2025 Speakers
Discover leading speakers from last year, this year’s world-class lineup is coming soon.
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Aakash Desai is the CIO & Head of Private Credit strategy at 360 ONE Alternates Asset Management. He manages an AUM of over $1.5Bn across private credit and various fixed income strategies and is responsible for identifying growth opportunities to augment scale in the business.
Having worked in Asian and European markets, Aakash brings over two decades of deep and diverse experience in Wholesale & Institutional Financial services and a high degree of specialisation in the areas of Corporate and Structured Finance, Syndication & Capital Markets across key global financial markets.
Prior to 360 ONE, Aakash was a part of the senior management and founding team of Clix Capital (ex-GE Capital). He joined Clix with overall balance sheet responsibility in his role as Head of Corporate and Structured Finance business & Treasurer. He was responsible for origination, credit structuring and risk management for the corporate credit business , in addition to managing all aspects of fund raising, ALM and risk management within the Clix Group Treasury.
Prior to Clix, Aakash was Managing Director and Regional Head- South Asia for Corporate Finance at Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) where he spent 4 years driving the Corporate Finance and Loan Syndication businesses for India and South Asian markets with a focus on the build out the INR financing franchise at SCB.
Prior to SCB, Aakash spent 13 years at ICICI Bank India and UK setting up various new businesses, products and revenue streams across India and offshore markets. In his last role at ICICI Bank as Head – Financial Institutions & Syndications Group, he was responsible for all domestic fund raising, debt capital markets financing and managing senior banking and investor relationships with all Indian financial institutions. From 2003-2009, Aakash worked at ICICI Bank UK responsible for structuring and underwriting functions within the M&A financing business and was responsible for conceptualizing, originating and building the emerging markets credit business for 6+ years.
Aakash was the Chairman of the India Chapter of the Asia Pacific Loans Market Association, which is responsible for enhancing depth and scope of loan markets in India and adopting global best practices.
- Ali Abbas Alam is Head of DCM and Private Credit Asia (ex. Australia), based in Singapore at Jefferies Financial Group.
- Ali has more than 27 years of experience in Private Credit, Investment Banking, M&A, Capital Markets and Corporate C-Suite roles.
- Ali joined Jefferies from Ares, where he focused primarily on private credit transactions in South East Asia. Prior to Ares, Ali was with Credit Suisse for 16 years in Singapore. He was founding member and co-head of the Credit Suisse Asia Financing Group.
Andrew Bishop is a partner in the Hong Kong office of Latham & Watkins, and is the Regional Chair of the firm's Finance Department in Asia. He delivers strategic and commercially driven counsel to private equity, venture, and credit funds, as well as other institutional and strategic investors on a range of cross-border finance and high-value mandates. He has built a team that advises global market-leading funds and strategic investors on complex financings throughout the Asia-Pacific market and regularly helps clients navigate myriad issues in the finance space, including private credit.
Andrew has been resident in Asia for more than a decade and has developed an intricate understanding of international legal regimes in the region. Drawing on qualifications and experience practicing in London and Hong Kong, he regularly helps clients execute market-defining transactions spanning Asia, Europe, and the United States, including novel and precedent-setting financings in Australia, China, India, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.
Andrew Schantz joined Bain Capital in 2023. He is a Partner on the Credit team.
Prior to joining Bain Capital, Andrew was a Managing Director with CPP Investment’s APAC Credit team and an Executive Director with Tor Investment Management. He began his career with Citi’s Special Situations and Credit Portfolio teams in New York.Andrew received an MS from Boston College, a BS from Florida State University, and is a CFA Charterholder.
Ms. Yeung had more than 15 years of experience in financial restructuring, business review and monitoring, insolvency and receivership. She has worked with companies and creditors in multiple jurisdictions and has developed a deep understanding of restructuring regimes and offshore jurisdictions.
Most recently at A&M, Ms. Yeung advised real estate companies or their creditors in offshore debt restructuring situations, including Yuzhou, CFLD, R&F, KWG, Logan, etc. Other projects also included the restructuring of Luckin Coffee Inc. and the debt restructuring of Genting Hong Kong Limited.
Prior to joining A&M, Ms. Yeung spent seven years with a Big Four accounting firm in Hong Kong, where she worked on several cross-border restructuring and insolvency assignments such as the liquidation of Lehman Brothers Hong Kong, the bankruptcy reorganization of Shanghai Chaori Solar and the VIE-structure restructuring of Ambow Education.
Ms. Danielle Li has over 12 years of experience in finance. She joined Value Partners in 2015 and is currently a Senior Fund Manager, managing various high-yield portfolios with both an Asian focus and a global mandate. Leveraging Value Partners' leading market position in the China and Asia USD high-yield bond markets, Ms. Li has extensive experience investing in both public and private bonds and has been directly involved in numerous cross-border restructuring situations.
Ms. Li holds a Master's degree in International Commerce from Université Grenoble Alpes in France and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Xiamen University in China. She is a native Mandarin speaker and is also fluent in English and French.
Desmond is co-head of the Litigation group in Hong Kong and a member of the firm’s Global Arbitration, Trade and Advocacy practice. He practices in both Hong Kong and Singapore, handling international commercial litigation and arbitration with an emphasis on high-stakes disputes in Asia.
Desmond also has an established restructuring and insolvency practice involving the representation of debtors and creditors in dispute matters associated with complex cross-border debt restructurings, insolvency, and distressed scenarios. He is a senior member of a Sidley team responsible for close to US$50 billion in successfully completed restructuring mandates since the start of the China real estate crises in 2021.
Dhevine is a partner in Sidley’s Hong Kong Restructuring practice with extensive experience acting on behalf of debtors in relation to many of Hong Kong’s most significant restructuring mandates in recent years. He is a senior member of a Sidley team responsible for close to US$50 billion in successfully completed restructuring mandates since the start of the China real estate crises in 2021.
As well as acting on behalf of debtors in cross-border restructurings, Dhevine also has experience advising sponsors, creditors, and strategic investors on restructurings of stressed and distressed businesses. In addition, he advises private equity and credit houses, hedge funds, and investment banks in their review and diligence of investment opportunities in par, stressed, and distressed transactions. Dhevine has received recognition from numerous industry rankings such as the Global Restructuring Review, IFLR Asia-Pacific Awards, Legal 500, Legal Business Awards, and FT Innovative Lawyers Awards.
Diane Raposio (Hong Kong) joined KKR in 2013 and is a Partner in the firm’s Credit & Markets business. Ms. Raposio is the Head of Asia Credit & Markets and the Portfolio Manager of Asia Private Credit. She is a member of the Asia Private Credit Investment Committee, the Asia Tactical Credit Investment Committee and the KCM Capital Committee. Since joining the firm, she has led a number of credit investments in Asia and has also led a broad spectrum of debt, equity and structured financings for KKR and third party clients. Prior to joining KKR, she spent six years in the leveraged debt capital markets team at Deutsche Bank (across London, Hong Kong and Sydney), UBS, Barclays, Bankers Trust and AMP.
Ms. Raposio is a qualified actuary (FIAA) and holds a Masters of Economics from Macquarie University
Gary Holtzer is a partner in Weil’s Restructuring Department and a member of the Firm’s Global Leadership and Strategy and Management Committees. Based in the United States, Gary brings extensive experience advising clients on both domestic and cross-border restructurings, crisis management, corporate governance, and transactions involving distressed assets. Recognized as a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and an Adjunct Professor at Cardozo School of Law, Gary’s skillset spans complex restructurings, financings, and acquisitions across a broad range of industries.
Gary has been consistently ranked as a leading lawyer for Bankruptcy/Restructuring by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, and Legal 500 US. He was named a “Leading Lawyer” by Legal 500 (2020; 2022-2025), recognized among the 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers by Lawdragon (2020; 2022-2025), and listed as “Highly Regarded” for Restructuring and Insolvency in the U.S. by IFLR1000 (2020; 2022-2024). In 2021, he was honored as a “Crisis Leadership Trailblazer” by The National Law Journal, and has been recognized by Turnarounds & Workouts and Law360 as an outstanding restructuring lawyer. Gary is noted for his confident and calm approach to complex bankruptcy matters and is regarded as one of the foremost practitioners in his field.
Grainne has over 25 years’ experience in international banking and private equity. She has advised listed corporates and private equity on their investments in Europe, the U.S. and Asia. Based in Singapore for the last 15 years, Grainne currently works in Standard Chartered Bank focusing on global special assets management including restructuring, distressed loan sales and impairment provisioning. Prior to that, she was Director of Investments for Fine Grain Property, a PE real estate investor and operator. Before moving to Singapore, Grainne was a Director in the corporate finance boutique, DC Advisory in London where she advised on billions of dollars of complex, multi-jurisdictional restructurings and was responsible for returning numerous clients to financial health. Prior to that, Grainne worked in the Allied Irish Banks in London focusing on restructuring and portfolio management. She is also a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ireland and trained as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG in Dublin, Ireland.
JD joined Deutsche Bank in 2017 and runs sales and distribution for Deutsche Bank’s Strategic Investment Group (SIG) in Asia. Over the past seven years, the team has been involved in multiple landmark transactions across the region with JD taking responsibility for managing the relationships that the SIG has with co-investors and partners relevant to those trades. SIG has a broad mandate which spans special situation direct lending, trading secondary distressed debt and fund and portfolio financing. The team has a proven track record of working with partners to source risk, invest, drive outcomes and effect profitable exits from trades.
He writes a regular market commentary which serves as a window into what the team is focused on and where there might be investment opportunities. Reach out if you’d like to be on the distribution for that.
Kathleen Aka leads Weil’s Asia Restructuring practice. Based in Hong Kong, she has over 20 years of experience advising both debtors and creditors in relation to contentious and non-contentious restructuring and insolvency matters in the Asia-Pacific region. Dually qualified in Hong Kong and New South Wales, Australia, Kathleen is skilled in guiding clients through the most challenging and complex processes of financial restructuring, creditor enforcement, formal insolvency, insolvency litigation, distressed M&A, and distressed secondary debt trading.
Kathleen’s diverse experience and comprehensive skillset straddling both contentious and non-contentious work have earned her recognition as one of the top restructuring lawyers in Asia. Kathleen was named a “Growth Driver” in the 2023-2024 A-List Lawyers by China Business Law Journal, an “Asia Future Leader” by IFLR in 2021, and a “Next Generation Partner” by Legal 500 Asia-Pacific from 2020 to 2024, amongst the others. Kathleen has a reputation for her unique capability in advising a wide range of clients across the full gamut of distressed situations, including bondholders, credit and distressed investment funds, banks, insolvency practitioners, shareholders, and distressed corporations. Her industry experience covers banking and financial services, insurance and reinsurance, health, infrastructure, energy, mining and agriculture, shipping and transportation, retail, and property.
Mr Wong is an Executive Director in Argyle Street Management Limited. Mr Wong is specialize in distress and private credit investment in Asia. He previously worked at KPMG and FTI Consulting in Hong Kong. Mr Wong is a Fellow member of the HKICPA. He holds a Bachelor of Business from the Queensland University of Technology, a Juris Doctor from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a Master course in Financial Engineering from Stanford University.
Dr. Le Xia is Asia Chief Economist at BBVA. He also serves as Senior Research Fellow in International Monetary Institute at Renmin University of China; and Council Member of China Chief Economist Forum. Prior to joining BBVA, Dr. Xia worked for the Treasury Department of Bank of China (Hong Kong). Dr. Xia has extensive interest in economic research, in particular for monetary policy and banking sectors in emerging economies. He has published his works in both academic journals and the international media, including Nikkei Asian Review, OMFIF Monthly Bulletin, People’s Daily, China Daily and FTChinese. He has been frequently invited to express views about the Chinese economy on Bloomberg, CNBC, CGTN, Phoenix TV, Financial Times and Wall Street Journal. He obtained his PhD from the University of Hong Kong and a master degree from Renmin University of China.
ZHU Lei is the Head of Asian Fixed Income. Lei has over 15 years of global and Asian fixed income portfolio management experiences and over 20 years of industry experience. In this position, Lei provides strategic direction and leadership for Fidelity’s Asian Fixed Income business and managerial responsibility for the portfolio management team. Additionally, Lei oversees the fixed income trading team in the region.
Before joining Fidelity in January 2023, Lei spent over a decade at Credit Suisse Asset Management in Singapore and Hong Kong, where she was most recently Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income Asia. As a founding member of their Asset Management Asian fixed income business since 2012, she took the lead role in building out the firm’s Greater China capabilities and helped to establish the franchise’s Singapore-based capabilities. She was a senior portfolio manager for Emerging Markets, Asian USD corporate, and Asian local currency bond portfolios and funds, as well as served as a member of the Emerging Markets Strategy Group. In addition, Lei managed portfolios with a focus on both onshore and offshore renminbi bond markets in China. Her investment expertise has earned her several Lipper Fund Awards for Asian fixed income strategies in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Lei began her professional investment management career in 2007 at DBS Bank in Singapore. She was a portfolio manager for global USD credit and Asian fixed income strategies at the bank’s Treasury Investments Department which was responsible for the management of the bank’s excess liquidity and shareholders’ funds to generate absolute returns in a broad range of asset classes globally. Prior to this, Lei held various roles at DBS Bank and Ernst & Young.
Lei holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada and is also a CFA charterholder.
Luc has over 20 years of experience as a financial journalist in Asia covering fixed income, credit derivatives and distressed debt markets. He joined Debtwire in 2006 as Managing Editor for the Asia-Pacific region and now is responsible for a team of 14 journalists and five analysts that cover primarily the stressed/distressed debt, high yield and primary debt markets. Luc first started covering distressed debt markets in 1989 as a reporter for IFR in Japan. In 1998 he initiated and developed coverage of the Asian distressed debt markets for IFR Asia.
Minna Zhang is an associate in the Restructuring Department of the Firm’s Hong Kong office. She has extensive experience advising on contentious and non-contentious restructuring and insolvency-related matters, acting for a wide range of stakeholders including debtors, creditors and insolvency practitioners. Minna has been involved in restructuring transactions and corporate insolvencies in Australia and Hong Kong, and has worked on cross-border transactions involving the PRC, the US, the Cayman Islands and BVI.
Minna Zhang has recently been named a 2025 Hong Kong Rising Star by Thomson Reuters’ Asian Legal Business, and recognized as a Rising Star in Hong Kong Restructuring and Insolvency by IFLR1000 Asia-Pacific. Minna received commendation from one of her clients as “clearly one to watch for the future” in Legal 500 Asia-Pacific, she is also widely acclaimed by her clients for “continuously show(ing) her professionalism & ability in dealing with various situations in a multi-billion debt restructuring deal”.
Parag Ranade is a Managing Director and Head of Loans and Private Credit Distribution for Asia.
Parag leads a team that spans Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei and South Korea and is responsible for the coverage of banks, asset managers and funds in the region.
Parag has more than 20 years of experience in APAC.
He joined Deutsche Bank in 2015 and has also previously worked with DBS, UBS and Barclays.
Parag is a Chartered Accountant from India and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the Asian Institute of Management in the Philippines.
Pete is a partner and co-head of Gilbert + Tobin’s Restructuring and Insolvency group.
He has significant experience advising hedge funds, financiers, banks (traditional and investment banks), insolvency practitioners, creditors and debtors on restructuring, distressed debt transactions, workouts, insolvency, distressed M&A and stressed banking transactions.
An INSOL Fellow, Pete has significant international experience, including working in Tokyo with a leading global law firm and advising on numerous high-profile cross-border transactions.
Zhou Ping is Co-Managing Editor at Debtwire APAC, a global intelligence service that researches and reports on high-yield and distressed debt, leveraged financing and debt restructurings. Co-working with a group of experienced journalists and analysts, she writes news stories and market insights on Chinese high-yield bond issuers, distressed debt, in-court and out-of-court restructuring situations. Prior to Debtwire, she worked for Financial Times to cover South China in Hong Kong Bureau, Associated Press in Beijing Bureau. She studied and lived in Beijing, Pyongyang, Seoul before moving to Hong Kong.
Mr. Mohinani is a Partner in Ares Asia, where he focuses on credit. Additionally, Mr. Mohinani is a member of the Secured Lending Funds Investment Committee. Prior to joining Ares in 2020, Mr. Mohinani was the Managing Director of the SSG Group since 2015 and was instrumental in growing the firm's Asia business, including identifying opportunities, structuring investments and asset management. Previously, Mr. Mohinani was responsible for Nomura's Asia credit desk analysis, overseeing high grade, high yield, illiquids and distressed across sovereigns, banks and corporates. In addition, Mr. Mohinani was at Lehman Brothers from May 2005, where he also headed the bank's Asia Pacific credit research effort. Mr. Mohinani began his career in research roles at Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. At JP Morgan, he followed the Asian distressed credit market and, subsequently became responsible for the bank's Asia high grade credit research. Mr. Mohinani holds a degree from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School in Economics. Mr. Mohinani is a CFA® charterholder.
Rahul is an experienced professional with over twenty-five years of experience in investment banking and private credit.
Rahul joined Multiples in October 2024 to lead Multiples' new credit initiative. Prior to joining Multiples, Rahul was Heading Financing for Financial Sponsors in the APAC region at Deutsche Bank. He joined Deutsche Bank in 2014 from Credit Suisse (CS). In CS he was the Managing Director of their Investment Banking Division and Head of the Global Market Solutions.
Rahul brings the experience of leading origination, execution, and delivery across structured lending, equity derivatives, and debt capital market solutions closing financing solutions for upwards of USD 20 billion.
Rahul completed his BA in Economics from St. Stephens, Delhi in 1992, and his MBA from IIM, Kolkata in 1994.
Rod brings with him an impressive tenure of over 37 years in the field of financial advisory. His extensive and varied experience encompasses numerous pivotal roles including CEO, member of the Executive Committees, Advisor, Director, and Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO).
Throughout the course of his career, Rod has played integral roles as a major restructuring advisory and an IP in formal insolvencies across the Asia Pacific region. His expertise and unwavering commitment to delivering prompt and efficacious results have established him as a highly sought-after advisor in the industry.
Prior to assuming his current position, Rod was one of Asia’ most respected insolvency practitioners, with a track record of delivering returns to creditors on average of 60 cents to the dollar on his assignments. Following market demand for his services, Rod no longer takes formal insolvency appointments but is involved earlier on in taking Board Roles or other Special Advisory roles to avoid a formal appointment and achieve a consensual outcome. Rod is always focused on a greater return than a formal appointment.
Rod’s career is marked by his strategic vision and ability to navigate complex financial landscapes, making significant contributions to the field of financial advisory. He is characterised by a steadfast dedication to excellence and a relentless pursuit of innovative solutions.
Saurav Mishra is responsible for private credit lending and Special Situations Trading business for Barclays across India, South East Asia and China. Prior to joining Barclays, he was the regional head of credit structuring for APAC in HSBC. He has worked earlier in Deutsche Bank, HDFC Bank and Tata Group and has spent around two and half decades in the finance industry. He is a Chartered Accountant and a CFA Charter holder. He has a keen interest in academics and has been a visiting faculty in business schools.
Soo Chong Lim is a Managing Director and Head of Asia Credit Research. He covers Asia credit strategy, Macau gaming and China HY industrials. His team has consistently been ranked in the top three spots for Asia Fixed Income Strategy, Investment-Grade, and High-Yield categories in Extel's Global Fixed Income poll from 2020 to 2024. Before joining J.P. Morgan in 2008, he worked as a credit analyst at Citigroup, was the head of equity research in Malaysia, and an equity analyst in Singapore. Soo Chong holds a first-class honors engineering degree from the University of Malaya and is a CFA® charterholder.
Ms. Sophia Tan is a Partner and Portfolio Manager at Prudence Investment Management, where she has over 16 years of expertise in Asia credit and convertible bond markets. Sophia holds a Bachelor of Economics and Finance with First Class Honours from The University of Hong Kong and is a CFA charter holder.
Ms. Xia joined Houlihan Lokey in 2012 and is currently the Co-head of China Restructuring, responsible for deal sourcing, execution and staff management. She has extensive experience advising clients in Asia on restructuring situations, M&A and capital raising across different industries. Her recent transactions include company-side mandates for Sino Ocean, Country Garden, Modern Land, Sunac, China Evergrande, Glory Health and Luckin Coffee; and creditor-side mandates for Shimao Group, Yestar Healthcare, GCL Energy, Hilong Group and Huachen Energy. Before joining HL, Ms. Xia was at J.P. Morgan’s investment banking division and at Morgan Stanley in New York. Ms. Xia graduated magna cum laude from Duke University with a B.S. in Mathematics and Economics, and a Certificate in Markets and Management Studies. She is a native speaker of Mandarin and Cantonese and fluent in English.
Tim is the Head of Special Credit Unit, Greater China, with responsibility for the work out and restructuring (incl. debt sales) of stressed, distressed and defaulted exposures held by HSBC as principal. Coverage includes Global & Commercial Banking, Wealth & Private Banking and Markets, and includes management of borrowers outside this region given HSBC Hong Kong’s role as an offshore loan booking center.
Tim has worked in Finance for over 25 years and with HSBC since 2014. Prior to HSBC, Tim worked in special situations space on both sellside and buyside.
Tim is an Economics graduate from the University of Cambridge and has an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Mr. Upadhyaya is a Managing Director in Cerberus Capital Management’s India advisory office. He has 16 years of experience in a broad range of investing strategies in India, including private credit, special situations, distressed debt and private equity.
Prior to joining Cerberus in 2019, Mr. Upadhyaya was at Apollo Global Management’s India business (AION) for three years, where he pursued investments in high-yield and distressed credit as well as value-oriented buyouts. He previously worked at ADV Partners, an Asian private equity firm, and began his career in 2008 in the Special Situations Group at ICICI Bank.
Mr. Upadhyaya graduated from Delhi University with a Bachelor of Engineering and received an M.B.A. from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT Delhi).
Vincent Fok is a Senior Managing Director and Head of the Asia Corporate Finance & Restructuring segment at FTI Consulting and is based in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Vincent has more than 28 years of experience in corporate recovery, corporate restructuring and transaction advisory.
Vincent has participated in the restructuring of various distressed Hong Kong-listed companies, focusing on stabilisation and stakeholder communication, particularly with lenders. He is knowledgeable in navigating all steps of the restructuring process, from the introduction of a white knight to capital reorganisation and the formation and implementation of a scheme of arrangement.
In recent years, Vincent has actively engaged in restructuring mandates within the property developer sector, representing both companies and lenders. His expertise includes refinancing, stakeholder communication, financial modeling (cash flow and liquidation analysis) and implementation through consent solicitations or schemes of arrangement. He often takes on roles as a scheme administrator and post-implementation monitoring agent and serves as a restructuring advisor for lenders, providing insights on restructuring terms and conducting independent financial reviews. Additionally, he has acted on behalf of lenders in enforcement actions to liquidate secured assets, listed shares and businesses, and has occasionally managed businesses in interim roles prior to monetization for the benefit of secured appointors.
Vincent's experience with People’s Republic of China (‘PRC’) companies listed in Hong Kong has equipped him with valuable insights into PRC businesses and extensive knowledge of their restructuring processes.
Vincent has also held non-executive director positions in various listed companies across Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States, where he developed his ability to identify and solve problems from the company's perspective and effectively engage with regulatory agencies. Vincent is fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.