Organised by: Anti-Corruption and Rule of Law Committee, Cross-Border Investment Committee
Session abstract:
One key way of addressing corruption through internal measures is the establishment of strong corporate governance within companies. This session aims at showing that good corporate governance is not only a tool that raises efficiency, improves access to capital, and ensures sustainability — it is also emerging as an effective anti-corruption tool. We will discuss the importance of commitment from leadership to the culture of integrity and the fundamentals of good corporate governance: fairness, accountability, transparency, and responsibility. Boards of directors, who are ultimately in charge of a company’s overall strategy and conduct, must set the course accordingly. We will also show how, in order to be effective, the principles of corporate governance and business ethics need to be translated into daily operations and internalized by employees at all levels. Especially in companies with global operations, it is crucial that leadership calls for antibribery trickle down through the whole value chain. We will further address how the he triad of business, civil society, and governments will have to work together to devise and implement solutions that carry significant benefits for all.
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Susan Munro
Susan Munro is a partner based in the Hong Kong office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP and a member of the firm’s International Arbitration, Investigations and White-Collar Crime and International Trade and Regulatory Compliance Groups.
Ms. Munro has more than 25 years’ experience of advising financial institutions, multinational companies and investment funds on China-related investments, regulatory compliance, investigations and commercial disputes. She regularly advises and represents clients in China, including the Hong Kong SAR, the U.K., the U.S. and other jurisdictions.
Ms. Munro has led various internal investigations in connection with anti-corruption, fraud and sexual harassment allegations and has participated in numerous U.S. SEC investigations conducted in mainland China and elsewhere in Asia. She has assisted multinational companies with regulatory compliance assessments and has structured compliance programs for clients in the financial services, engineering and architectural services, and pharmaceuticals and medical devices sectors. Ms. Munro has advised global investment funds on compliance due diligence, investment risks and remediation. She represents clients in litigation and arbitration in connection with complex cross-border shareholder disputes in various jurisdictions.
Ms. Munro was educated in England, Hong Kong and Shanghai and is a solicitor qualified in England & Wales. She speaks, reads and writes Chinese to near-native level and is fluent in French and Spanish. After graduating in Chinese from the University of London, she pursued post-graduate studies at Fudan University in Shanghai as a British Council Scholar. Ms. Munro also obtained a LLB degree, trained at the Inns of Court School of Law in London, and was called to the Bar of England & Wales and to the Bar of the Hong Kong SAR. She has been ranked by Chambers Global and Asia Pacific in Corporate Investigations/Anti-Corruption every year since 2015. In 2015 Ms. Munro was named Regulatory and Compliance Lawyer of the Year by China Law & Practice.
Yogesh Singh
Yogesh Singh is the Co-head of the Corporate Practice Group at Trilegal and has experience of advising clients on transactions (mergers and acquisitions, private equity and joint ventures) and strategic advisory matters.
Yogesh specializes in regulated sectors including defence, liquor and beverages, hospitality, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, financial services, TMT and e-commerce/trading. Yogesh has advised clients on various investigations including whistle blower complaints, internal bribery/ethical violations related allegations as well as corporate governance, revenue and investment violations. Yogesh regularly advises foreign and Indian clients on general corporate aspects of their Indian operations including FCPA compliance strategies and employment issues. In the last 5 years, Yogesh has been extensively involved in distressed asset transactions with a range of parties including creditors, debtors, insolvency professionals, lenders and investors.
Yogesh is the go-to Corporate/M&A advisor for marquee client names and has structured some of the biggest deals of recent times, many of which have been recognised as “Deal of the Year” at various legal media platforms, including The Asian Lawyer, IBLJ, ALB, and Chambers.
Yogesh has recently been recognised among Corporate Inc.’s most impactful leaders in the 40Under40 listing by The Economic Times and SpencerStuart.
Yogesh is recommended by Chambers and Partners Asia-Pacific, RSG Consulting and Asia-Pacific Legal 500. Yogesh is described as “diligent, experienced and pragmatic”, by Asia-Pacific Legal 500; as “an astute and impressive corporate lawyer who is always available, articulates the risks and opportunities very well and is a skilled negotiator.” by Chambers and Partners 2017 and as “precise, prompt and reliable” and “easily accessible” in the RSG India Report 2015. Yogesh is also recommended as an “international advisor” by Finance Monthly.
Yogesh is a dual qualified lawyer. He is a member of the Supreme Court of India and also qualified as a Solicitor in England and Wales.
Speakers
Gerry Zack
Gerry Zack is CEO of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics & Health Care Compliance Association (SCCE & HCCA), joining the organization in 2017 after more than 30 years of experience providing preventive, detective, and investigative services involving fraud, corruption, and compliance matters. As CEO of SCCE & HCCA, he leads the efforts of this 18,000-member membership organization serving the global compliance and ethics profession, with members in 100 countries. Prior to joining SCCE & HCCA, Gerry worked globally with businesses of all sizes and in many industries, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. In connection with his investigative work, he has represented numerous organizations before government regulators and enforcement agencies. Prior to joining SCCE & HCCA, Gerry was in the Global Forensics practice of BDO. He previously ran his own risk advisory and forensic investigative practice for 20 years and was an audit manager with an international accounting firm. He also served for two years as chief operating and compliance officer for an international scientific organization.
Mr. Zack has authored three books on fraud and compliance, including Financial Statement Fraud: Strategies for Detection and Investigation (2013). He is also the principal author of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) course “Uncovering Fraud with Financial and Ratio Analysis,” and co-author of the course “Fraud Risk Management.” He is the author of numerous articles on fraud and compliance topics.
Gerry is a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), and he holds a Certificate in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA). He served on the faculty of the ACFE from 2006 to 2017. He has spoken at numerous national and international conferences, and has conducted training or provided services in 25 countries.
George Wang
- Wang joined Duan & Duan in 2000. He has represented foreign investors in over 100 FDI and M&A projects. He is familiar with laws and regulations in industry sectors including Internet, medical, aviation, chemicals, food, automobile and machinery manufacturing. He assists clients with numerous legal affairs, including dispute resolution, labor law, IP rights, antitrust and corporate governance arising out of daily operations.
- He is familiar with design and execution of outbound investment and financing plans for overseas listing, and represents Chinese state-owned and private enterprises in investment, M&A and overseas listing in Russia, USA, Canada, etc.
- Wang has rich experience in litigation and arbitration in and outside of China, and has won cases in Chinese and overseas courts, arbitral tribunals, international litigation and arbitration.
Educational Background:
- Shanghai International Studies University, BA, 1997
- Shanghai University, LLB, 1999
- University of Oxford, Magister of Juris (MJur), 2005
Stephen Charles O’Sullivan
Stephen Charles O’Sullivan is not originally Brazilian, as his names suggests. In fact, he has three nationalities: Irish, New Zealander and, more recently, Brazilian. He has lived and worked in Brazil for almost 30 years. He is a qualified English solicitor and since coming to Brazil has also qualified as a Brazilian lawyer, which is extremely rare for a common law-trained lawyer, if not unique. Stephen is a Partner in the Corporate/M&A group at Mattos Filho Advogados, one of Brazil’s largest law firms (with 118 partners and over one thousand fee-earners in total). He has vast experience in mergers and acquisitions, inbound investments in Brazil and other business ventures, involving foreign and domestic companies. Stephen’s practice is largely international, with a particular focus on Asia. His expertise includes guiding multinational business groups and foreign investors through the regulatory and transactional hurdles that arise when investing and operating in Brazil.
Eu Jin Ong
Eu Jin’s practice encompasses both equity capital market fundraising exercises such as initial public offerings (IPOs) as well as debt capital market transactions such as bond and Sukuk issuances. He has advised and acted for listed corporations, REITs, investment banks as well as companies seeking listing in both the Malaysian and foreign stock exchanges, in particular, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Among his recent notable transactions is the issuance of Samurai Bond (guaranteed by Japan Bank for International Cooperation) for the amount of ¥200 billion by the Government of Malaysia in which Eu Jin acted as the Malaysian legal counsel.
Eu Jin served a 7-year stint as chief operating officer of a subsidiary of a financial services group before returning to legal practice. He has been both executive and independent director of companies regulated by the Securities Commission Malaysia. He has also previously served on the Board of the Financial Planning Association of Malaysia as its Honorary Secretary.
A partner of Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership, Eu Jin is qualified as a solicitor (England & Wales) and holds an LLM degree from University College London. Prior to the travel restrictions arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, he enjoys meeting people at international law conferences and in recent years, was a panelist in conferences held in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Siem Reap and Colombo.