EY Luxembourg Appoints 17 New Partners, 2 Directors

The Country Leadership Committee of EY Luxembourg has announced the appointment of seventeen new Partners and two Directors, coming into effect as of 1 October 2020.

Of the seventeen professionals admitted to partnership, four have been appointed Partner and thirteen Associate Partner. Two professionals were promoted to Director.

Olivier Coekelbergs, Country Managing Partner at EY Luxembourg, commented: “I’m very proud of these appointments testifying to the extraordinary talent of our new Partners, Associate Partners and Directors and to our ambition for a strong future in a changing market. They have all been through a rigorous selection process and their promotion is the result of their dedication to our clients, our teams and our purpose of Building a Better Working World. As they will lead courageously in uncertain times, I’m confident that they will continue to bring our values to life and inclusively”.

New Partners 

Zeeshan Ahmed, Assurance, Private Equity, joined EY in 2008. He is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Master from the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. Zeeshan has gained twelve years of experience in the financial services industry in Luxembourg, mainly in private equity and real estate. He is a Certified Public Accountant (IRE) in Luxembourg.

Julie Honoré, Assurance, Real Estate, joined the firm in 2001. She holds a Master’s degree in Management from the University of Namur, Belgium, and has nineteen years of experience in real estate, serving clients covering the entire value chain of the industry, i.e. clients active in development, construction, hospitality, real estate asset management and alternative investment funds. 

Olivier Lambert, Tax, Indirect Tax, Financial Services, started his career at EY in 2002. He graduated from the University of Liège, Belgium, in Political Science and Public Administration and holds a degree in international and Luxembourg Tax Law. As an active member of the EMEIA FSO Indirect Tax network, Olivier has extensive experience in Luxembourg VAT advisory and compliance matters for Luxembourg and multinational organisations operating in the financial and real estate sectors.

Jesús Orozco, Assurance, Real Estate, joined EY Spain in 2003 and EY Luxembourg in 2008. He holds a Master’s degree in audit from the University of VIC, Barcelona, Spain. He completed his studies of Economics at the University of Málaga, Spain, and in the Fachhochschule in Kiel, Germany. He has gained large professional experience in auditing and advising international regulated and unregulated alternative structures, mainly in real estate and private equity. He is leading the Asset Management working group of the Spanish Financial Forum in Luxembourg and is a Qualified Chartered Accountant in Luxembourg.

New Associate Partners 

Marcello Belfiore, Assurance, Real Estate, holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration with a major in Corporate Finance from the L. Bocconi University, Milan, Italy. He started his audit career with another Big 4 in Milan and joined EY Luxembourg in 2007 as a Senior in the Real Estate Audit practice. Between 2010 and 2012, Marcello was on secondment at EY Sidney, where he served listed commercial companies specialised in hospitality and development. Since his return to Luxembourg, he has been focusing on international real estate funds and Italian alternative investment funds. He is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and a member of the Institut des Réviseurs d'Entreprises of Luxembourg.

Madjid Boukhelifa, Assurance, Wealth & Asset Management, joined EY Luxembourg in 2005 as an Assistant of the Audit practice. He holds a Master of Business Administration specialised in Audit, Control and Advisory from the Business Administration Institute (I.A.E), Lille, France. Madjid has fifteen years of experience in the Wealth and Asset Management industry. He is a Qualified Chartered Accountant in Luxembourg.

Jean-Bernard Dussert, Tax, Asset Management, joined EY Melbourne in 2010 and EY Luxembourg in 2015. He holds a Master of Sciences in Finance from IAE Lyon School of Management, France and a post-graduate degree in International Management from the University of Otago, New Zealand. Jean-Bernard has over ten years of experience in assisting multinational groups with their transfer pricing, from policy set-up to controversy projects. Over the last years, he has focused on the asset management, debt and hedge funds industry. He represents EY in the debt funds working group of the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI).

Christine Frentz, Assurance, Extended Assurance, joined EY Luxembourg in 2006 as an Assistant of the Audit practice (Asset Management in Banking industry). She started her career as an auditor in France prior to joining EY. She holds a Master’s degree in Audit and Management from the Burgundy School of Business, France. Since 2011, she has been fully dedicated to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer services, leading the team in charge of AML audit and providing other AML consulting services for different sectors (banks, PFS, insurance and funds). She is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (ACAMS) and an EY representative in working groups for AML experts (ALCO and ALFI).

Claire Goachet, Tax, Private Equity, joined EY Luxembourg in 2018. She holds a Master’s degree in Law and Financial Engineering from the Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University, France. Claire has twelve years of transaction tax experience covering corporate taxation as well as regulated and unregulated fund structuring and taxation. She focuses on advising private equity funds on the tax aspects which are relevant to their investments, restructurings and divestments, as well on fund structuring aspects. She has extensive experience in designing and implementing fund and holding structures for US and European funds in a wide range of transactions.

Antoine Le Bars, Assurance, Banking & Capital Markets, joined EY as an assistant in Assurance in 2010, working for various Financial Services engagements. Antoine also completed a secondment in the EY Dublin office. He holds a Master’s degree in Management from Kedge Business School, France. Antoine is a Certified Public Accountant (Réviseur d'Entreprises) in Luxembourg. Antoine focuses on serving large universal Luxembourgish banks and Chinese banks.

Réphaël Havrenne, Law, Financial Services & Private Equity, joined EY Luxembourg in 2009 as an assistant of the Corporate Law practice. He holds a Master’s degree in Law from the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Réphaël has more than eleven years of experience in advising clients with their cross-border legal implementation of international restructuring and, as a global project manager, he has specialised in large international and cross-border transactions. During this period, he has worked for EY in Luxembourg, New York and has also established the legal desk in California (San Jose) where he is currently located. 

Anca Lungu Negoita, Assurance, Audit services, started her career at EY Romania in 2007 and joined EY Luxembourg in 2011. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the Academy of Economic Students in Bucharest and is an ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) member since 2017. Since she has joined EY Luxembourg, Anca has been working in the commercial and private equity sectors serving large audit mandates. She has also extended her experience in IFRS and in auditing consolidated accounts. She is a member of the Luxembourg Private Equity Association (LPEA) Market Practice and Operations working group.

Giulio Melillo, Tax, International Tax and Transaction Services, Private Equity, joined EY on 15 September as an Associate Partner to strengthen the EY Tax Private Equity Team. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Economics of the University of Genoa, Italy, and is CPA licensed since 2010. Having previously worked at EY in Milan and for another Big 4, he is joining EY in New York. Giulio has approximately fourteen years of experience as a Tax advisor specialised in the advice on cross-border M&A transactions, corporate reorganisations, LBO transactions and debt restructuring for private equity funds especially. 

Xavier Picha, Tax, International Tax and Transaction Services, joined EY Luxembourg in 2006. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Taxation and a Master degree in Private Wealth Management from the University of Rennes, France. Xavier has gained significant experience on a variety of international tax matters for major US multinationals and US alternative investment funds (including private equity and real estate funds) and has specialised in structuring acquisitions, cross-border investments/financing as well as reorganisations. Xavier has represented the EY Luxembourg firm in various roles across the US since 2010.

Monika Reschka, Assurance, Audit services, joined EY Luxembourg in 2016 as an Audit Manager in the commercial sector. Monika is Diplom Kauffrau (FH), Scottisch Chartered Accountant and Réviseur d'entreprises. Monika worked for a German global automotive manufacturer after graduation and was part of different projects in controlling and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A). Prior to joining EY, she had worked for another Big 4 auditing US and EU listed entities.

Romain Swertvaeger, Assurance, Audit services, joined EY Luxembourg in 2009 as an Assistant in our Audit practice. He holds a Master’s degree in Management, Accounting and Audit from the Ecole de Management Strasbourg, France. Romain has gained over eleven years of experience and primarily focuses on the Telecom, Media and Technology and Fintech sectors. He is also an EY representative in various working groups of the ALFI and is a member of the EY Blockchain Global PPG Group. Romain holds the ACCA qualification.

Priscilia Valtaer, Law, Financial Services & Private Equity, joined EY Luxembourg in 2012 as a Senior in Assurance in charge of various audit engagements in private equity. She holds a Master’s degree in Management with a major in international management control from the ESCEM Tours-Poitiers, France. Priscilia has over ten years of experience in private equity and primarily in the venture capital and funds of private equity funds sectors. She is a Certified Public Accountant (IRE) in Luxembourg. She is also part of the EY Technical Committee.

New Directors 

David Poncé, Executive Management, joined Arthur Andersen / EY Luxembourg in 1999 as a Senior Business Consultant dedicated to the investment funds industry. Since then, he has focused more and more on various internal projects at the Executive Management level, including operations, business developments and strategy aspects. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Politics and Social Sciences and a Master degree in Sociology from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Since 2010, David has been the Luxembourg Country Leadership Committee (CLC) Project Management Office Leader, also responsible for corporate secretarial matters.

Fouad Ezzine, Finance, graduated in Finance and accounting from the Business School of Nancy, France. Fouad has more than 20 years of experience in Finance. He joined EY Luxembourg in 2001. Fouad has been leading the EY Luxembourg Finance department during the last ten years and has been initiator and project leader of several improvement projects in close cooperation with the Country Leadership Team.