Gary Withers, Regional Managing Director - EMEA
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Gary is Managing Director of First State Investments, Europe. He joined First State Investments in 2009 and is a member of the Colonial First State Global Asset Management Executive Committee.
Gary joined First State from Credit Suisse Asset Management where he was CEO of the Global Investors business and Head of Asset Management, EMEA. Previous roles include CEO of Norwich Union Life and Head of Strategy at AVIVA, as well as European Retail Director and Head of Strategy at Mercury Asset Management/Merrill Lynch Investment Managers.
He has an Engineering degree from Cambridge University and an MBA from the INSEAD Business School.
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Greg Cooper, Chief Financial Officer & Interim Head of Risk and Compliance
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Greg Cooper is Chief Financial Officer of First State Investments and is responsible for the finance function of First State's UK and Asian businesses. Greg also sits on the board of First State Investment Management (UK) Limited.
Greg spent 13 years working for Price Waterhouse in Australia specialising in audit and business services work in the financial services sector. He joined First State in Sydney in December 1997 becoming deputy Chief Financial Officer for the Australian business in 1997. In April 2001 Greg relocated to the UK as Chief Operating Officer. |
Kanesh Lakhani, Managing Director, EMEA Distribution
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Kanesh Lakhani is Managing Director responsible for the EMEA institutional and wholesale business and joined First State in May 2011. He has over 25 years of experience in the asset management industry.
Kanesh joined from State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) where he was Senior Managing Director and Head of the UK and Middle East businesses. He was also a Director of SSgA India. Prior to this, he was at Barclays Global Investors where he held senior roles in European relationship management, consultant relations and business development. Kanesh gained investment consulting experience at Frank Russell and was co-Director of the Manager Research group at the time of leaving. He started his career as assistant portfolio manager at Premium Management in London. Kanesh holds an MBA in Finance from Cass Business School, London.
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John Dempsey, Head of Operations - EMEA
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In March 2008 John Dempsey was appointed Head of Operations, International, for First State Investments. John is responsible for the administration and operations capability for First State's UK and Asian businesses.
From 2001 to 2008 John worked for Colonial First State Investments in Sydney working in management roles covering finance, compliance and operations. He also participated in strategic initiatives including several business acquisitions and mergers as well as key system developments. Prior to joining the Commonwealth Bank, John worked with the Legal & General Group of companies for 9 years, first in London and then Australia. John is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. |
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Grant Ferguson, Head of Information Technology
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Grant was appointed Head of IT for First State in April 2000. Grant oversees a team of project managers, application developers and infrastructure support staff who create, implement and support First State's IT requirements.
Grant brings over 20 years of industry experience to the role. He started his career at stockbrokers Wood Mackenzie in 1981, working in a consultancy role with ten top UK investment management companies on performance related projects. He then went on to hold senior management roles at Capital House Investment Management and Newton Investment Management before joining First State Investments.
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Niall Mills, Head of Infrastructure Asset Management, Europe
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Niall Mills leads the infrastructure asset management activities in Europe where he is a Director on the Boards of AWG, ENW and Reganosa. He has over 20 years of Infrastructure experience gained in senior industry roles across a variety of sectors, including utility companies, rail and airports. Niall is a Chartered Civil Engineer, a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and holds an MBA from London Business School.
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Stuart Paul, Joint Managing Partner, Asia Pacific & Global Emerging Markets Equity Team
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Stuart Paul is Joint Managing Partner of the Asia Pacific and Global Emerging Markets equity team at First State Investments. In 1994 Stuart joined First State (previously Stewart Ivory) as an analyst. His responsibilities grew to cover portfolio management and in 1999 he was appointed Joint Head of Emerging Markets (ex-Asia) Equities. From October 2000 to April 2005 Stuart was Chief Investment Officer at First State. |
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Adrian Smith, Head of Legal
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Adrian Smith joined First State in March 2004 and became Head of Legal in August 2007. Adrian is responsible for managing legal risk in the UK business and managing legal relationships between the UK business and internal and external parties worldwide.
Adrian is dual qualified in Scottish and English Law having originally qualified in 1997. Since then he has worked at lawyers Lawrence Graham in London and Maclay Murray & Spens in Edinburgh and Glasgow. He has also worked with Scottish Widows Investment Partnership and Edinburgh Partners. He is a member of the Law Societies of Scotland and England and has co-founded a forum for lawyers working in the fund management industry in Scotland.
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Habib Subjally, Head of Global Equities
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Habib Subjally joined First State Investments in April 2006 as Head of Global Equities. Habib previously held roles as Head of Small & Mid Cap Research at Credit Suisse Europe, and Head of the Global Equities team at INVESCO Asset Management.
Prior to this, Habib worked at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (formerly Mercury Asset Management), where, as the Head of North American and Global Equities Research, he developed and managed the concentrated global equity product including the Mercury Global Titans Fund. Habib commenced his career as a Chartered Accountant specialising in the insurance industry at Ernst & Young. |
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Chris Turpin, Head of Product
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Chris joined First State Investments in September 2003 and is responsible for product management and development across First State’s EMEA, Asian and Australian businesses.
Previously Chris worked at Northern Trust Global Investments as Director of Product Management. He commenced his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in London specialising in the investment management industry. Chris is an Associate of the UK Society of Investment Professionals, a Regular Member of the CFA Institute and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.
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Heather Wells, Head of Human Resources
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Heather joined First State Investments in October 1999. She heads up a HR team supporting the EMEA region, aligning effective business solutions that reflect a positive culture, effective leadership and strategic focus for our people.
Heather ‘s human resources career spans in excess of 20 years working within the specialist areas of investment management. She has extensive experience as a relationship manager, providing and creating effective solutions and tools to enhance the personal and career development of employees. Heather is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
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