About Aperio

Barry Marston — Senior Consultant

At Aperio, Barry specialises in Saudi Arabia, the GCC and Iran; capitalising on 20 years of experience in working across the Middle East region.

Barry spent six years working as the British Government’s Arabic and Persian Spokesman. He also had responsibility for the UK Foreign Office’s communications policy for the Middle East and Islamic world, specialising in counter-extremism, sanctions, international law and trade issues.

Between 2011 and 2018, Barry was based in the GCC region, working for Weber Shandwick and Fortune Promoseven as a media consultant and project director. His portfolios included work for some of the largest privately-held and state-owned organisations in the Middle East region. Barry also conducted political and economic forecasting and analysis for commercial clients. He is a fluent Arabic and Persian speaker and has operational capability in Hebrew, Russian and French.

Anthony Ellwood-Russell — Associate

Anthony supports Aperio’s work across Asia Pacific and Latin America.

Before joining Aperio, Anthony worked as an enhanced due diligence researcher at a large auditing firm. Prior to that he spent several years in marketing with a focus on delivering insight to brands engaging with Chinese consumers.

A former Paratrooper, Anthony most recently focused on the delivery of Information Activities and Outreach (IA&O) at the tactical level.

Anthony is fluent in Mandarin, Spanish and French and possesses intermediate Thai and Indonesian. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Chinese and Indonesian from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

Maor (Mario) Levin — Associate

Prior to joining Aperio in June 2018, Mario worked as a team leader in an international business intelligence company, specialising in evidence recovery, asset tracing, contract compliance, and deep level due diligence. He also led investigative research and analysis on competitors and investment opportunities for hedge funds, private equity firms and large investment houses. Mario also has experience in corporate finance, having worked for three years as an economist at Unilever. Having previously lived in Israel, Spain and Mexico, Mario is fluent in Spanish, English and Hebrew.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Ben-Gurion University in Israel (graduated with honours), and a master’s degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics (LSE).

Veronika Konečná — Associate

Veronika works on Aperio’s Russian/CIS desk.

Prior to joining Aperio in March 2017, Veronika worked for an NGO in Slovakia, focusing on democratisation and development in Eastern Europe, and previously for a multinational financial services corporation. She specialises in the CIS region and has on-the-ground experience in Russia, where she worked as a consultant for a global development institution.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Russian and East European studies from Comenius University and a master’s degree in Russian studies from University College London.

Ingrid Hampe — Senior Analyst

Ingrid supports Aperio’s work in Latin America, Southern Europe, and the German-speaking countries.

Prior to joining Aperio in September 2017, Ingrid worked in the UK, Austria and Peru in development and public relations consulting as well as for a leading foreign policy think tank.

She graduated top of her class from the London School of Economics and also holds a master’s degree with distinction in international development from the University of Cambridge. Ingrid is proficient in German, Spanish, and French.

Will Dapling — Senior Analyst

Will supports Aperio’s work in Latin America, Southern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Before joining Aperio, Will worked in the due diligence and business intelligence fields in London at a large auditing firm and a boutique consultancy firm, in addition to a posting at the British Embassy in Beijing.

He graduated with a first in Hispanic, Portuguese & Brazilian Studies from King’s College London, and also spent time at universities in Spain and Brazil as part of his studies. Will is proficient in Portuguese and Spanish.

Max Odenthal — Senior Analyst

Max supports Aperio’s work in the CIS region, as well as Northern European territories.

Prior to joining Aperio in September 2017, Max worked in law and journalism in the UK, the Netherlands and Russia.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Russian and French from the University of Cambridge and also studied geopolitics at the École Normale Supérieure and history at Moscow State University. Max speaks Dutch, French, Russian, German, Ukrainian and Polish.

Valentin Munteanu — Senior Analyst

Valentin supports Aperio’s work in the Central and Eastern Europe region, as well as Russia/CIS.

Valentin holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Bucharest and has BA/MA degrees in History and International Relations. He has published papers on international relations, particularly concerning EU-Russia relations. He is also a researcher and member of a number of think tanks in Romania. Valentin speaks English, Romanian and some Russian.

Zsuzsánna Deák — Senior Analyst

Zsuzsánna supports Aperio’s work in the Central and Eastern European and Southern Europe regions.

Prior to joining Aperio in November 2016, Zsuzsánna worked for a number of NGOs and was a teaching assistant at the Department of Hungarian Literary and Linguistic Studies at Babeș-Bolyai University (UBB).

She holds two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree in Hungarian literature and linguistics from UBB, where she is also currently reading for a doctorate in the same subject.

Veronica Bulat — Analyst

Veronica holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a master’s degree in corporate finance and insurance from Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj, Romania. Prior to joining Aperio Intelligence in February 2018, Veronica worked for an international risk consulting company, where she was involved in researching politically-exposed persons, particularly from Russia/Russian-speaking regions.

Veronica speaks Russian, Romanian and English.

Denisa Andreica — Analyst

Denisa supports Aperio’s work in the Central and Eastern Europe region, as well as East Asia.

Denisa holds a bachelor’s degree in Chinese and English language and a master’s degree in Security Management in Contemporary Society from the International Studies and Contemporary History Department of Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj. She has also lived, worked and studied in China for three years, having studied at Liaoning University in Shenyang.

Denisa is fluent in Chinese, Romanian and English.

Vidu Gunnooa — PA/Office Manager

Vidu is in charge of the day-to-day running of the London office, providing first hand support to the team and client assistance. With over 12 years’ experience in various industries, Vidu previously worked at a London corporate law firm and at the French Embassy in the UK.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Sunderland.

Adrian Ford — CEO

Adrian is the CEO and founder of Aperio Intelligence.

Prior to establishing Aperio in August 2014, Adrian spent over 20 years at KPMG LLP, including over 15 years’ experience with KPMG’s Forensic team in the UK. At KPMG, Adrian pioneered the creation of technology-supported, global due diligence services.

Adrian has significant experience in conducting corporate intelligence and forensic investigations. This includes some of the largest ever asset tracing investigations, contentious disputes work, forensic and fraud investigations, and advising on a large range of complex regulatory matters. He has worked for high net worth individuals, leading global corporations and governments.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Leeds and is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Christopher Peters — COO

Christopher joined Aperio in March 2018 as a director and Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Christopher has substantial experience in the corporate intelligence field, having previously worked for Veracity Worldwide, G3 and The Risk Advisory Group. Christopher also has particular expertise in the real estate market, having worked for CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield. He spent 7 years in Moscow (2005 – 2012) and is a fluent Russian speaker.

Prior to joining Aperio, he was a partner at Citrica LLP, where he was involved in undertaking integrity due diligence in relation to the real estate and local authority sectors. Christopher holds an MA Hons in Russian with International Relations from the University of St. Andrews, and a postgraduate Masters in Transition Economics from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, UCL. His early career was in investment banking. Christopher also has an interest in sub-Saharan Africa, having lived for ten years in Sierra Leone and Zaire (DRC) as a child.

Oliver Brind — Head of Business Development

Oliver joined Aperio in April 2018 as Head of Business Development.

Oliver was previously at GPW, where he was responsible for business development and case management. Oliver began his career at Cazenove, where he first worked in the institutional sales and research department, before being appointed Managing Director of Cazenove Australia. On his return to London, he was responsible for Cazenove’s relationships with the private equity industry. Oliver worked for The Prince of Wales as Director of Development for The Prince’s Charities Foundation (2004 – 2010), with particular responsibility for its international programme. In 2010, Oliver joined Credit Suisse’s private bank in the UK, where he was responsible for managing private clients’ assets and leading a team of relationship managers, and then moved to Walker Crips, an independent investment manager in 2012.

Oliver has an MA in History from the University of Cambridge. He has a working knowledge of French and Italian. He knows Africa well, having lived in Uganda, Mauritius, Somalia and Malawi.

Yan Li — Head of People Development and Innovation

Yan is Head of People Development and Innovation at Aperio Intelligence, having joined the team in September 2017.

She has over 15 years’ experience in the business intelligence industry. Prior to joining Aperio, Yan was based in Hong Kong for 10 years where she headed due diligence and research teams for Hong Kong’s largest non-for-profit organisation and for Asia’s largest enhanced due diligence company. She has also worked in London for a Forensics team of a leading advisory firm and a business intelligence and investigations firm where she conducted and managed various global corporate intelligence, litigation support, asset tracing and integrity assignments.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Chinese and economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

George Voloshin — Head of Branch (France)

George is the head of Aperio’s Paris branch, having joined the firm in December 2016.

Prior to joining Aperio, George headed the Russia/CIS coverage at a leading French corporate intelligence firm and previously collaborated with a number of UK-based advisory and analytical organisations as well as government clients. He is the author of two books on the geopolitics of Central Asia and over a hundred articles on international affairs, with a focus on Russia and the former Soviet Union which are the primary areas of his specialisation.

George holds a master’s degree in public administration from École nationale d’administration (ENA). He also holds a second master’s degree in European politics from Sciences Po Strasbourg.

Pompiliu Tamas — Operations Director (Romania)

Pompiliu serves as Operations Director for the Cluj-Napoca office. Prior to joining Aperio in September 2017, he worked for ten years as a Senior Political Officer at the British Embassy in Bucharest. He has gained significant experience in economic and political analysis with a particular focus on financial services and EU affairs.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Politics and Economics from the University of York and a master’s degree in international studies from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.

Tom Ready — Associate Director

Tom leads Aperio’s services in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Prior to joining Aperio in January 2017, Tom worked for ten years as a diplomat in the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, specialising in the Middle East region. He is a fluent Arabic speaker who has spent a number of years living and working in the region, with experience of dealing with some of the most challenging areas of UK foreign policy. He also has knowledge of Italian, French and Spanish.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Arabic from the University of Cambridge and a master’s degree in international conflict studies from King’s College London.

Chris Poulton — Associate Director

Chris heads Aperio’s work in Russia and other jurisdictions across the former Soviet Union.

Prior to joining Aperio in April 2017, Chris worked at a leading London-based business intelligence firm, where he was engaged in a wide range of EDD and compliance projects for global corporate and banking clients. He also led on a number of cross-border investigations, including asset traces on behalf of some of the UK’s top law firms. Chris speaks Russian having previously spent seven years living and working in Moscow.

He holds a master’s degree in countering organised crime and terrorism from University College London.

Kim Gozzett — Senior Advisor

Kim currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the Pension Insurance Corporation Plc, where she is responsible for the operations of the company. Kim joined Aperio’s advisory board in May 2018.

She has substantial industry experience, having previously served as Managing Director of SG Hambros Trust Company for 17 years, where she was responsible for the Corporate Private and Charitable Trusts, including their accounting, tax and investment management. She also established SG Hambros Financial Services Limited and was a Board Director of many of the Bank’s subsidiaries and client companies. She latterly ran the Bank’s London Human Resources. Kim has held a wide range of non-executive director roles across multiple sectors, and has led negotiations on M&A transactions to successful conclusion.

José Ugaz — Senior Advisor

José Ugaz is a lawyer by training and the former chair of Transparency International (2014-2017). He is a founding partner of Benites & Ugaz, a first-class white-collar and criminal law practice in Peru. José has served as a legal adviser to a series of Peruvian governments and led various special anti-corruption commissions as an ad-hoc state attorney. Notably, he served as the special prosecutor in a string of successful high-profile cases for corruption and human rights abuses against the former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori. José has also taught at the law faculty of La Católica, Peru’s foremost university, for several years and retains a seat on its board of governors.

José is currently a member of Proética, the national chapter of Transparency International in Peru. He is also a member of the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (The Institute for Press and Society), a leading NGO in Latin America promoting independent investigative journalism, and regularly writes op-ed articles on corruption in Spanish and English language news outlets. José joined Aperio’s advisory board in May 2018.

Sir Roger Tomkys — Senior Advisor

Sir Roger is a retired British diplomat and former Master of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge (1992-2004). An Arabist, Sir Roger has served in diplomatic posts in: Jordan (1962-64), Bahrain (Ambassador, 1981-84), Syria (Ambassador, 1984-86) and Kenya (High Commissioner, 1990-92). He is also the former chair of the Arab British Chamber of Commerce (2004 – 2010). Sir Roger joined Aperio’s advisory board in May 2018.