Meet The Team

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James Nicholls

James Nicholls

Managing Director

Braithwate

James is a strategic advisor to FinTech firms and specialises in new market entry, business strategy, regulatory authorisations and regulatory compliance advice. He has 20 years’ experience in financial services, including a 5-year stint in New York.

A former Partner at Baringa, James established Braithwate in 2019 to provide specialist advice to the financial services industry. Over the past four years, he has developed Braithwate’s strong reputation as the advisors of choice for Fintech's entering the UK market.

James is also responsible for Braithwate’s partnerships and strategic initiatives and developed the idea and vision for FintechXpndr.

James holds a BSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and started his career as a programmer at Thomson Financial.

Arjun Vajala

Arjun Vajala

Director

Braithwate

Arjun provides risk and regulatory compliance advisor services to financial services and FinTech firms. He has 20 years’ experience in financial services consulting and has worked on a breadth of projects ranging from risk advisory, derivatives valuations, model validation and legal entity subsidiarisation and strategy.

Prior to joining Braithwate, Arjun worked on a few independent contracting roles for UBS and Citigroup and was formerly at PwC’s Risk Advisory practice in London and Melbourne.

Arjun has a Master’s degree in Applied Finance from Monash University, Melbourne.

Pete Otaqui

Pete Otaqui

Head of Engineering

Braithwate

Pete is full-stack developer with 25+ years’ experience in hands-on coding and IT management roles.

He is experienced in a wide range of languages and frameworks, including Java, C#, Python, Go, Ruby and Javascript, on the web and in native app development.

Pete’s most recent role was as Engineering Manager at AMX shortly after when the company was acquired by the Carne Group, one of the largest third-party ManCo companies in Asset Management. Initially with a team of 8 engineers, and after a reorganisation with multiple teams totalling 24 full stack engineers working in C#, Node, SQL Server, MySQL, RavenDB, and microservices, developing all user-facing applications

Coen Basson

Coen Basson

Compliance SME

Braithwate

Coen is a Risk and Regulatory Compliance professional with 20 years’ financial services experience obtained in both industry (Risk, Front Office, Treasury) and management consulting.

He is a Regulatory Subject Matter Expert (SME) experienced in operating within all the key regulatory regimes by jurisdiction and regulator.

As Program/Project Manager he has delivered regulatory solutions for Financial Services clients (Banks, Asset Managers, Brokers, Fintechs) in meeting their Regulatory Change, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) obligations.

More recently, Coen has been involved on several RegTech projects, supporting the development of innovative solutions, driving compliance transformation for end clients.

He holds a MBA degree from University of Stellenbosch.

Joav Pedraza

Joav Pedraza

Analyst

Braithwate

Joav is a consulting professional, specializing in problem-solving and solution design to bridge complex challenges faced by companies with effective solutions.

In previous roles, he worked as a consultant for Nielsen, contributing to major projects for high-profile clients such as Coca-Cola, Mondelēz, and Bayer. His expertise spans across diverse industries, where he provided data-driven insights and recommendations to enhance business strategies.

More recently, Joav worked on the FintechXpndr project as a Summer intern for Braithwate before joining the firm full time.

He also holds a MSc in finance by Hult International Business School.

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Chris Holland

Chris Holland

Partner

HM

Chris provides outsourced general counsel, compliance and C-Suite advisory services, in addition to managing the overall HM business. Chris has extensive expertise assisting financial services and FinTech companies.

Prior to HM, Chris worked as Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel at a Southeast Asia-focused, boutique investment bank. Chris has considerable experience managing communications with regulators and implementing cross-jurisdictional policies and procedures. Prior to that role, Chris worked in the Singapore, Hong Kong and New York offices of Clifford Chance where he was Counsel in the Capital Markets Department.

Chris was a finalist for Singapore In-House Lawyer of the Year by Asian Legal Business in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Chris is a New York qualified lawyer and received his law degree from Duke University and his Bachelor’s degree from The University of Virginia.

Lorette Goh

Lorette Goh

Senior Consultant

HM

Lorette provides compliance consulting services to financial services and FinTech firms at HM.

Prior to Holland & Marie, Lorette was the compliance officer in OCBC Bank, overseeing the FATCA CRS reporting of overseas branches. She also served as a transaction analyst officer and business coordinator in Citibank and DBS bank, respectively.

Lorette graduated with a Bachelor in Management (Business) degree from the Singapore Institution of Management.

Harminder Gill

Harminder Gill

Partner

HM

Harminder Gill is a seasoned lawyer and compliance expert with over 26 years of experience working across Malaysia, Singapore, and Switzerland. She is known for establishing effective legal departments and compliance frameworks in multinational organizations across diverse industries. She is a Barrister of England & Wales and an Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya.

In her previous roles, Harminder has built and led compliance programs for multinationals operating in the APAC region and globally, focusing on anti-bribery policies and training, embedding a strong culture of compliance, carrying out third-party due diligence and on-boarding, and high-stakes internal investigations and remediation. Her work has equipped executives with reliable compliance structures, enabling them to make informed and ethical decisions. She holds a past compliance certification from the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE).

A self-taught crypto enthusiast, Harminder pursued her passion for compliance into crypto by graduating with a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Crypto Compliance from the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Her CAS coursework centers on blockchain forensics, digital asset tracing, and crypto regulatory compliance across key crypto jurisdictions including Switzerland, the EU, Hong Kong and Singapore, positioning her as a leader in the rapidly evolving crypto compliance space.

Harminder offers the following services: -
  • Designing and implementing pragmatic, proportionate, and pro-business anti-bribery compliance and ethics programs, including evaluations of existing programs.
  • Designing and implementing third party risk management, including support in carrying out due diligence reviews and on-boarding.
  • Conducting complex internal investigations on business ethics and anti-corruption matters and recommending controls and remediations.
  • Crypto licensing strategies and support across multiple jurisdictions.
  • Blockchain forensics.
Harminder is fluent in English and Bahasa Malaysia, with conversational proficiency in Bahasa Indonesia and Hindi.
Cora Ang

Cora Ang

Partner

HM

Cora provides ESG expertise and regulatory advisory services. She is committed to supporting clients in seeking solutions to align their business objectives with ESG principles and helping them navigate the fast-evolving landscape of sustainable policies and practices.

She is dedicated to assisting clients in aligning their business objectives with ESG principles, guiding them through the dynamic landscape of sustainable policies and practices.

Prior to HM, Cora was the General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer at a multistrategy hedge fund where she was recognized on the Legal 500 GC Powerlist- Hong Kong Teams 2023. Before that, Cora was Associate Counsel at Hillhouse Capital and has also worked at Sidley Austin, Clifford Chance and JP Morgan.

Cora is a New York qualified lawyer and received her Master in Laws degree from The University of Pennsylvania, Juris Doctor from The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Bachelor’s degree from The University of Chicago. She is also holds a certificate in ESG Investing from the CFA Institute and is a graduate of IPI’s Henley Business School Executive Hedge Fund Program.