Nicholas is based in Walkers' Ireland office where he is a partner and head of the Asset Management & Investment Funds team in Ireland. Nicholas has in excess of twenty years' experience in the area of asset management and investment funds and has worked in both legal and finance related positions during this time.

Nicholas has extensive experience advising funds, promoters and service providers on a wide range of asset management and investment fund related matters, including on the establishment, authorisation and operation of all types of Irish investment funds including UCITS, QIAIFs, RIAIFs, fund of funds, ETF's, master-feeder structures and closed-ended funds.

Nicholas has experience advising across a wide range of asset classes and investment strategies including hedge fund, private equity and real estate strategies as well as more traditional liquid investment strategies, with particular expertise in advising managers of fixed income and debt focussed investment strategies.

Nicholas also has extensive experience advising on cross-border asset management and investment fund related matters and has previously advised on the establishment of investment fund platforms involving funds in jurisdictions outside of Ireland, including parallel investment fund structures.

Nicholas has participated in various industry association working groups and committees (including those at the Investment Association, ICI Global and EFAMA) and has attended meetings at ESMA in Paris in order to provide technical guidance on investment fund related matters.

Nicholas currently sits on the Alternative Investment Fund Product and Regulation Working Group and Brexit Steering Group at Irish Funds. Nicholas has spoken at a wide range of investment fund conferences and currently lectures on the Certified Investment Fund Director Institute programme which is delivered in London, Zurich and New York.

Eimear is based inWalkers' Ireland office where she is partner in the Global Asset Management and Investment Funds group in Ireland. Eimear has over 10 years' experience in the area of asset management and investment funds having worked as a financial services lawyer in Dublin during this time. 

Eimear is highly experienced in advising a broad spectrum of managers on establishing and operating management companies (including Supermancos) in Ireland.

Eimear also does a significant amount of advisory work associated with the ongoing operations of management companies. With regard to Irish investment funds, Eimear advises on the establishment, authorisation, operation and distribution of all types of Irish investment funds including UCITS, QIAIFs, RIAIFs, fund of funds, master-feeder structures and closed-ended funds.

Eimear's practice involves advisory input on the eligibility of various asset classes and criteria for long/short strategies for UCITS, ESG compliance, Sharia fund compliance, derivative overlay, hedge fund, private debt, credit,ninfrastructure and private equity fund strategies. Eimear is a member of the Walkers Global FinTech group, which includes senior lawyers throughout the Walkers network advising on FinTech matters.

Eimear has been a member of the Irish Funds Legal and Regulatory and AIFMD Working Groups and has also lectured on the Law Society of Ireland's Finance Law Diploma programme. 

Based in Ireland, Des is a Director with Carne Global Financial Services. He has over 20 years of experience in senior roles in the funds sector. Des acts as a Director to a number of UCITS and AIF Funds focusing on the hedge and credit space.

Des joined Carne from J.P. Morgan Bank (Ireland) plc, where he was a Vice President in the Bank’s Trust & Fiduciary services division in Dublin, managing a large portfolio of trustee clients, including UCITS and hedge funds managed by both large institutional and boutique managers.

Prior to that Des held senior roles in the Irish Stock Exchange including as Listing Manager in the Funds Department, overseeing listing and compliance functions for funds and as an Executive in the corporate finance department. He sat on the Exchange’s policy committee, the Company Law Review Group and worked closely with the Irish Central Bank and EU bodies to adopt new regulations in the funds and securities area. Des was centrally involved in the launch of a number of new markets while at the Exchange. Des began his financial services career with the Trustee Department at Deutsche International in Dublin.

Des qualified as a barrister at the Kings Inns in Dublin and also has an MBA in Financial Services from the UCD Smurfit Business School. He has a B.A. from University College Dublin and an M.Litt. in modern American History from the University of St Andrews.

He is a Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment and the International Bar Association Des also sits on a number of Irish Funds Industry Committees.

Natasha is a Director, Client Relationship Management with Carne Global Financial Services Dublin and has over 25 years of experience in the funds industry.  She specialises in client relationship management, fund accounting and delegate oversight for both UCITS and AIF funds.  She is an experienced Designated Person and has been approved by the CBI for all six managerial functions for both Self-Managed Investment Companies and external Management Companies.

In her role as Designated Person for Distribution she is responsible for ensuring funds are in compliance with the relevant distribution strategies and complaints handling policies in accordance with business plans and programmes of activity. More recently she has served as a Director on the both UCITS and QIAIF products where she provides guidance on Operational Risk, Regulatory Compliance and general industry expertise in respect of both the UCITS and AIF funds.

Natasha joined Carne from BNY Mellon, where as Head of Offshore & Onshore Service Delivery Management she had responsibility for service delivery for over 75 client relationships across EMEA.  Her clients ranged from large Institutional Investment Managers to smaller Boutique operations, managing a wide range of UCITS and hedge fund product including Fund of Fund, Master/Feeder, Money Market and Alternative funds.

Natasha also spent time in the UK providing leadership development and senior management support and was Fund Accounting Group Manager for teams in Cork and Dublin. Before joining BNY Mellon, Natasha was at PNC GIS for seven years where she was a Senior Fund Accounting Manager. Natasha has also worked at IBT Europe Ltd, CICM Fund Administration, Deutsche International, Bank of Ireland and National Irish Bank.

Natasha has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Financial Services from Liverpool John Moore’s University and a Professional Diploma in Applied Alternative Investments, a Joint Financial Services Diploma, a Certificate in Mortgage Practice and a Certificate in Mutual Fund Services from IOB. In December 2021 Natasha completed a micro credentials programme in ‘Creating Value with ESG’ at Trinity College Dublin.

Elodie is the global head of marketing for Vontobel Asset Management. Elodie has over 20 years of experience in marketing in the Asset Management industry and manages a team covering digital marketing, marketing campaigns as well as country marketing strategy and implementation.

Elodie’s work is heavily focused on client-centricity, digital engagement, making offline and online work together so the firm can distribute its message across all channels in a coherent way, capturing as many touchpoints as possible as well as build brand awareness.

Fiona joined Comgest in 2012 as a Fund Operations Officer and has since been appointed to a Head of Operations role. She is also a member of CAMIL’s executive management team.

Fiona graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 1999 with a BA in Economics & Social Studies. She began her career at Merrill Lynch in Dublin, working as part of a derivatives Client Services team, before moving to work for Merrill Lynch in London in 2003.

From 2004 onwards, she worked for Deutsche Bank London within their Global Transaction Banking division in roles ranging from client services through to product management.

Martina Kelly is Director of Funds at IOB having joined IOB in January 2020. Prior to that she was Head of Markets Policy Division within the Central Bank of Ireland with responsibility for the formulation of policy in relation to investment funds, investment firms, markets and market infrastructure.

Martina has considerable experience in investment funds policy and regulation having led the Central Bank’s work in this area for many years.  In that capacity she was directly involved with the development of the Irish regulatory regime applicable to funds and fund service providers. 

Martina represented the Central Bank at the ESMA Investment Management Standing Committee from its inception until she left the Central Bank in 2019. She also participated in various European Council Working Groups including those related to AIFMD and UCITS and was the Central Bank representative at the Irish IFSC Funds Working Group

Martina is a non-executive director of Northern Trust Fiduciary Services (Ireland) Limited.