Praxis Fund Services


	Jim Gilligan FCIB, TEP Non-executive Chairman, The Praxis Group
An ex-President of the Guernsey Centre of the Chartered Institute of Bankers Jim has over 32 years’ experience in the offshore finance industry. He is a non executive director of Kleinwort Benson (Channel Islands) Holdings Limited following his recent retirement from the Kleinwort Benson Group, where he was, at various times, responsible for the Guernsey fiduciary services, CI/UK business development and CI/UK private wealth management businesses. He was also Managing Director in Guernsey until his recent retirement. In addition to his Group directorship, Jim is a director of a substantial captive insurance company, and a number of fund companies. He is also Chairman of GuernseyFinance. Jim is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (Trustee Diploma) and a member of The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

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	Chris Gambrell ACA Managing Director, Praxis Fund Services Limited Contact: chris.gambrell@pfs.gg
Chris, a Chartered Accountant, is responsible for the development of the company as well as day to day operations. Prior to joining PFS he spent eight years at Close Fund Services Limited as Director of Finance and Operations where, in addition to operations, he implemented system changes, formulated business strategy and was responsible for client and business development. Chris also spent three years in the set up and administration of Bank Unigestion (Guernsey) Limited, a managed bank, and four years with KPMG, where he trained and qualified in their audit practices in Norwich and Guernsey.

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	Simon Thornton BA, PhD, ACA Managing Director, The Praxis Group & Director, Praxis Fund Services Limited Contact: simon.thornton@praxis.gg
Simon joined the Praxis Group in 1992 and qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Before moving to Guernsey he studied Geography at Nottingham University and subsequently obtained a PhD. Since joining the Group he has taken a leading role in systems development. Simon is a director of a number of investment companies, one of which is listed on AIM in London and several Guernsey trading companies including a large private property company and the Guernsey Housing Association LBG. He is also a non-executive director of Sandpiper CI.

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	Julia Wilkes BSC, ACA Director, Praxis Fund Services Limited Contact: julia.wilkes@pfs.gg
Julia is responsible for the closed-ended fund administration practice, overseeing property and private equity funds. She has a BSc in Accountancy and Financial Analysis from Warwick University and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG in South Wales, before transferring to Guernsey with the firm in 1991. Julia joined Rea Brothers (Guernsey) Fund Managers Limited in 1993 where she became finance director. In 1996 she moved back to the UK and worked on a consultancy basis providing outsourcing accountancy services to both onshore and offshore companies. Julia returned to Guernsey in 2005 to take up a position as finance director at Close Fund Services Limited prior to joining Praxis in March 2007.

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	Stephen Cuddihee BA(Hons), MSc Director, Praxis Fund Services Limited Contact: stephen.cuddihee@pfs.gg
Stephen is responsible for new business, corporate governance and listings. Until recently he was Managing Director of Bourse Fund Administration Limited, a small bespoke fund administration operation. He spent 10 years in the City during the 1990s and held senior positions with Fidelity International Investments and Deutsche Bank. He has considerable experience in the global market risk assessment and fund development fields, as well as co-coordinating listings on the London AIM, CISX and Luxembourg stock exchanges. Stephen is a non-executive director of a number of Guernsey open and closed-ended property and hedge funds, and property companies.

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	Chris Hickling ACA Managing Director, Praxis Property Fund Services Limited Contact: chris.hickling@pfs.gg
Chris joined the Praxis Group in 2009 as a result of the acquisition of Investec Administration Services. Educated in New Zealand, he completed his chartered accounting qualification in 1998. Chris worked for Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank before joining Close Fund Services Limited in 2001 where he became Operations Director.

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	Janine Lewis ACIS Director, Praxis Property Fund Services Limited Contact: janine.lewis@pfs.gg
Janine joined the Praxis Group in 2009 as a result of the acquisition of Investec Administration Services. She has over 26 years experience in the finance industry, working with both private and corporate clients. Over the past 10 years she has worked in the funds industry developing particular expertise in property and private equity funds. Janine is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries.

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	David Le Boutillier Associate Director, Funds Contact: david.leboutillier@pfs.gg
David joined Praxis in 2007 having spent 12 years with Close Fund Services where he managed both fund valuation and shareholder servicing teams specialising in London listed funds, fund of funds,property funds and alternative investment strategies. Prior to that David worked as an administrator of money market funds at Lloyds Bank International. He currently manages the day to day activities of the closed ended funds administration team and assists with compliance and due diligence for fund take-ons and stock exchange listings.

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	Simon Johns BA, ACA Senior Manager, Financial Statements Contact: simon.johns@pfs.gg
Simon is responsible for the preparation of financial statements and other financial management reporting for all PFSL clients. He has a BA in Business Economics from Leicester University and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG in Guernsey in 2002. Simon spent 3 years with the financial statements team at Close Fund Services Limited before moving to Praxis in 2007.

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	David Stephenson Fund Accounting Manager Contact: david.stephenson@pfs.gg
David has worked in the finance industry for over 25 years, having trained at Coopers and Lybrand before joining Investec in 1987. At Investec Trust Guernsey he was responsible for the company’s management accounting, financial reporting and budgeting functions, switching to a fund accounting role with Investec Administration Services Limited before its sale to Praxis in 2009. He has significant fund experience, having worked with various fund profiles ranging from property to private equity and structured products.

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Maria Visser CA(SA)
Assistant Manager, Fund Accounting

Contact: maria.visser@pfs.gg

Maria joined the Praxis Group in 2009 as a result of the acquisition of Investec Administration Services. Prior to that she worked for Mazars LLP and spent over threes years working in audit and assurance services.

Currently responsible for the preparation of financial statements and other financial management reporting for all Praxis Property Fund Services clients, Maria studied Accounting at the University of the Free State and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in South Africa in December 2006.

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Mark McLuskey
Assistant Manager, Funds

Contact: mark.mcluskey@pfs.gg

Mark joined Praxis in 2008 from Bourse Fund Administration Limited a small bespoke fund administration operation. He has extensive experience in the preparation of financial statements and the administration of AIM and CISX listed property and hedge funds.

Mark is an assistant manager in the closed ended funds administration team and is responsible for valuations, management accounts and financial statements preparation.

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	Sharon Dempsey Assistant Manager, Funds Contact: sharon.dempsey@pfs.gg
Sharon joined the Praxis Group in 2001 with extensive experience in banking and bookkeeping. Her involvement in fund administration has encompassed valuations and accounting for long/short funds and hedge fund of funds. Sharon supervises and manages the liquid asset fund valuation team and is responsible for valuations, investment transactions, share dealing and management accounts.

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Nick Mahy FCCA
Managing Director, Praxis Fund Services (Malta) Limited

Contact: nick.mahy@pfs.gg

Nick joined the Praxis Group in 1999 and re-located from Guernsey to Malta in September 2008 to set up the new Fund Services office where he is responsible for the development of the company and the outsourcing function provided to other Praxis offices.

He joined the Fund Services team in 2002 and has been instrumental in the development of the fund administration systems. Nick has been actively involved with a wide range of Fund clients investing through a range of structures into property, equity, private equity and hedge funds, bonds and fund of hedge funds.

Nick previously worked in the PKF accounting and audit team and then the Private Client Department. He trained with Deloitte, Haskins & Sells and subsequently qualified as a Certified Accountant.

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Stephen D'Amato FCCA
Associate Director

Contact: stephen.damato@pfs.gg

Stephen joined the Praxis Group in 2008 after returning to Malta from Guernsey. He is responsible for the management of the Malta office as well as for day-to-day operations.

Stephen began his career in Malta’s commercial and telecommunications sectors working for Melita Cable plc and Vodafone Malta. He moved to Guernsey in 2005 to take up a position with HSBC Security Services (Guernsey) Limited. There he was involved with a wide range of fund administration functions across a range of fund structures and strategies. Additionally, he led the fund of funds valuation team.

Stephen qualified as an accountant in 2004.

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	Andr� Vella B.COM (HONS), ACCA Manager, Funds Contact: andre.vella@pfs.gg
André joined the Praxis Group in 2010 having spent seven years with Valletta Fund Services where he gained significant experience in a wide range of fund structures, strategies and asset classes. He has an excellent understanding of the regulatory, reporting and operational requirements of schemes structured as Professional Investor Funds, Maltese Retail Schemes and UCITS Funds. André currently manages the day-to-day activities of the closed-ended fund administration team and is actively involved with the preparation and review of fund valuations. He is also responsible for the preparation of financial statements and management accounts for the closed-ended funds and associated management entities. André holds an Honours degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Malta and is also ACCA qualified.

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Lorna Brook Dip (Fund Admin)
Funds Officer

Contact: lorna.brook@pfs.gg

Lorna joined the Praxis Group in 2006 having spent nine years in the finance industry in Guernsey. She relocated from Guernsey to Malta in October 2008 to assist with the setup of the Malta office.

Lorna started her career in fund administration with Kleinwort Benson where she gained experience in Guernsey fund structures. She then joined Schroders where she worked in the IT support side of fund administration and fund management.

She currently supervises the day-to-day activities of the open-ended fund administration team and is actively involved with the preparation and review of fund valuations for a range of open-ended strategies including Fund of Funds, hedge and equity funds, derivatives and bonds.

Lorna holds a diploma in Fund Administration.

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	Robert Kimmels Managing Director, Praxis Luxembourg SA Contact: robert.kimmels@praxisgroup.lu
Robert heads up Praxis Luxembourg. He joined the Praxis Group in 2008 after spending 11 years at Citco Corporate & Trust where his last job was co-head of the Eurasian Private Equity and Real Estate fund administration business. Prior to Citco, he worked for four years in a distressed property advisory boutique. Robert, who went to university in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, has worked in several European countries and has been a company director in each of them. In addition, he has also served as a non-executive director on the boards of several (listed) real estate funds.

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Bakary Sylla
Investor Relations Manager

Contact: bakary.sylla@praxisgroup.lu

Bakary joined Praxis Luxembourg SA in 2009 and is primarily responsible for investor relations for our fund clients.

Prior to joining Praxis he gained extensive experience in banking and fund administration with ABN AMRO Investment Fund SA and Citco Fund Services in Luxembourg and Citi Hedge Fund Services in Bermuda. He has worked in shareholder servicing teams specialising in Luxembourg, Channel Islands, BVI and Cayman (listed) funds and has experience with different asset classes, in particular with money market and funds of hedge funds. His involvement in fund administration has encompassed different roles.

Bakary has a bachelor’s degree in law.

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