Navigating Geopolitical Uncertainty and Regulatory Risk in in the Financial Sector

Russell founded and leads GXS Partners 拱心石,an independent management consulting firm based in Hong Kong, specialising in the Asia market. He has held senior positions across various global firms, including Managing Partner-Greater China for Arthur D. Little, Vice President- Global Accounts at Capgemini, and Director at PwC in addition to spending 10 years in other industry management roles.

With extensive global expertise, Russell specializes in strategy and market planning, acquisition due diligence and risk, and organisational transformation. He has worked across multiple industries, including financial services, energy, transport, supply chain and manufacturing. A frequent speaker and moderator at industry events, Russell has a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) degree in Biochemical Engineering from University College, London. 

David A. Wolber is a Registered Foreign Lawyer (New York) and a partner of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Based out of Hong Kong, and maintaining strong ties to Washington D.C., David leads the firm’s International Trade regulatory practice in Asia. 

David is ranked as a leading International Trade attorney by Chambers Greater China Region and Chambers Global: China, and as a recommended lawyer for Regulatory by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific.

David assists clients throughout the region and around the world in understanding and navigating complex legal, compliance, reputational, political and other risks arising out of the interplay of various international trade, national security and financial crime laws and regulations, with particular expertise advising banks, investment companies, private equity and asset management firms, and other financial services institutions in the increasingly complex areas of economic sanctions, export and technology controls, CFIUS and cross-border foreign investment review mechanisms and general geopolitics and national security issues.

A senior practitioner with nearly 15 years’ experience serving as both external counsel and as senior in-house financial crime legal counsel at large global banks, David offers a unique, well-rounded and highly practical perspective for institutions seeking to manage the impact, risks and trends in trade regulation and enforcement, from the operational to the strategic planning levels.

David earned his Juris Doctor (magna cum laude) from Georgetown University Law Center in 2011, and a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in 1997, where he focused on International Trade and Asian Political Economy.

Ben Simpfendorfer is a Partner at Oliver Wyman based in Hong Kong. He is the APAC Head of the Oliver Wyman Forum, the firm’s senior leadership think tank, and works across a range of practices, including macro, public policy, finance and risk. He also co-leads the firm’s Asia-Middle East platform.

Ben is the former CEO of Silk Road Associates where he advised Fortune 500 multinationals and leading Asian firms on their commercial strategies in Greater China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, as well as developing the firm’s proprietary SRA Intelligence® analytics solutions.He was previously chief China economist at RBS and senior China economist at JPMorgan in Hong Kong. 

Ben is a Mandarin and Arabic speaker, and author of The New Silk Road (2009) and The Rise of the New East (2014). He is a leading specialist on China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) and was part of a Foreign Experts Committee advising the Chinese government on BRI’s implementation. He is a Member of the Hong Kong-Middle East Advisory Board for Hong Kong’s Financial Services Development Council, a former Board Member of the Pacific Basin Economic Council, and a former Exco Member and Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.