Leadership
Len McDowall
Chairman Sydney
Mr. Len McDowall (CA) was inaugural Chairman and Managing Partner of Bird Cameron, Chartered Accountants, which employed 1000 people in 50 offices in Australia and Hong Kong. He established Bird Cameron’s mergers and acquisitions division in 1987.
He has extensive experience in all areas of financial management with a particular emphasis on structuring and negotiating joint ventures and capital raisings. Mr Len McDowall and his partners established the Integral Capital Group (a predecessor to BlueMount Capital), which specializes in mergers and acquisitions, public floatation’s, the creation of financial management strategies and capital management.
Mr. Len McDowall is an expert in capital and debt raisings and has a proven ability to source funds from a wide range of investment and finance industry sources.
He is a respected, syndicated author of articles as diverse as investment, capital raising, private equity funding, pre-IPO opportunities, IPO plans and wholesale investing.
Richard Hemingway
CEO
Richard has decades of experience at CFO level with large listed corporates, principally in the infrastrucure, engineering and resources sectors. As a seasoned financial executive, he has extensive experience in the valuation, financing, acquisition, divestment and post acquisition of implementation of complex businesses.
Since leaving corporate life, Richard established Mandanex Group in 2014, an advisory business with operations across the region. He has successfully assisted a wide range of clients with strategic growth planning and valuations together with a full range of transactions based advisory work.
Richard is a Chartered Accountant, Registered Business Valuer and approved advisor with the Advisory Board Centre. He has lived and worked throughout Asia, Australia and New Zealand
Outside of business, Richard has spent over 10 years in governance in the education sector. He passionately believes in the contribution each and every young person can make. He acts as mentor for younger CAANZ members.
Marcello Bonora
Director
Marcello is a well-rounded executive with over 20 years’ professional experience within the finance, strategy and supply-chain, one third spent in the consultancy and advisory field and the balance in the corporate environment.
Marcello worked and trained across different regions: APAC (Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and India), Middle-East (UAE, Israel), Europe (Italy, Switzerland, UK, Belgium and Russia) and the US as well as within the North-African Region (Senegal, Gambia & Mauritania).
Marcello has a broad knowledge of, and know-how in, different industries, jurisdictions, and various business practices. I has held senior roles from international SMEs to MNCs and covered various assignments within the Infrastructure, Automotive, Pharma-Medical and Digital, Logistics, Manufacturing, Retails/Wholesales, Banking and Government sectors.
In 2007 Marcello moved to Australia permanently, while leading Financial Operations based in the APAC region as CFO/FD/Head of Finance as well as sitting in their Boards as director and/or company secretary. He has been able to deal with confidence in a multicurrency environment with different financial instruments and derivatives (Bonds, LC/SBLCs, Forwards), managing multi-site teams. From 2016 he has been involved in the start-up and scale-up environment, where different stages of investments and operations are implicated with Family Offices/VCs/PEs.
Marcello moved back for a few years in Europe and back to Australia in 2019, where he covered positions from International SMEs/MNCs as CFO/COO, moving more into the operations side of the organizations.
Marcello’s approach, whether as an external consultant or as a company executive, has always been directed on maximizing profit and cost saving, assisting structural and sustainable growth, while being focused on implementing strategic, financial and operational business process improvements.
Marcello holds a Global Executive MBA in Strategy from Wharton, an MBA in Finance, Accounting and Controlling, a postgraduate qualification in Statistics and Six Sigma training from Australia.
John Katsiris
Director
John has worked in the areas of Innovation, Business Analysis and Project and Portfolio Management within Professional Services, Telco, Finance, IT, Computer/ Electronics and Manufacturing Industries for over 20 years.
11 years of John’s early career was spent with IBM in Manufacturing & New Product Development and then as part of the Asia Pacific Head Quarters leadership team guiding the Asia Pacific region. John has successfully negotiated key strategic projects for IBM and driven Business Transformation and Innovation initiatives. Most recently John has worked with the Optus Business Senior Leadership team (MD and VPs) as an Advisory Director and Consultant within the Professional Services Team at Optus. John managed transformational change to create new growth opportunities in emerging markets including IoT and Cyber Security. John specifically works with clients to earn their respect, build their trust and guide them to improve their business through the adoption of Innovative and Transformational solutions.
John is the founder of MYbrainwave®, an Innovation Management Company helping people make their ideas real. John is a Thought Leader in Innovation Practices, coaches and mentors start-ups and growth focused organisations; preparing them for investment as well as building innovation cultures and delivery capability for larger corporates. John has a Patent Pending for a Mobility Aid; Registered trademarks, is a Judge for the Consensus Software and Innovation Awards and has been recognised in the book “ 50 Unsung Business Heroes, Great Australian Success Stories”.
John was the founder, Past Chairman and President for the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA®) Australia and has served 5 years as a Director for the Project Management Institute’s Sydney Australia division committed to Communications and Certification. He is proud of his contribution to the not for profit sector.
As a trusted advisor, John has passionately assisted organisations to focus on capability development and delivering to strategic objectives. He is a seasoned executive, technology guide, public speaker, management consultant, engineer, educator and coach.
Simon Maughan Wright
Director
A strategy advisor to corporate clients, Simon has skills in corporate finance including M&A, turnarounds, transformations, real estate development and asset management. He has experience as a CEO, in problem -solving and innovation, financial analysis, business & company valuations.
He has been working in corporate finance/M&A advisory for 25 years and prior to that, was CEO of a real estate development & asset management group for 10 years. He has sold businesses overseas and manufactured products in Asia for markets in UK, Europe, and the USA. He has advised clients in Dubai and Baghdad, established the debt acquisition industry in Australia and has eight innovative finance models to his credit.
He is an experienced company director, a Fellow of the AICD and currently a Non-Executive Director of a Tier 1 NFP community housing provider and chair of its Assets and Development Committee. Prior to that he was a Non-Executive Director of a substantial NFP aged and family care group and chair of its Finance, Audit & Risk Committee, overseeing a revenue budget of $610m pa and a real estate capex budget of $3bn. He has been a Non-Executive Director of other boards in wine, finance, hotel, credit and real estate companies.
Simon is qualified in Law with a Graduate Diploma in Labour Law from Sydney University, an MBA from the AGSM/UNSW with a Graduate Certificate in Digital Management, is a graduate of the AICD Director’s Course and a qualified real estate agent.
Craig Mowll
Director
Craig has 30 years global Asset and Wealth Management experience specialising in growing businesses in Private Debt, Private Equity, Infrastructure, Property (Real Assets), Credit and Equities.
Craig was General Manager, Asset and Wealth Management of MyState Limited for three years, and CEO of TPT Wealth Limited, a Non-ADI Lender with $2B in assets focusing Private Debt. He was also Chairman of the TPT Asset and Liabilities Committee, Investment Committee and Divisional Risk Committee.
Craig developed his career by growing the companies he worked for. He advanced through St.George Bank managing several divisions and subsidiaries including; General Manager: Asset Management, Margin Lending and its Online Trading business tripling the assets to $24B over 5 years. He later moved to Credit Asset Management as a Director to lead the Distribution, Product and Marketing teams growing assets from $11B to $34B during his tenure focusing on Alternative and Private Market assets to Institutional, Wholesale and Retail Third Party markets.
Craig joined Certitude Global Investments as Chief Executive Officer for 5 years leading one of Australia’s largest Hedge Funds managers later becoming the Managing Director of Asset and Wealth Management for Aura Group focusing on Private Equity, Venture Capital, Property and Private Debt.
Craig has held several Key Responsible Manager roles for Australian Financial Services Licenses (‘AFSL’) and Australian Credit Licenses.
Steve Penrose
Director, South East Asia
Steve has held senior commercial, financial and management roles with multinational operations both in Indonesia and Australia. His experience includes the commodities trading, mining and mining services industries. Steve is an expert in the Indonesian and broader Asian resources sectors and consults to clients globally in that area.
He is an Australian qualified chartered accountant, and has undertaken numerous M&A transactions, capital raises and project financing deals across a range of industries.
Steve enjoys facilitating bi-lateral opportunities for in-bound and out-bound investment between Indonesia and its trading partners. He is currently based in Jakarta.
Eddie Costigan
Director
Eddie has held senior roles across a range of industries including as regional managing director of a major global publishing house and Australian managing director of an international investment bank.
Eddie is a serial entrepreneur, having founded, built and exited an innovative corporate products business and an automotive sector business that listed on the ASX. He remains a board member / investor in a human resources technology enterprise and is the development director for a rapidly expanding media network.
Eddie is a solicitor and barrister by training and holds post graduate qualifications in business from INSEAD in France.
Michael Inder
Senior Advisor
Over the last 28 years Michael has worked as a business consultant and business mentor with hundreds of businesses and organisations, from small owner operated businesses and start-ups, through to larger mid market and Government clients.
His current portfolio of clients is spread across a wide range of industries from software, manufacturing and distribution, through to construction and engineering.
To complement this, he has worked as an M&A advisor with a leading mid market advisory practice, Mandanex Capital, for the last five years. He has successfully completed numerous transactions in the manufacturing, wholesale distribution, hospitality and professional services sectors. He has acted on sell side and buy side mandates for clients.
Jim Rains
Director
Jim is an experienced company director, lawyer and management consultant. He has a demonstrated history of working in corporate advisory, law, governance, compliance, risk management, funds management, property development, quantity surveying; and construction.
Jim has an MBA from Macquarie University, DipLaw LPAB LEC (University of Sydney), is a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute Australasia F Fin, a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors course GAICD ; and is a member of the Law Society of NSW.
He commenced his career in construction and project management, he has a B Build degree (UNSW), is a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors MRICS; and AAIQS CQS.
Lionel Styles
Director
Lionel has been involved for the last 25+ years in the venture capital and corporate advisory sectors in Australia. He was head of a major technology company’s venture capital arm and was also a venture partner with one of Australia’s former leading technology venture capital firms. His corporate advisory experience covers a vast number of capital raising and M&A transactions involving technology based and professional services businesses.
Lionel’s background includes many years of experience in the IT sector, in various senior sales, marketing and management roles, commencing in Melbourne where he was born and raised, before moving to Sydney over 37 years ago. He worked for many years with IBM and a major enterprise application software vendor in international roles. He also spent time in executive recruitment with former major recruitment firm Morgan & Banks.
Lionel has had substantial international exposure and previously established an intermediary business in Europe assisting Australian technology companies to enter UK/European markets and vice versa.
Lionel’s capabilities cover the full range of corporate advisory services including company/business sales, mergers and acquisitions and divestments and capital raisings, especially involving technology based and professional services companies. He has strong strategic, corporate advisory, senior sales, business development and management skills, and a vast network of senior people both in the IT & T sectors and venture capital industries, and recruitment industry experience and network.
Aditya Saxena
Director
Aditya has been a corporate strategist for over a decade in India and South East Asia market, he was last working with Essel group in India as a Vice president and head of strategy and M&A. His core area of strength is creating opportunities of growth through M&A, Joint-venture, Partnerships and new business launches. He has worked in many sectors however his expertise lies in sectors covering Infrastructure, mining, thermal power & transmission, roads, solar, waste-to-energy, City gas distribution, power utilities, digital media broadcasting, new-age technologies involving Blockchain, IoT, IaaS, Electric vehicles and Smart Cities.
He is an engineer in computer science from Agra University, MBA in finance from ICFAI University and an LLM in commercial law from Singapore Management University. He has leadership experience in handling high ticket transactions involving cross-border investments and was successful in executing M&A deals worth AUD 750 million and capital raises worth AUD 300 million in the last 5 years. He has an interest in investments in technology startups and had earlier co-founded a mining consulting services company in India in 2010.