Claire Cummings
Managing Director, Cummings Law
Claire has over 20 years’ experience in advising on all matters related to financial services regulations, funds, fund management, trading and brokerage. She established Cummings in 2002 having spent 6 years as a solicitor in private practice and as in-house counsel and director of legal and compliance for a fund manager. During this time Claire acted for a number of clients in the alternative investment arena and was involved in the running and growth of a fund management business, working closely with the firm’s directors, trading and operations departments and brokerage counterparties. Claire has acted as a compliance officer, money laundering reporting officer and passed futures and options exams.
James Farrugia
Partner, Ganado Advocates
James Farrugia is the Partner spearheading GANADO Advocates’ Investment Services and Funds licensing and regulatory consultancy activities. Leveraging his extensive experience working with the local competent authority, James is able to offer clients regulatory sound insight and practical solutions throughout the licensing application process on an ongoing basis. He regularly contributes to international journals associated with investment funds and has addressed a number of local and international conferences focusing on this sector. James graduated as Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons) from the University of Malta in 2000. He was also awarded an M.A. in Financial Services from the same university and an MSc in International Securities Investments and Banking from the University of Reading both with distinction. He is also a Certified Public Accountant and a Mansion House Scholar. James regularly lectures on investment services and investment funds at training programs organised by the Institute of Legal Studies, the Institute of Financial Services, the Malta International Training Centre and the Malta Financial Services Authority.
Paulianne Nwoko
Managing Director, Apex Fund Services
Paulianne has been working in the financial services industry for the past 12 years. Her career in financial services started in the Assurance department of Deloitte in Malta, involved mainly in audits of Funds, Banks and other licenced entities, with the opportunity to also work on financial services assignments with Deloitte Luxembourg and Glasgow office. In 2008, Paulianne joined Apex Fund Services (Malta) Ltd, as Operations Manager she was instrumental in the setup and rapid growth of the Malta office, one of the leading fund administrators in Malta and globally. In May 2016, Paulianne has taken the role of Managing Director of Apex Malta. Paulianne also serves as Director and Compliance Officer to a number of Investment funds domiciled in Malta. Paulianne is a fellow member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
Jane Shahmanesh
Managing Director, Adherence LLC
Prior to Adherence, Jane worked as an in-house legal and compliance lawyer for a Who’s Who of financial institutions – including Lehman Brothers (where she counseled the bankrupt entity’s derivative unwind), Goldman Sachs & Co. (where she ran a division of their Compliance Department), Credit Suisse (where she was the interim legal manager for CSAM and its hedge fund businesses), Citibank (where she was the General Counsel to the Private Bank), and Deutsche Asset Management (legacy Bankers Trust)(where she supervised the legal and compliance department). She was also a Partner at McGuireWoods, LLP, one of the nation’s largest law firms. Jane currently teaches regulatory compliance at Pace Law School. She has a BA from Barnard College and a JD from American University.
