What were you doing before becoming an Independent Director?
I worked with all alternative asset classes. I had worked for a bank in Germany and Singapore before moving to the USA and then to Brazil, where I worked with alternative investment funds, a private equity firm, a family office, and an asset manager.
What prompted you to join The Directors’ Office?
The Directors’ Office was recommended by a private banker who had experience working with them and private label funds. At the time, I was relocating from São Paulo, Brazil, to Luxembourg and wasn’t very familiar with the Luxembourg market.
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How have you found it so far?
To be honest, 2023 and 2024 have been slow, but requests for directorships started picking up in the last quarter of 2024 and are expected to continue growing in 2025. Most of the demand has been coming from alternative funds rather than UCITS.
As an Independent Director, what are your goals and aspirations?
My goal is to provide stable and effective corporate governance for my clients. Each client has a different risk profile, and I strive to ensure oversight which is appropriate to the client’s risk profile. Additionally, I want to contribute to making Luxembourg a more attractive financial hub and raise awareness among clients about its strengths as a domicile for investment funds and holding companies.
Which asset classes are you most optimistic about in 2025?
In my view, private debt will experience the most significant growth. Real estate is also starting to come back after a sluggish period. At the beginning of 2025 I thought infrastructure investments will remain popular and stable, but I didn’t expect significant growth in this sector. However, the huge infrastructure spending package by the German government has changed my opinion to bullish. Overall, I do believe 2025 will be an excellent year.
Given the current market volatility, are you concerned about its impact on business?
Indeed, liquid assets are experiencing significant volatility. However, private assets are much less affected. From a global perspective, I believe this volatility will lead to increased investment being directed toward Europe.
If you could give one piece of advice to the Luxembourg government, what would it be?
It would be good to compare the Luxembourg regulations and supervisory practice with other EU jurisdictions to see if there is room to reduce the compliance burden, e.g. in the area of asset AML.
