partner at The Hearth Educational Advisors, Non-Executive Chair at Sustainability Advisors, a clean energy advisory and a Non-Executive Director with Nested Ventures, a venture group providing catalytic funding and disruptive ecosystem solutions.
Joe is an experienced Investment specialist in Technology across Hardware, Software, Consumer and Internet public and private Equity, servicing many of the world's top Traditional and Alternative Investment Managers for the last 20 years. Due to his language and cultural experiences (Mandarin, Japanese) has the ability strategically built profitable networks and connections in the Family office and Multi-Family sector across Europe and Asia and who has verifiably transacted deals in next generation DeFi products and services.
Ran Pan Asian Sales and part of the Mizuho Global Senior Management Team; refocused the clients to fit the regional lending strengths. Since 2018 Joe was Founding Partner of Satsuma Capital a boutique Blockchain and Alternative Asset consultancy connecting East and West Multi Family Office networks, focused on opportunities in Sports-Esports, Digital Assets, Wellness high growth verticals.
Founder/CEO of Astleys of London, a heritage cannabis lifestyle brand and Founder of Esports Idol, a platform strategically focused towards unlocking gamer ownership and In Game Item transactions.
Now based in his home of London, Joe started out as an entrepreneur in Shanghai before a banking career as Global Tech Specialist Sales in Tokyo and HK with Commerzbank, ABN AMRO, RBS, Standard Chartered and Mizuho. Joe earned his MA First Class in Business and Japanese from Edinburgh University and International Christian University in Tokyo.
Paul is a co-founder of DCSK Design, established in 2018, a London-based practice that is dedicated to designing buildings and spaces for the 21st Century city. Paul is a leader in the planning, design and delivery of residential and retail developments. The ethos of DCSK Design is to invest in and improve our urban environments. We have a passion for making equitable and sustainable cities. Well crafted infill development is a critical tool in addressing the affordability crisis in London. Future trends and targets for the most sustainable forms of building and living are at the centre of the practice.
Paul has a diverse track record working in cities all over the world, across a range of scales, for private and public clients. His project leadership experience has been earned working on developments in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and America. Key flagship projects include Kuala Lumpur's Damansara Town Centre, Doha's North Gate and the master plan for Ebbsfleet Valley/ Bluewater complex in Kent. Prior to founding DCSK, Paul was a Director at Leonard Design Architects and Director of the Commercial Group at Callison Europe. He holds degrees in architecture from Ohio State University and Princeton University, and is licensed in the State of New York.
Alex has spent over 20 years in Financial Services working across a wide set of global client segments covering multiple asset classes. He is today head of the 21Shares business in the UK and Israel, a leading global crypto native firm that provides investors with an easy, secure and regulated way to buy and sell cryptocurrency through existing banks and brokerage accounts
Before joining 21Shares in December, 2021, Alex spent the previous 15 years at BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, where he served in multiple leadership roles, including as the BlackRock and iShares Country Head for Israel for over a decade. Under his leadership BlackRock became the largest global asset manager in Israel and opened an office in Tel Aviv which included the establishment of a technology centre. Initiatives he is most proud of are those connecting the Israeli financial system to the global industry, including work he led with the Israeli Securities Authority and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange to list global Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) locally. These landmark achievements gave the Israeli public the opportunity to trade globally in Shekels for the first time.
After returning to London in 2019, he took on the role as Head of Clients within BlackRock's Institutional Client business working with UK pension schemes around their long term asset allocation needs. Prior to joining BlackRock, he was a Portfolio Manager at a London based hedge fund, Marble Bar Asset Management.