Event details

Join us for the second episode of the West Africa Series, kindly sponsored by Standard Bank. The discussion will focus on succession planning for HNW families in West Africa. We are delighted to be joined by our expert panel:

The discussion will be lead by Will Groat - Head of International Wealth Management, West Africa at Standard Bank Group, London. Will is an experienced Wealth Management professional managing the sales team responsible for origination and management of relationships with High Net Worth Individuals from, or operating in, West Africa. Covering the West African market since 2010, team lead since 2018.

Standard Bank's Wealth and Investment offering includes a comprehensive range of trust, fiduciary and corporate structuring solutions, asset management across the developed and emerging markets, and banking services including lending secured against a variety of asset classes.

Experience working with colleagues and external associates in corporate finance, trade finance, real estate, alternative investments, private equity, tax and legal.

The panel will include:

Dean Douglas is a Director of Private Wealth for IQ-EQ in Jersey. As well as being an executive board member of the Jersey business, Dean manages a diverse client portfolio. In doing so, he travels to South Africa and Nigeria on a regular basis to meet with new and existing clients in these two countries. Being from South Africa himself, he has an affinity with the continent and an understanding of the cultures, issues and concerns faced by residents and investors alike.

Dean's focus on South Africa and Nigeria has resulted in him working very closely with relevant industry bodies and intermediary partners. He has presented at numerous events in collaboration with Jersey Finance, including presentations in Lagos in 2017 and 2019 focused on UHNW family wealth structuring and succession planning. He has also participated in and spoken at a range of other industry events including the PCD Club networking dinner in Cape Town in 2018 and 2019. In addition, with Dean's involvement, IQ-EQ is a member of Invest Africa, a large investor network focused on Africa and investment in the continent.

Since joining the IQ-EQ group 17 years ago as a newly qualified accountant, he has held various positions while gaining significant exposure to private wealth structuring from both an accounting and an administration perspective. Dean is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Bimpe Nkontchou - Managing Principal, W8 Advisory - is a dually qualified lawyer, with over 30 years' collective experience in England and in Nigeria. Bimpe is founder and Managing Principal at W8 Advisory LLP, a wealth advisory practice and multi-family office (based in London) which is focused on African entrepreneurs and their families. She also owns a sister company W8 Wealth Limited (regulated by the FCA in the UK) which provides regulated financial and investment advisory services to African business families. She has recently launched a digital wealth and investment platform called 'Wealth8', using technology to bring access to saving and investing in a portfolio of global financial products, as well as financial education and the language of investment, to women and millennials of African heritage.

She is a certified Trust & Estate Practitioner (TEP) and an accredited Family Business Advisor, with a diploma in International Trust Management. She is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Securities & Investments (CISI).

Bimpe has earned a reputation as a trusted advisor to her extensive client base of affluent Africans, most of whom are entrepreneurs and family business owners. Bimpe' s nuance and experience in the field of wealth management make her an expert in defining and executing bespoke solutions relating to estate & succession planning, family governance, business consultancy, financial education, investment advisory services and philanthropy management.

Faizal Bhana - Faizal is a UK qualified lawyer and Director of Middle East, Africa and India at Jersey Finance based in Dubai. Over the last ten years, Faizal has worked and advised, and is a trusted advisor to institutions, corporates and families across the Middle East and Africa. Faizal specialises in banking and finance and has advised both corporates and families including on their international investment and holding structures. Faizal is responsible for developing the strategy for Jersey Finance's engagement in Africa, the Middle East and India. He is focussed on his key markets, regularly travelling to all these countries, liaising and working with key stakeholders, including public and private institutions, corporates and families, building long term mutually beneficial relationships.

Paul Onwuanibe, is the Group Chief Executive Officer of The Landmark Africa Group, based in London. He began his career in the 'built environment' with a formal education in Architecture, Property Development and Construction Management, together with a London Business School MBA merit in "Value Engineering". Paul has over 25 years of professional experience of design and execution of projects in Africa, USA and Europe. He served as Development Director with Beacon Housing, in the UK. Paul was the Executive with responsibility for the Property and Logistics team of Regus Plc during its rapid expansion years, which oversaw the opening of 190 business centres globally.

He has expert knowledge of commercial property and workplace management and led Landmark's expansion into America, Europe and Africa, has raised in excess of $100m of funding for Landmark and grown the company to achieve a PWC endorsed book valuation in excess of $300M. Paul is an African business leader, with a deep and passionate interest in real estate in Africa driven by his goal to create the first pan African real estate and service organization themed on his live, work and play philosophy. He sits on the Board of several institutions in Europe, America and Africa and has significant charitable interests in Health and Education as well as mentors a young leadership group operating in 3 continents. Paul is focused on adding value to the region through imaginative world class mixed use developments and the creation of job opportunities in several African cities for the youth. Paul has been married for over 27 years with two children.

Will Groat - Head of International Wealth Management, West Africa at Standard Bank Group, based in London. Will is an experienced Wealth Management professional managing the sales team responsible for origination and management of relationships with High Net Worth Individuals from, or operating in, West Africa. Covering the West African market since 2010, team lead since 2018.

Standard Bank's Wealth and Investment offering includes a comprehensive range of trust, fiduciary and corporate structuring solutions, asset management across the developed and emerging markets, and banking services including lending secured against a variety of asset classes. Will has experience working with colleagues and external associates in corporate finance, trade finance, real estate, alternative investments, private equity, tax and legal.

Timothy Townsend, is a Senior Business Development Manager at Standard Bank Group based in Jersey. His current role focuses on developing and further expanding a highly successful investment solutions and corporate balance sheet management proposition for Standard Bank Offshore's Corporate and Fiduciary clients in the Crown Dependencies. Standard Bank's proposition encompasses traditional cash plus solutions, a range of discretionary solutions and regular tranches of capital protected structured deposits.

Do join us for the second session by registering below. It is open to PCD Club members and special guests of our sponsors. Email tickets@pcd.club with any queries.

To find out more about joining PCD, email members@pcd.club