Martin Linder started his career with Goldman Sachs in 2000 and joined Partners Group in 2002, a global private equity and real estate asset manager with current assets under management in excess of US$100 billion. In 2011 Martin joined as Director at Bank Vontobel, one of the leading Swiss banks with a presence in major financial hubs globally.

In 2014 Martin moved to Dubai and established the Dubai office of an Emerging Markets focused Swiss originated fund manager where he grew assets under management to over US$3 billion.

Martin is an attorney at law with admission to the Zurich courts and across Switzerland and with a Master of Laws degree cum laude from the University of Zurich.

Paul Blandford has over 20 years experience working with Global, European and UK Investment Management firms. He is a Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) subject matter expert, prior Chair of the CFA Institute GIPS Verification Sub-committee and current member of their GIPS Interpretations Sub-committee.

Paul started his career in London as an auditor with PwC in 2000, before becoming a specialist in Investment Performance and Internal Controls Reporting. He joined KPMG in 2011 as a Senior Manager and was then recruited by ACA Compliance Group in 2014. As a Senior Managing Director, he established ACA’s GIPS verification practice in the UK and then over the next decade built their business to have the largest market share in that region.

Paul is a Chartered Accountant from the United Kingdom with a First Class Honours degree in Accounting and Finance from Warwick University. 

Mr. Hareb served as the CEO of Emaar Development in Dubai from 2017 until 2021. Prior to this role, he held the position of Chief Executive Officer at Dubai Healthcare City, overseeing the strategic growth of the healthcare free zone. Throughout his career, he held senior roles in esteemed organizations within the real estate sector. Notably, he was the Chief Property Officer at Majid Al Futtaim Properties, leading significant investment projects in the MENA region. Concurrently, he served as Vice-Chairman at Sharjah Holding and The Wave, Muscat.

Additionally, Mr. Hareb served as Managing Director at Nakheel, where he played a pivotal role in managing key projects and navigating the company through a period of financial restructuring. He presently serves as a board member at Dubai Islamic Bank, having previously held board memberships at Downtown District Cooling Plants, Port Rashid and Dubai Healthcare City Authority. With his background in arbitration, he has effectively managed cases concerning real estate disputes and construction projects in Dubai.

A Dubai native, Mr. Hareb earned an Executive Master of Business Administration from the American University of Sharjah and a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from United Arab Emirates University. He is also a graduate of the Dubai Leadership Program through The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

In 2018 Nick set up his own consultancy business – Square House Consultancy LLP in order to

service a number of senior advisory positions using the experience gained from leading a number of private and public residential business teams ranging from £10 – £250M revenue and consistently delivering shareholder and client value. In his current consulting role Mr. Jopling is a member of Redevco’s Investment Committee, a Non-Executive Director of Heylo Housing Group, a Senior Advisor at EQT, Time Partners and a number of private UK Family Offices.

Nick has been a Partner at UK Real Estate advisers Allsop (1998 – 2003), where he set up its residential property management business ARIM (now AL&M) which is one the UK’s largest

institutional residential portfolio managers. He was also the lead UK residential Executive Director of CBRE (2003 – 2010), where he set up the residential platform and then led its integration with other CBRE residential divisions in EMEA and US to leverage knowledge and experience across the globe, which included supporting the setting up of CBRE’s Dubai office in 2004/5. In 2010 Nick left CBRE to go client side as the Executive Property Director of FTSE 250 Grainger Plc (2010 – 2017), where he was an integral part of transforming the 104-year-old company from a trading business to the largest Listed residential investment company in the UK.

Nick was Founding Chairman of both the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) UK and European Residential Council which notably published the acknowledged Best Practise Guide to Build to Rent, was a member of Boris Johnson’s Housing Task Force when he was Mayor of London and a member of the UK Government’s Montague Review into attracting institutional funds to invest in residential assets.

Nick graduated from Newcastle University with BSc (hons) Agriculture.

John Kartonchik started his regulatory compliance career in the Cayman Islands with Citco in 2005 and later joined Maples Group in 2007, a global law firm and financial services provider where he worked for 13 years. In 2020 John joined as Director of Risk & Compliance for a Private Asset Manager and then in 2023 as Senior Director of Regulatory & Compliance Services at Rethink, one of the leading outsourced financial services providers in the UAE. 

With over 20 years of experience, working in numerous jurisdictions globally, John is considered a regulatory compliance and corporate governance subject matter expert. He has a proven track record working in the financial services industry, which includes advising on investment funds, fiduciary services, fund administration, asset management, private banking, prime brokerage, legal and corporate services.

John has a postgraduate diploma from the University of Manchester Business School and has been licensed for 16 years by the DFSA as an Authorised Compliance Officer and Money Laundering Reporting Officer. He is a certified anti-money laundering specialist, a member of the International Compliance Association and an active participant in various industry and regulatory committees

Mr. Krochuk started his career in 1991 as the youngest diversified portfolio manager in the history of Fidelity Investments. During his tenure there he used artificial intelligence along with advanced quantitative techniques to develop and implement investment models used in managing over US$20 billion in public mutual funds. In 2001, Mr. Krochuk left to start a hedge-fund firm which grew to US$1B in assets at its peak.  This firm ultimately merged with Shepherd Kaplan to create Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk, a US$9B wealth-management firm based in Boston, MA.

Today, he is a Managing Member and Co-Head of Alternative Investments for SKK.

Mr. Krochuk holds an AB in Economics from Harvard College (’92).  He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and serves on the board of, or in an advisory capacity to a number of private and public companies. 

Colas Chombart de Lauwe started his career with Deloitte as a senior financial auditor where he also supported the transaction services team.

Colas joined the consulting & transaction team at JLL Paris in 2017 where he supported clients in designing and implementing cash flows, completing renegotiations and acquisitions, transitioning to IFRS16 standards, and interpreting qualitative/quantitative models. He has worked closely with a number of real estate funds and International Groups to provide them with strategic counsel.

Colas is a CFA candidate and holds a Masters Degree in Corporate Finance from Neoma Business School Paris.

Shahab Lutfi is the CEO of Bright Start LLC, a Private Investment company in Dubai that develops and manages an extensive portfolio of prestigious properties. He oversees all of Bright Start’s investments and is responsible for growing its investment portfolio.

Shahab is also the Founder of H&H Development, a real estate development company based in Dubai that provides comprehensive development, design, procurement and property management. H&H’s projects of note include O-14 Office Tower, Galleria Villas and Jumeirah Al Naseem Beach Resort. In addition, Shahab is the CEO and Partner of dxb-lab architecture, an award-winning architectural practice based in Dubai. Shahab is also Vice Chairman of Dar Al Takaful PJSC and a Board Director of Noor Takaful PJSC.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from Boston University, USA and an MBA from City University Cass Business School in London, UK. Shahab has also completed executive education programs at Harvard and Stanford Universities and is a member of the UK Society of Investment Professionals.

Maud embarked on her Human Resources journey in 1999 in France, working for a prominent public transportation group. She later transitioned to the Paris Airports Group, assuming the role of HR Manager for ground handling services. In 2007, she relocated to Dubai, where she served as HR Manager at Societe Generale, overseeing investment banking and private banking activities across the Middle East.

Currently, Maud holds the position of HR Director at H.H. Sheikh Butti Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum's Private Office. Additionally, she serves as a Director at Zermatt Management, offering consultancy services across diverse industries such as hospitality, wellness, and financial services.

Maud holds a Master's Degree in Human Resources and Political Sciences.

Corazon Vergara Romero is the Vice President – Head of Accounting for Global Partners Ltd.

Coreen started her career as a branch accountant of Metrobank Group - a prestigious bank in the Philippines in 2008 and later joined as a Financial Analyst in the Philippine Rice Research Institute, a government institution under the Department of Agriculture for 7 years. In 2016, she started her career in Dubai where she built a strong foundation in the accounting industry.

Coreen has over 15 years of extensive experience in the field of accounting and auditing. Skilled in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), EPRS systems, Financial Services, Banking and Finance, Management Consultancy, Auditing, and Taxation. She is also actively involved in numerous corporate functions with a particular focus on Financial Reporting, Compliance and the DFSA framework, managing the DIFC Employees Workplace Savings Plan (DEWS), the Federal Tax Authority VAT Returns and other regulatory reporting requirements in the Dubai International Financial Centre and the UAE.

Coreen is a CMA candidate and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Accountancy from Central Luzon State University in the Philippines. She also obtained her Career Service Professional Eligibility in the Philippine Civil Service Commission.

Nigel has over 30 years experience in investment management, he previously held senior roles at Newton Fund Managers, BNY Mellon and the hedge fund manager Thames River Capital

Nigel currently manages Insight Discovery, a multiple award-winning consultancy which advises companies like Global Partners on strategic communications and market intelligence.

Insight Discovery every year between 2014 and 2021 was voted Best Consultancy Firm (Middle East) by Global Investor, part of Euromoney. Insight Discovery was also voted best research company in 2016 and 2015 by the publisher MENA FM, Fund Services Power 30, an annual guide to the most important figures in the fund services sector.

Nigel went to Oxford Brookes University and has a degree in Management Studies

For PR and media enquiries, please contact:

Nigel Sillitoe

CEO, Insight Discovery

Email: sillitoe@insight-discovery.com

Prior to joining Global Partners Limited, Janina was the Head of HR at a company regulated by the DFSA where she handled the HR & administrative operations of the company whilst being engaged in the overall development and oversight of corporate governance, compliance & risk management in accordance with the statutory and regulatory requirements of the DFSA and DIFC.

Before taking on her new role at Global Partners, Janina also worked with a multi-billion dollar Swiss based independent financial services group and with other local and international companies based in the U.A.E.

Certified in International Compliance, Client Relationship Management & Strategies, Handling Multi-disciplined Projects, and International Business Program. Janina holds a bachelor’s degree in Tourism Management and is pursuing a diploma in CIPD Level 5 People Management.

Michele Vacca embarked on his professional journey in 2023 at UniCredit CIB, where he began as an intern in the M&A team. After nine months, he transitioned to Credit Agricole CIB, one of Europe's largest banking groups with a global footprint spanning over 30 offices.

During his internship tenure, Michele actively contributed to handling both sell-side and buy-side M&A mandates for several prominent Italian clients, gaining valuable experience in the process.

Michele holds a Master's degree in Corporate Finance from Luiss University in Rome, complemented by six months of study at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Jane Wairimu was working as Sr. Marketing Executive at Ellington Capital in the DIFC, where she built a strong foundation in planning and overseeing the entire marketing operations of the company. Additionally, she was heavily involved in numerous corporate functions with a particular focus on compliance and the DFSA framework.

Jane also gained extensive knowledge in the high-end off-plan market while working for Ellington Properties Development LCC as a Property Consultant.

Jane holds a certificate in the Real Estate spectrum from the U.A.E as well as in Management Assistant for Tourism from Germany.