Rupert Elwes

Rupert has spent his whole career in private wealth management and has a profound understanding of the breadth of challenges facing private wealth audiences.

In 2001, he joined Waverton Investment Management (formerly JO Hambro Investment Management) where he is now a Director, and Head of Private Clients, responsible for managing a broad range of private client and charity portfolios. Rupert is charged with developing and leading Waverton’s Channel Islands business and heads up the team managing international client portfolios.

Before joining Waverton, Rupert spent nearly two years as a portfolio manager at Ely Fund Managers. He is a member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI).

Christopher Leaver

Chris has spent his entire career in marketing and communications. He has worked for some of the UK’s leading corporations from Shell to Sainsbury’s, Allied Breweries to the Observer and Thomson.

He was Sainsbury’s first ever Director of Communications, a role he held for 20 years, handling some of the most diverse and complex issues facing the retail sector, including activist product sabotage and contamination, and the introduction of Sunday trading.

From 1999-2001, Chris was treasurer of New Europe, a cross political party organisation, chaired by the former foreign secretary Lord David Owen, that successfully campaigned against the UK adopting the euro.

Chris brings a wealth of experience in the management and execution of issues, crisis and reputation communications.

Henrietta Mason

Henrietta is a leading private client solicitor and advises on all aspects of contentious private client work, acting for individuals, beneficiaries, executors, trustees and charities in both domestic and international disputes.

In 2003, Henrietta qualified with Withers LLP, where she spent over 14 years before moving in 2016 to Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP where she spent five years as a partner. In 2021, Henrietta joined Farrer & Co. as a consultant specialising in Contentious Trusts & Estates.

Henrietta is Vice President of the Private and Family Law Commission of the International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA); a member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS); STEP, the world’s leading organisation for private wealth professionals; the American Bar Association; and the Wills and Equity Committee of the Law Society, tasked with preparing specialist practice advice for the profession and working with the Law Commission on updates to the law.

Alexander Ramsay

Alexander has over two decades’ experience providing risk and crisis management advice to organisations across a wide range of sectors including oil & gas, mining and government throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

This included eight years in the UK military and eight years spent at the global risk and strategic consultancy firm Control Risks where he was a Director.

Alexander is the Chief Executive of Critical Care International – a medical services company specialising in doctor-led remote medical support and sustainable community healthcare development.

Nicholas von Westenholz

Nick has spent over 20 years in strategic communications and government relations. In 2020, he was appointed as Director of Trade & Business Strategy for the National Farmers Union (NFU), representing the farming industry across England and Wales in its advocacy with government, media and industry stakeholders. Previously, he spent three years as the NFU’s Director of EU Exit and International Trade as the UK prepared to leave the European Union.

Before taking his first senior role at the NFU in 2017 , Nick spent four years as Chief Executive of the Crop Protection Association, (the trade body representing the UK plant science industry) promoting a wide range of plant science technologies, including synthetic and bio pesticides and agricultural biotechnology.