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PANEL DISCUSSION: FINANCIAL SERVICES: DEAD OR ALIVE?
October 23, 2018 @ 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
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The Hon. K. Peter Turnquest was born on August 22nd, 1964 in the Bahamas and earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Prairie View A&M University, and his MBA from Nova Southeastern University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and has been in public and private practice for over 30 years in the area of financial accounting and reporting, audit, corporate services, merges & acquisitions, receiverships and liquidations. Mr. Turnquest has had wide business experience having led international sales and manufacturing operations in several countries.
He is a former president of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce; past Assistant Governor, Rotary International District 6990; past Substitute Grand Master, District Grand lodge of The Bahamas, Scottish Constitution; past president, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Iota Epsilon Lambda Chapter, Nassau, Grand Bahama Chairman Bahamas Scout Association.
The Hon. K. Peter Turnquest was elected to parliament for the first time on May 7th, 2012, as the Member of Parliament for East Grand Bahama. Following successful re-election on May 10th, 2017, Hon. Turnquest was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
He is married to Sonia Turnquest and together they have two children, Kevin and Nathalie.
A former Attorney-General of The Bahamas and one of Her Majesty’s Queens Counsel, John’s practice concentration are financial services law and regulation, corporate governance, business restructuring & insolvency, and commercial litigation. He has also been advisor in several major acquisitions and mergers within The Bahamas, and also in acquisitions by or mergers with regional entities.
Highly valued by industry to navigate complexities and pitfalls to achieve strategic business objectives, John has held a range of non-executive directorships of financial institutions and publicly listed companies, and he has served as member and chair of audit committees. John also has a history of national contribution. In year 2000 he was private sector legal advisor to the Government on major financial services legislative reforms, and over the years has been a member of various national or industry boards, including: Road Traffic Authority, National Insurance Board, Bahamas Financial Services Board, and Chair of The Bahamas Trade Commission. In July 2017 John was appointed co-Chair of the National Economic Advisory Committee, a committee appointed to advise the Office of the Prime Minister and Government on matters within that Committee’s remit.
Michael is head of the firm’s Corporate & Commercial, Investment Funds and Banking and Securities Group and has specialist experience with wealth management structures. Ranked Band 1 in both Chambers Global and the Chambers High-Net-Worth Guide, he is considered one of the top lawyers in The Bahamas.
Michael is former chairman of the Bahamas Financial Services Board, current deputy chairman of the Securities Commission of the Bahamas, a member of the government Tax Steering Committee and a qualified Certified Public Accountant (non-practising) in the USA.
The Honourable Brent Symonette presently serves as the Minister of Financial Services, Trade & Industry and Immigration. In May 2017, Minister Symonette was elected as the Member of Parliament representing the constituency of St. Anne’s, Nassau, N.P., The Bahamas. An alumnus of Brunel University in Middlesex, England, he graduated with a BSc (Hons.) in Law and Political Science. He is a Barrister-at-Law having been called to the Bahamas Bar in 1978. Mr. Symonette is a respected and experienced politician having served in many governmental capacities for approximately thirty (30) years. His political career began in 1987 where he was appointed to the Senate of The Bahamas serving in this capacity for two consecutive five year terms. In 2002, he was elected as the Member of Parliament for the Montagu Constituency. During his parliamentary career he served as Minister of Tourism and Attorney General, Deputy Leader of the Free National Movement Party (FNM), Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration.
Valdez K. Russell serves as the principal of VKR Insights, a communications and reputation management agency. Throughout his professional career, Valdez has been instrumental in facilitating public relations and communication strategies to help individuals and organizations to build relationships and influence change.
Valdez sharpened his communications and qualitative research skills throughout his career as a college administrator and educator. He served as the Assistant Manager and Academic Dean at The Bahamas Technical & Vocational Institute (BTVI). Prior to his appointment at BTVI, he worked at The College of The Bahamas as the International Relations Liaison Officer where he coordinated the development of faculty, staff and student exchange programs. He was instrumental in the development of international partnerships with colleges and universities. Valdez represented the College and The Bahamas internationally to promote research in the areas of maritime studies, banking and finance, healthcare and sustainable island living.
For the past decade, Valdez has served as a leadership facilitator and corporate trainer, where he helps individuals to develop their leadership skills. He has presented leadership, communications and motivational presentations throughout The Bahamas, Canada, the Caribbean, and the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
In celebration of the Bahamas 40th Anniversary of Independence, The Tribune Newspaper recognized Valdez as one of 40 Bahamians under 40-years old shaping education in the country. Valdez’s previous work at The Ohio State University earned him recognition as an honorary member of the Student Alumni Association.
Valdez received his undergraduate degree in Communications and Public Relations from the University of Nebraska and a master’s degree in College Administration and Leadership Development from the University of Kansas.
Valdez brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to leadership, communications and brand reputation management. He continues to promote national development through preparing individuals to be globally competitive and economically independent.
Valdez enjoys spending quality time with his family in Nassau, Bahamas where dinner and wine at Grammy’s house every Sunday is a most anticipated experience.
Diego Zuluaga is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, where he covers financial technology and consumer credit. Before joining Cato, Zuluaga was Head of Financial Services and Tech Policy at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London. While at the IEA, he authored papers on the social value of finance, the role of offshore centers, the regulation of online platforms, and the taxation of capital income, among others. His work has been featured in print and broadcast media, such as the Times, Newsweek, and the Daily Telegraph. Zuluaga is a prolific public speaker as well as a former lecturer in economics at the University of Buckingham.
Originally from Bilbao in northern Spain, Zuluaga holds a BA in economics and history from McGill University, and an MSc in financial economics from the University of Oxford.
Christina R. Rolle | Executive Director, Securities Commission
Ms. Christina R. Rolle is the Executive Director of the Securities Commission of The Bahamas, having been appointed effective 26 January 2015. Ms. Rolle has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Over the course of her career, Ms. Rolle has acted as Director and Deputy CEO for a prominent international private bank and held various senior managerial positions with local and other international institutions including Head of Trust and Fiduciary, Head of Risk, Compliance and Corporate Governance and Manager of Banking Services.
She is highly skilled in quantitative and statistical analysis, marketing, operations and business strategy. Ms. Rolle was a member of the FATCA advisory group for the Government of The Bahamas and has served on the Board of Directors of The Bahamas Financial Services Board (2009 – 2012) and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), Bahamas branch (2003 – 2005). Ms. Rolle holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
Mr. James H. Smith is currently in retirement since June, 2007. Before then, he served in Parliament as a Senator and in the Cabinet of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas as the Minister of State for Finance during the period 2002 to 2007.
He served as the country’s Ambassador for Trade for five years up to April, 2002. Between 1987 and 1997, he served as Governor of The Central Bank of The Bahamas in charge of conducting monetary policy for the country. Mr. Smith also held positions as Secretary for Revenue and later as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and was involved with the development and implementation of fiscal policies. He has led or was a member of numerous Bahamian delegations for investment promotion and trade missions throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, Central and South America, the Caribbean, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, China, Africa, Dubai and New Zealand.
Mr. Smith served as Chairman of The Bahamas Development Bank (1986), The Bahamas Maritime Authority (1997 – 2002), and The Paradise Island Bridge Authority (1987 – 1997). He was a member of the Board of Directors of many public and private companies including several banks and the Bahamas International Stock Exchange. He also served as the Chairman of the Negotiating Group on Services in the Free Trade Area of The Americas (FTAA) process (2006 -2007).
Mr. Smith was educated in Canada at the University of Alberta, University of Windsor, Ryerson University where he obtained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics as well as a Diploma in Financial Management. An Honorary Doctorate (Humane Letters) was conferred on him in 2003. He was also sworn in as a Justice of the Peace (JP).
His community involvement included membership on the Board of Trustees for the Governor General’s Youth Awards Program and the Anglican Diocese Pension Fund. Mr. Smith was named to Her Majesty, the Queen of England’s Honour list as a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000.
Llewellyn Boyer-Cartwright is a partner in Callenders & Co., The Bahamas’ oldest law firm and recipient of numerous international awards of recognition including the Corporate International Global Award.
Mr. Boyer-Cartwright holds a Bachelor of Law (LLB. (Hons)) from The University of Buckingham and a Masters in Aviation Science (MSc.) from Everglades University. In 1994, he was admitted to the Honorable Society of the Inner Temple, London England and The Bahamas Bar. A former commercial airline pilot who combined a passion for aviation with advanced legal training, he specializes in Aviation Law, and represents several local carriers and foreign carriers operating to and from The Bahamas. The first Bahamas member of the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association, he was appointed to serve on The Bahamas Ministry of Transport & Aviation Consultative Committee established to determine the feasibility of enhancing the Bahamas’ Aircraft Registry and expedite the ratification of the Convention on International Interest in Mobile Equipment (“the Cape Town Convention”).
In 2013, in a country of more than 1,000 attorneys, he was the sole private practice lawyer nominated for Bahamas Financial Services Board Excellence Award. Mr. Boyer-Cartwright has also been a leading proponent for the establishment of a competitive international aircraft registry and UAV regulations that recognize the value of drones while keeping airspace safe. He is currently a member of The Bahamas’s steering committee on the enhancement of the country’s existing aircraft registry and its contemplated ratification of the Cape Town Convention. Mr. Boyer-Cartwright is also a member of the Airport Transport Advisory Board.
His publications include his Master’s thesis: “Is There A Correlation Between Objective and Subjective Sleepiness in Flight Crews?” and articles, “The Bahamas – One Step Closer to International Aircraft Registry”; Gateway – The Bahamas Financial Review; Bahamas Int’l Aircraft Registry on Horizon, China Offshore July 2014; the Times of London Property Supplement 2013: Taking a Second Look at The Bahamas; and, “Bahamas International Aircraft Registry Revs for Take-off”; The Bahamas Investor 2015. Mr. Boyer-Cartwright is the Bahamas’s Aviation contributor for International Law Office (ILO), an online publication based in the UK with worldwide readership.
A sought-after speaker, he has presented to the American Professional Sleep Societies on assessing fatigue in commercial airline pilots, and to several symposia and workshops on aircraft registries and the Cape Town Convention including meetings in Grand Cayman, Aruba, and The Bahamas.
Michael Allen has professional expertise in corporate and commercial law, including derivatives law as it relates to the participation by Bahamian entities in financial derivatives transactions, real estate & development, aviation law and wealth management.
For 30 years Michael has advised international and Bahamian clientele on a variety of corporate and commercial structures for general business and wealth management purposes. His practice involves acting as a transactional lawyer in commercial and aviation matters, providing legal support to major Bahamian real estate acquisitions and resort development, the utilization of financial products connected with investment and wealth management concerns, and issuing formal opinions on a wide range of multi-jurisdictional structures available for the conduct of business in and through The Bahamas, including structures connected to aircraft financing.
Michael is Chair of the firm’s Aviation practice group and, currently serves as chairman of the Bahamas Air Transport Advisory Board. He is the author and co-author, respectively, of the Bahamas chapter of Sweet & Maxwell publications Aircraft Finance: Regulation Security and Enforcement and Aircraft Liens and Detention Rights. He is a former Chairman of the Bahamas Financial Services Board and has written on such topics as “International Business Companies”, and “A Guide to Doing Business in the Bahamas”.
After attaining a post graduate degree in counselling and administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo, United States, and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Buckingham in England, Michael was admitted to the Bar of England and Wales in 1987 and to the Bahamas Bar in 1988. He is also a member of the Honourable Society of The Middle Temple, England. Michael joined the firm as a partner in 2008.
Linda Beidler-D’Aguilar joined Glinton Sweeting O’Brien as a partner in July 2015. In her practice she specializes in the structuring and creation of vehicles (including investment funds) for multinational institutional clients as well as private clients; she also advises on corporate transactions, securities law (including public and private offerings) as well as general commercial matters.
Linda graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service, and received her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. She was called to the bar of the State of Illinois in 1988. After working in a top tier Chicago firm and at Kelley Drye & Warren’s Washington D.C. office, she moved to The Bahamas in 1991. Linda was employed by two major trust companies before she was recruited to serve as in-house intellectual property counsel to Bacardi & Company Limited; she returned to private practice in 2003.
Linda served as a Director of the Bahamas Financial Services Board from 2010 to 2014, and continues to be active in BFSB’s regulatory, legislative and product development initiatives. She speaks regularly at BFSB events including the 2014 and 2016 IBFS conferences, the 2014 and 2015 Bahamas Landfall events in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and the 2013 Bahamas Landfall event in London, as well as other financial services industry events including the 2017 Private Wealth Latin America Forum, 2015 Private Wealth Brazil Forum and the Third Annual Caribbean Conference on the International Financial Services Sector. She’s written articles for magazines including BFSB’s Gateway, the IFC Review and LatAm Fund Manager, as well as informational and promotional pieces for BFSB. She was a member of BFSB’s ICON Working Group that received the Development and Promotion Award in 2014; in 2016 she received BFSB’s Minister’s Award for services to the financial services industry.
Linda is actively involved in the education of persons throughout the financial services sector to ensure that participants are up to date and familiar with new legislation, and have the necessary information to perform efficiently and effectively. She has assisted the Bahamas Financial Services Board with training and educational programs for industry as well as public sector employees; independently she has presented to the Securities Commission and Central Bank.
Linda is a non-executive member of the board of directors of Clairmont Trust Company Limited.
Ryan Pinder has been a partner in the law firm of Graham Thompson since January 2016. His practice areas include banking law, corporate and commercial law, investment funds, securities law, capital markets, trusts and estate planning and structuring. He specialises in financial services solutions, planning and wealth management for high net worth individuals and families, and their associated companies and businesses throughout the world.
A former Member of Parliament, Ryan Pinder has previously served as Minister of Financial Services and Trade, in The Bahamas Government. During his time as Minister the Investment Condominium (ICON) legislation was developed and enacted, in addition to other key innovations and developments including the SMART Fund Model 007. : “He continues in various policy advisory capacities, including the BFSB’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS) Legal Committee and the International Initiatives Working Group in responding to The Government regarding comments to recent legislation on BEPS compliance.”
In 2017 Ryan Pinder was recognised by the prestigious London-based Chambers and Partners with a Tier 1 recognition as a leader in the High Net Worth, Trusts Sector.
Hal J. Webb is a trusted advisor and counselor to high-net-worth international families. He is Head of Bilzin Sumberg’s International Private Client Services and Partner in the Firm’s Tax & Estate Planning Group. Hal advises high-net-worth private clients, family offices, and trust companies concerning global tax estate planning matters, with a focus on maximizing global tax efficiency and incorporating practical solutions.
Hal frequently deals with foreign trusts with U.S. beneficiaries, pre-immigration planning for foreigners moving to the U.S., large gifts and inheritances being received by U.S. persons from foreign persons or foreign estates, tax compliance and voluntary disclosures, structuring a foreign person’s investment into the U.S. (particularly the acquisition of business interests and residential and commercial real estate), and expatriation planning. He also handles matters involving tax planning for foreign companies doing business in the U.S. Hal’s technical expertise helps him tailor a solution which best fits the needs of his clients. Hal is discreet and highly professional.
Hal is a frequent author and lecturer on various topics of international tax and estate planning. Additionally, he is former Chair of the International Tax In-Bound Committee of The Florida Bar Tax Section, and a Past Chair and Director of the Miami Branch of STEP. Hal has consistently been recognized by legal publications and by his peers as being a top tax and estate planning lawyer, including being named in Chambers and Partners, Best Lawyers in America, Florida Super Lawyers, Best of the Best USA, Citywealth Leaders List, Legal Week International Trusts & Private Client Elite, and Guide to the World’s Leading Trusts & Estates Practitioners.
Hal earned his J.D. from Widener University Delaware Law School, and his LL.M. from the University of Florida. He received his B.A. from the University of Miami.
