Press Release

WSG is pleased to announce the election of the 2014-2015 new Directors to the Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting in Hong Kong. The newly elected Directors will succeed Johan Boeren – Van Doorne, Eric Iskra – Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC, Bradley Kaplan – Ulmer and Berne, LLP and Sergio Michelsen – Brigard & Urrutia. These directors will serve a 4 year term. In addition, Glenda Benson – ENSafrica has been voted in for a 2 year term to replace Eve Hawa Sinare – REX Attorneys who has retired and Francesco Gianni – Gianni, Origoni, Grippo, Cappelli & Partners has been voted in to serve the final 6 months of the President’s term on the Board beginning March 1, 2015. The newly elected Directors are listed below.

The 13th Annual Meeting also marked the election of the 2014-2015 Board of Directors' officers including Robert Falvey, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts as Chair; Gary Assim, Shoosmiths as Chair Elect; Corina Bove, Guyer & Regules as Treasurer; and Larry B. Pascal, Haynes and Boone, LLP as Secretary.

Sergio Michelsen, WSG Chairman 2013-2014, handed over his title to Mr. Falvey, Senior International Counsel at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts. His wealth of experience includes domestic and international mergers, acquisitions, divestments, public offerings, securities law, corporate reorganisations, technology licensing, joint ventures, due diligence reviews, film and television production, financing and contract law generally. Mr. Falvey has recently moved his focus to increasing his firms' international profile and network. He has been a member of the WSG Board of Directors since 2011; serving as Secretary for the year 2012-2013 and acting Chair Elect for the 2013-2014 year.

Newly Elected Directors:

David Allard - Lawson Lundell LLP, Canada

David Allard is Partner at Lawson Lundell LLP and practices primarily in the areas of mergers & acquisitions, corporate finance and securities law. He has extensive experience focused on advising private and public company clients on transactional and general corporate commercial matters, corporate reorganizations and restructurings, as well as corporate governance issues and regulatory and stock exchange compliance. Mr. Allard has been a member of the WSG North American Regional Council since 2012 and served as Chair for the 2013-2014 year. His firm, Lawson Lundell LLP, has been a member of the WSG network since 2004. He is very active in attending regional meetings, his firm hosted the IBA luncheon in 2011 and recently hosted a WSG networking cocktail in conjunction with the IPBA.

Glenda Benson - ENSafrica, South Africa

Glenda Benson is Head of Africa Integration and Development and International Referrals at ENSafrica. Ms. Benson attained her BA and LLB from the University of Cape Town. Prior to joining ENSafrica, she worked for a global law firm in London where her role involved working on the international development of their Africa Group, business and client referrals and managing the Africa desk during a period of dynamic geographic growth and change on the continent. Ms. Benson has recently been elected as the Vice-Chair of the International Bar Association's African Regional Forum. She also holds the position of Secretary to the African Regional Forum and is Forum's Liaison to the Law Firm Management Committee. Ms. Benson was previously on the Board of the SA-DRC Chamber of Commerce and currently sits on the board of the Belgian Chamber of Commerce for Southern Africa.

J. Michael Bernard - Dykema, USA

Michael Bernard is a Member of Dykema's Executive Board and is the former leader of the Firm's Corporate Finance Practice Group. His practice focuses primarily on business counseling and general corporate and securities matters, with an emphasis on: mergers and acquisitions, representing both buyers and sellers, as well as recapitalizations; financing transactions, including private and public offerings of securities, secured & unsecured senior, mezzanine and subordinated debt facilities and seed and venture financings; corporate formation matters as well as shareholder control and buy-sell arrangements; public company securities compliance and corporate governance, including directors' duties, periodic reporting, disclosure and corporate insider responsibilities. Mr. Bernard has been on the North American Regional Council since 2011. He served as Chair of the Regional Council in 2012-2013. His firm, Dykema, has been an active member of the WSG network since 2002 participating at all meetings, practice groups, and co-hosting the WSG Annual Meeting in 2011 and the WSG North American Regional Meeting in 2013.

Johan de Bruycker - ALTIUS/Tiberghien, Belgium

Johan de Bruycker is a Partner at ALTIUS in Brussels, Belgium and heads the Banking and Finance department which is a sub-department of the Corporate (including M&A) and Finance department. He is specialized in banking, finance and capital markets. Over the years, Mr. de Bruycker has mainly been acting in Belgium and Luxembourg for a large number of national and international banks and financial institutions. He is also involved for these clients in restructuring, acquisitions and insolvency related matters. Mr. de Bruycker has served on the European Regional Council since 2011. He served as Chair of the Regional Council for the 2012-2013 year and served as Chair Emeritus for the 2013 - 2014 year. His firm, ALTIUS/Tiberghien, has been a member of the WSG network since 2007, and participates in most WSG events including hosting numerous WSG practice group meetings and networking events.

Francesco Gianni - Gianni, Origoni, Grippo, Cappelli & Partners
Francesco Gianni is the Head of the Corporate/M&A department and one of the Founding Partners of Gianni, Origoni, Grippo, Cappelli & Partners. He is one of the top experts in M&A in Italy, as well as the rest of Europe. His focus is on corporate finance transactions, particularly general public M&A and public to private M&A and also has extensive experience in the arbitration field. After graduating in Law “maxima cum laude” from the University “La Sapienza” of Rome, he obtained an LL.M from the University of London, King’s College and an LL.M from the University of Michigan Law School. He is a practicing member of the Italian Bar and is a member of the New York Bar. He delivers lectures at conferences all over the world and has been a contributor to many of the most prominent legal publications.

Pablo Iacobelli - Carey, Chile

Pablo Iacobelli is a Partner at Carey and Co-Head of the firm's Corporate / Mergers & Acquisitions Group. His practice is focused on the areas of corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, securities, foreign investment and insurance. He is recognized by Chambers Latin America, Latin Lawyer 2015, Best Lawyers, LACCA and more in corporate, M&A and insurance practice areas. Mr. Iacobelli was on the Latin American Regional Council from 2011-2013. His firm Carey has been a member of the WSG network since 2002. The firm has participated in all annual and regional meetings, and hosted the WSG Latin American Regional Meeting in 2013.

For further details on the board of directors, visit WSG Board of Directors: http://www.worldservicesgroup.com/bod.asp