Kanishk Verghese - Deputy Editor, Asian Legal Business - Thomson Reuters

Alice Chan, Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Prosecutions Division, Department of Justice, Hong Kong

Alice Chan joined the Prosecutions Division of the then Attorney General's Chambers in 1995 as Crown Counsel and became Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions in 2012. She has been heading the ICAC (Private Sector) Section since March 2014

Kyle Wombolt, Global Head - Corporate Crime and Investigations - Herbert Smith Freehills 

Kyle is the global head of Herbert Smith Freehills' corporate crime and investigations practice. Based in Hong Kong, he has 15 years of experience in Asia and has led investigations and compliance projects in more than 40 countries worldwide. He focuses on multi-jurisdictional anti-corruption, regulatory, fraud and accounting investigations, as well as trade and sanctions issues involving multinational and major regional corporates. He has extensive experience in dealing with a broad group of government agencies and regulators in the key jurisdictions in Asia, Europe, Australia and the United States.

Kyle has a broad range of experience implementing anti-corruption compliance programmes for a broad range of clients, including investment banks and other financial institutions and multinational companies. He regularly advises clients on corruption risks associated with a wide range of transactions, including IPOs, mergers and acquisitions and joint venture relationships. A regular speaker at industry and other events, Kyle is also a frequent contributor to leading commercial and legal journals, where he writes on regional and global efforts to fight corruption.

Kyle is admitted in Hong Kong, California and New York and is a registered foreign lawyer in England and Wales. He speaks English and is conversational in Mandarin.

David Bishop, Principal lecturer, School of Business - Faculty of Business and Engineering, The University of Hong Kong

David Bishop is a Principal Lecturer at the University of Hong Kong and Fudan University, Shanghai. Mr. Bishop earned his bachelor degree in (magna cum laude) from Brigham Young University, and his Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.  Mr. Bishop’s teaching focuses on a wide range of legal and ethics related matters. He has consulted major companies concerning ethics, CSR, pro bono representation, and various compliance and governance matters. Mr. Bishop is also the founder of several socially-minded companies, including Soap Cycling, a non-profit employing used hotel soap to enhance the lives of disadvantaged communities around Asia, and Fair Employment Agency, a non-profit employment agency focused on overcoming the exploitation of migrant laborers.

Sarah Bower, Chief Legal Counsel, Principal, Transactions & Restructuring, KPMG

Sarah Bower has been practicing law for 22 years and has provided legal services to corporations in Asia for 15 years. In her current role, Sarah supervises all legal aspects of work done by the Transactions & Restructuring teams in the China practice- including advising clients on corporate or transaction structuring, corporate finance/M & A support, litigation support, regulatory compliance, advising on transaction structures and mitigating counter-party risk.

Sarah routinely manages international commercial negotiations and litigation. She played a key management role for Lehman Brothers International Cross-Border Insolvency Protocol, designed to facilitate cross-border settlements and limit expensive and time-consuming legal proceedings. Sarah supervised all legal transactions and settlements for Hong Kong Lehman Brothers and MF Global estates since joining the firm in 2009. Sarah supported KPMG Restructuring and Corporate Finance teams to successfully restructure a number of high profile Chinese businesses, including Titan Petrochemical Group Limited and Ambow Education Holding Limited.

Her team of lawyers has practiced in multiple jurisdictions, including PRC, Hong Kong, US, UK and Australia. The team possesses strong Chinese legal capabilities. She also advises a number of Hong Kong’s independent non-executive directors, via KPMG’s Independent Non-Executive Directors Forum. In 2012, Sarah was awarded Asia Law “In-House Counsel of the Year Award”, and in 2014 was recognised by the Financial Times as one of Asia’s “Top 10 Most Innovative Lawyers”. S

arah is on the Board of Women in Finance Asia (WiFA). Her sector experience includes- corporate structuring, financial services, regulatory compliance, capital markets, corporate governance and directors duties.

Torsten Duwenhorst, Forensic Partner and Head of the Forensic Technology Network, KPMG

Torsten Duwenhorst is a Forensic Partner and Head of the Forensic Technology Network for KPMG in Asia Pacific. He provides multinational corporations with tailored services in response to regulatory inquiries, fraud investigations, litigation support and compliance, including document review services in relation to Chinese State Secret laws. Torsten has more than 15 years of experience in leading forensic engagements in China and the Asia Pacific region.

He has lived and worked in Greater China for the last 15 years and is currently based in Hong Kong. Most recently Torsten led forensic technology engagements for pharma and financial clients in response to ongoing government Anti–Bribery and Corruptions Campaigns  in China and SIBOR-related regulatory inquiries by the Singapore Monetary Authority.

Jil Leong, Assistant General Counsel, Global Growth & Operations, Thomson Reuters

Jil Leong is a mergers and acquisitions lawyer with extensive cross-border transaction experience in Asia and beyond.  She joined Thomson Reuters in April 2014 where she oversees legal support for Thomson Reuters in its high growth markets M&A activity globally. Jil also acts as Chief Legal Counsel for the Thomson Reuters businesses in ASEAN and North Asia. Prior to joining Thomson Reuters Jil worked with a large international law firm where she advised global financial institutions, multi-national corporations and state owned enterprises in a range of corporate transactions including acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, strategic partnerships, reorganizations, pre-IPO investments and capital raising activities. Jil has been admitted to practice in Hong Kong, England and Wales and New Zealand.

Sophia P.K. Yap, Global Deputy Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, CBRE

Sophia PK Yap has 20+ years of experience gained from Real Estate (as lender, legal advisor, manager, investor and service professional), Healthcare and High-Value Brand industries in various roles including General Counsel & Senior Vice-President of a private equity fund; multiple APAC-wide roles within General Electric Healthcare as Senior Counsel for Compliance & Litigation, GE Medical Systems Information Technologies Counsel and Healthcare Technology Counsel;  Commercial & Intellectual Property Counsel with Baker & McKenzie in Hong Kong and as a banker at Adelaide Bank and ANZ Banking Group in Australia. Currently as CBRE Group’s Global Deputy Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, PK is responsible for CBRE’s Global Anti-Corruption Program and serves on the Asia Pacific Strategic Group providing management advice on the implementation of strategic tactical business plans and process improvements. In her prior role as APAC General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer at CBRE, PK established the legal and compliance team in APAC which was rated in the Financial Times as a "Standout" in the FT Asia Pacific Innovative Lawyers 2014 Awards.

Roshini Subapanditha, Sales Specialist - Enhanced Due Diligence, Thomson Reuters

Roshini is a Sales Specialist for Enhanced Due Diligence, Thomson Reuters, Southeast Asia and is based out of Hong Kong. She is a law graduate from the University of Wales and has been working in the field of risk management and compliance for over 7 years.She has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the industry with her last role being with The Red Flag Group and has dealt with a variety of clients within the financial, health-care, technology and logistics industry. They consisted of multi-national corporations with many of them being under the fortune 500 list. Prior to RFG, she spent a number of years at I-On Asia Limited, a due diligence firm, initially as a Researcher before working her way up to Senior Manager.

Yong Kai WONG, Managing Director - Head of Legal & Compliance, CITIC Capital

Yong Kai Wong is Head of Legal & Compliance and is also the Company Secretary. He is responsible for overall legal and execution coverage for CITIC Capital’s investment activities, as well as all aspects of CITIC Capital’s general corporate, company secretarial and legal functions. Mr. Wong has over 10 years of experience in alternative investments with broad experience across U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific in a whole range of transactions ranging from complex debt financings/restructurings, capital markets, structured/securitised products, corporate M&A transactions including corporate real estate/special situations, private equity and hedge fund formations. Prior to joining CITIC Capital, he worked as Associate General Counsel for APG Asset Management Asia, one of the world’s largest institutional investors. Prior to that, he worked in various reputable international law firms in U.S., London, Hong Kong and Singapore. Mr. Wong has dual qualifications in law and finance. He holds an MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business and an LL.M. (First Class Honors) from University of Cambridge.

Deborah Kaplan, Anti-Corruption Counsel, Morgan Stanley 

Deborah Kaplan advises the firm’s various business units on anti-corruption matters, including transactional diligence and investigations. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Deborah worked in the Litigation team at Avon Products, Inc. in New York, where she focused on FCPA-related matters and other significant litigations.Before joining Avon, Deborah worked at Baker & Hostetler LLP in New York, where her practice focused on white-collar crime and regulatory inquiries and investigations, including work on behalf of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation Trustee for the Liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

Susannah Lindenfield, Managing Director - Legal & Compliance, The Blackstone Group Ltd

Susannah Lindenfield is a Managing Director based in Hong Kong. She is Head of International Compliance. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2008, Ms. Lindenfield served as counsel to KBC Financial Products covering the Asian fund of funds, the hedge fund derivatives and convertible bonds businesses. Ms. Lindenfield began her legal career as a lawyer at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton where she worked for seven years advising on a variety of leveraged finance, restructuring and cross-border M&A transactions. Ms. Lindenfield received an LLB in English and French Law from King’s College London, a maitrise en droit privé from Université de Paris I - Panthéon Sorbonne and an LLM in comparative law from McGill University in Montreal. She is admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales and as an attorney in New York State. Ms. Lindenfield is proficient in French and Spanish.

Stanley W.H. Lui, General Counsel APAC, NOBEL BIOCARE ASIA LTD

Stanley Lui has been Nobel Biocare’s General Counsel for the APAC region since January 2010; one of his key functions is directing programs in ethics and compliance. Prior to joining Nobel Biocare, Stanley worked for UTC Fire and Security (now UTC Building & Industrial Systems) where he was responsible for procuring legal, compliance and risk related advice to all company functions and units within the Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and South China regions. Stanley has also worked for G2000 – an apparel company – as the company’s Legal and Business Development Manager. His dedication to compliance awareness and competence led to a stronger region in the areas of ethics and control. Stanley is a graduate of University of London with an LL.B and he completed his undergraduate work at University of British Columbia, focusing on politics and English literature.

Lora Yip, Head of Legal & Compliance, Asia, Vanguard Investments Hong Kong Limited

Lora Yip is responsible for legal and compliance matters for Vanguard's offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. She joined Vanguard in 2012 and has more than 15 years' experience in the financial industry. She previously worked as a senior counsel at Value Partners and before that practised as a fund and corporate lawyer in Hong Kong where she specialised in investment funds formation and corporate finance matters. Lora holds an LLB and an LLM from University of Hong Kong and is admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales and Hong Kong. She speaks fluent English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

James Bidlake, Executive Director - Legal and Compliance Division, Morgan Stanley

James Bidlake has been with Morgan Stanley for over 10 years and leads a group of lawyers based in Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai, Korea and Australia who provide legal coverage for its Investment Banking and Capital Markets Division.  He also advises on the Firm’s strategic initiatives in the region and is a director of Morgan Stanley Gateway Securities, the Firm’s securities joint-venture in Vietnam. James is the co-secretary and a member of the Firm’s Franchise Committee which deals with suitability, conflicts of interest and franchise issues for the Firm.  Since 2004 he has been a board member of the Hong Kong Corporate Counsel Association. He occasionally lectures to students at City University’s School of Law. James arrived in Hong Kong in 1999 and has been involved in some of the largest and most complex transactions in the region. He is qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales and Hong Kong. In 2013 he was Asia Legal Business’ “In-house Counsel of the Year”.

Bella Chhoa, Assistant Director Corporate Affairs, Hang Lung Properties Limited

Ms Chhoa joined Hang Lung Properties Limited as Company Secretary, General Counsel and Assistant Director — Corporate Affairs in August 2011, where she oversees the legal, company secretarial and human resources and training functions of the Group in Hong Kong and Mainland. Prior to joining Hang Lung, she was head of the legal department and company secretary of two other companies listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited for a number of years. Ms Chhoa is a solicitor qualified to practice in Hong Kong. She holds a Master of Business Administration degree from The Chinese University of Hong Kong and a Bachelor degree in Law from The University of Hong Kong.