Roy Saunders

Founder and Chairman, IBSA

Since qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 1967, Roy Saunders has accumulated a wealth of commercial experience working independently in commercial property, international tax, advertising and other industries. He is the Chairman of IFS, a boutique international tax practice based in central London. Academically, he is known throughout the world for his many books and publications, the foremost being his red book, International Tax Systems & Planning Techniques published by Sweet & Maxwell. Roy has also taught an MA Course on International Taxation at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies at the University of London.

Roy is very proud of the fascinating client base of entrepreneurial individuals that he has built up at IFS. He feels strongly about the role that ethical tax structuring plays in the growth of an economy, and that this needs to be better understood by the public at large. Roy founded the IBSA to enable business professionals around the world to discover new business relationships and promote best practice by creating sustainable business structures compliant with international transparency, corporate governance and social responsibility.

Rupert Morris

Partner, Walkers

Rupert Morris is a partner and head of Walkers' Private Capital and Trusts Team in the Channel Islands.  Based in Guernsey he has almost 15 years' practice as a private wealth specialist focusing on private client advisory and structuring work.

Rupert also has significant experience since qualifying as a Guernsey Advocate in 2010 as a contentious practitioner, appearing before the Guernsey courts at all levels, particularly in respect of Beddoe, Public Trustee v Cooper and Saunders v Vautier applications as well as applications to vary the terms of trusts.

He is recognised as one of the leading lawyers in his field in Guernsey, sits on the STEP Worldwide Council and is the Chair of STEP's Guernsey branch.

Rupert is instructed by many leading fiduciaries, financial institutions, government departments and UHNW individuals in respect of all aspects of local and cross-border advisory and structuring work, impact investment, charitable structures, and regulatory matters including investigations and dawn raids.

David Cooney

Group Partner, Walkers

David Cooney is a Group Partner in Walkers' Guernsey Private Capital & Trusts team specialising in complicated wealth planning structures spanning multiple jurisdictions.

David's practice focuses primarily on advice to trustees in relation to private client structures with a BVI, Cayman or Guernsey connection. For several years he has also been advising in relation to foundation, trust and company structures holding crypto-currency assets, along with the associated related regulatory issues.

He has almost 20 years' experience in private practice in Guernsey, Switzerland, England and the Cayman Islands, and is recognised for the quality of his work by Chambers and Partners, Chambers HNW and Legal 500.

David advises trustees, HNWIs and families, family offices and charitable organisations on the use of trust, foundation and private trust company structures for asset protection and succession planning purposes.

David is a UK Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and is also currently a member of the STEP Guernsey Council. He has previously served on the STEP Council in England, the Cayman Islands and Switzerland.

Philip Baker KC, OBE

Field Court Tax Chambers

Philip Baker KC joined Chambers in 1987, having been a full-time lecturer in law at London University from 1979 until then. He has maintained some links with academia, and is now a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London.  He took silk in 2002.

He specialises primarily in international aspects of taxation, which covers both corporate and private client matters. He has a particular interest in taxation and the European Convention on Human Rights, and is the author of a book on Double Taxation Conventions.  He has appeared in cases before courts and tribunals at virtually every level from the Special Commissioners (now the Tax Tribunal) to the House of Lords, Privy Council and European Court of Justice.

He is a former member of the Council of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, and remains a member of several committees of the CIOT and of the International Tax Sub-Committee of the Law Society.  He is a member of the UK Committee of the International Fiscal Association and a member of the Permanent Scientific Committee of IFA.

He is married with twin sons and a younger daughter.  His children are now too old for bedtime stories, but his ambition is to get home each night in time to prise them away from various screens and get them to bed.
In 1997 he was awarded an OBE for work with Chinese political refugees in the UK.

Derren Joseph

Partner, Moores Rowland Asia Pacific

Derren is a part of an international tax team that works with 6, 7 and 8 figure International Entrepreneurs, Expats and Investors to legally minimize their global tax burden and protect their wealth. Strategies include second citizenships, second residencies, trusts, foundations, insurance wrappers and other offshore structures.

Aside from successfully completing the Comparative Tax Program at Harvard University, Derren is an EA (Enrolled Agent). As an EA, he has been admitted to practice before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to represent taxpayers in all 50 states and internationally. He has 2 Masters Degrees in Economics and a Certified Diploma from the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in the UK).

Derren has done Executive Education with Columbia Business School, and has completed Advanced Tax coursework at both New York University and the University of London.

His views have been published in the Singapore Business Review, Forbes Asia, and the American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia, the International Business Structuring Association (in the UK), Offshore Alert, and the (Trinidad) Guardian. And I have given "in person" seminars on tax issues in the U.S., the U.K., Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, The Philippines, Portugal, Hong Kong, UAE, and the Caribbean.

Currently Derren is a member of the Briefing Group advising The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of the City of London on current and emerging international tax issues. Finally, he has published 3 books on taxation, one of which was an Amazon Best Seller in 2020.