Stephanie Barclay is an Executive Administrative Assistant for VALE New York City. She is a graduate of Concordia University where she earned a BFA in Art History.

Graduated this May 2023 from Elon University in North Carolina with a BSBA in Finance.

Mathias Beyer is a Senior Underwriter in the W&I team. Mathias joined from Linklaters in Düsseldorf, Germany, focusing on private M&A transactions and corporate restructurings in the mid to large-cap sector. Mathias studied law at the University of Passau, Germany, before completing his legal clerkship (Referendariat) at the regional court of Münster with stages at Linklaters in Düsseldorf and Shanghai. He also holds an LL.M. (Master of Law) from the University of Edinburgh.

Shane Bhangoo is an Underwriting Assistant in the W&I team. Prior to joining VALE, Shane read the LL.M. at King’s College London with a focus on intellectual property law, information technology law, international finance, and business law. Prior to his LL.M., Shane read law at Anglia Ruskin University, where he also undertook the Legal Practice Course (LPC).

Alicia has 15+ years experience as a senior-level HR manager, She is responsible for overseeing the operational accuracy of all processes and policies while cultivating strong workplace culture. Her work directly supports the strategic vision of C-level executives by aligning all business operations around established goals and objectives.

Alicia graduated from FIT with a B.S. in International Trade & Business.

Brian Conroy manages the VALE finance function and partners with other members of the leadership team to advance business growth and strategic objectives. Prior to joining VALE, he was the Corporate Controller and Head of FP&A for Constellation Affiliated Partners, a multi-line MGA focusing on construction, transportation, real estate, cyber, and various specialty coverages. Previously, Brian worked for many years at Thomson Reuters in several finance roles of increasing seniority supporting their financial services business unit. He began his career at PwC and also worked at Deutsche Bank and Integro Insurance Brokers.

Brian graduated from Georgetown University with his B.S. in finance and accounting and from New York University with his M.S. in real estate.

Prior to joining VALE, Mike practiced law, focusing on mergers & acquisitions, private equity, venture capital and general corporate law. Mike represented private equity funds in all aspects of leveraged buyout transactions, including portfolio company acquisitions and dispositions, equity and seller financing, management employment and equity compensation arrangements, recapitalizations and portfolio company add-on acquisitions. Mike’s experience also includes drafting, reviewing and advising clients regarding shareholders’ agreements, merger agreements, asset or stock purchase agreements among other transaction documents.

Mike graduated with a BA (Psychology) from Utica College and an MA (Psychology – with a focus on Industrial & Organizational Psychology) from the University of West Florida. He also received a JD (Cum Laude) from Syracuse University College of Law.

Kevin Costello is a Director, W&I. Kevin joined the W&I market in 2017 after a successful career within Civil Service and law and led Ambridge’s European Transactional Risks business based in Frankfurt, Germany. Kevin holds a degree in French and German from the University of Oxford and practised law as a barrister with Travers Smith, before moving into the insurance industry.

Sean graduated from Fordham University in 2022 with majors in Political Science and American Studies. He most recently worked at Third Bridge as a research recruiter and prior to that interned at the Portman Square Group as an Investigative Research Intern.

Conor Duffin-Hall is a Senior Underwriter in the W&I team. Conor joined VALE from Liberty Global Transaction Solutions, where he focused on underwriting M&A transactions in the UK, Ireland, Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe. Conor studied law at the University of Sheffield, spending a year at KU Leuven in Belgium, and subsequently obtained an LL.M. in International Banking and Finance Law from UCL.

Holly Edwards is a Director, W&I. Holly joined VALE Europe from Beazley where she was M&A Counsel and underwriter. There she specialized in the underwriting of W&I risks with a global remit (including US and Asia Pacific risks) but with a focus on Europe. Before joining Beazley, Holly underwrote transactional liability risks for both AIG and AWAC. Holly practiced M&A and corporate law with Ropes & Gray (New York) and Ashurst (Australia) before moving into the insurance space. Holly holds a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from Monash University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne (both in Australia).

Willette Elder is the Senior Vice President of Tax at VALE New York City. She is a graduate of Howard University, The George Washington University Law School and Boston University School of Law, where she earned her Tax LL.M.

In over a decade as a tax attorney, Willette has led teams in due diligence, tax planning and tax structuring in the fields of corporate governance and transactions, international tax implications, exempt organizations, wealth succession and tax credits, among others. While practicing international tax and transactions at a Big 4 accounting firm, Willette primarily supported clients in the private equity community, and she participated in complex tax structuring for national and global M&A transactions, including two of the top media and technology mergers of all time.

At VALE, Willette supports the Tax Liability Insurance product, and her diverse tax experiences equip her to face various tax issues and solutions in a growing transactional liability market. When her creativity is not geared towards tax strategies, Willette focuses that energy on cooking, painting and pottery.

Daniel Forsman is an Analyst on the North American R&W Team. Prior to joining VALE, Daniel worked at a claims administration law firm where he reviewed claims in large class-action lawsuits.

Daniel graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in History.

Victoria Goodsell is an Underwriter in the W&I team. Vicky joined from Dentons, where she trained and was practicing as a solicitor in the banking & finance group. In addition to past experience in financial services, in 2019 Vicky spent six months on secondment from Dentons to Beazley’s W&I team. Vicky holds a degree in Law from Queen Mary University of London.

Prior to joining VALE, Bryce practiced law in New York, litigating commercial matters and insurance coverage disputes for multiple coverage areas, including representations and warranties, directors & officers, fidelity and commercial crime bonds, and professional liability.

Before law school, Bryce worked as a broker of directors and officers coverage, employment and professional liability, corporate property insurance, and other miscellaneous lines in the U.S., London and European markets. He started his career as a civil engineer in Florida.

Bryce graduated with a B.S (Engineering) from Purdue University. He also received a J.D. from Rutgers University and an Intellectual Property LL.M. (Master of Laws) from Georgetown University.

Mark Hale is a Director and Head of Tax. Mark is a tax attorney specializing in international M&A and joined VALE from his role as International Tax Counsel for General Electric (London). Mark has analysed tax risks for GE Capital and other GE business lines and led teams of external tax advisors in over 40 different countries. Before GE, Mark practiced US tax law with Morgan Lewis (London), Baker & McKenzie (Zurich) and Allen & Overy (London) and advised private equity and corporate clients. Mark holds a Tax LL.M. from New York University (New York) and J.D. and undergraduate degrees from Georgetown University (Washington, DC). Mark is a member of the New York State Bar.

Rebecca Harries is an Underwriter in the Contingent Risks and ATE team. Before moving into the insurance industry, Rebecca practiced as a commercial litigator for over four and a half years. Rebecca joined from Lewis Silkin LLP, where she was an associate in the Dispute Resolution team and, prior to this, she trained and qualified as a solicitor at Clyde & Co LLP. Rebecca also has experience in the insurance market from her client secondment in the claims legal team at Liberty Specialty Markets. In her time as a litigator, Rebecca acted for a range of clients, from start-ups to blue chip companies, and worked on a wide variety of claims which were typically complex, high-value and multijurisdictional in nature. Rebecca also holds a degree in History from the University of Manchester.

Matt Hudson is an Underwriting Assistant in the W&I team. Matt joined VALE in October 2022 from the Lloyd’s of London Insurance Graduate Scheme. Matt rotated through the Market Development and Performance Management – Risk & Control teams at Lloyd’s, as well as spending time at both Willis Towers Watson and Tokio Marine HCC in the Credit and Political Risk and Warranties & Indemnities insurance teams respectively. Matt graduated from the University of East Anglia in 2020 with a Bachelor of Laws in Law with American law.

Nathan Hull is a Director and Head of Contingent and Litigation Risks. Nathan joined VALE Europe from a position as Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, with Allied World, a Fairfax Company (London), where he specialized in providing advice and analysis in respect of various lines of business and insurance products (including transactional risk products like W&I, Tax, Contingent Risks and ATE). Prior to joining Allied World in 2014, Nathan was a senior associate with Edwards Wildman Palmer (now Locke Lord), a firm for which he worked for nine years, where he acted in high value, complex, insurance and reinsurance disputes, including litigation and international arbitration. Nathan has degrees in law (LLB) and international relations (MA) from the University of Manchester and has been admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales since 2007.

Antonio Jesús Sánchez Martín is a Senior Underwriter in the W&I team. Antonio Jesús joined VALE from Liberty Global Transaction Solutions where he spent three years as a W&I underwriter focused on Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese deals. Prior to his time at Liberty, Antonio Jesús was an associate at the corporate/M&A department of Hogan Lovells and Pérez-Llorca. Antonio Jesús studied Law and Business Administration at the Universidad de Sevilla and received his LL.M. from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, where he specialized in Corporate Law.

Jay Knobloch is an experienced intellectual property (IP) executive. Mr. Knobloch has overseen all aspects of IP, including building patent portfolios, monetizing IP assets, advising boards about matters of IP, and managing IP risk throughout the entire supply chain. Prior to joining VALE, Mr. Knobloch was Chief Commercialization Officer/EVP, IP at NuCurrent and Chief IP Counsel at Trading Technologies. He has overseen multiple IP jury trials and post-grant proceedings. Mr. Knobloch is a proven leader in building an IP strategy around an emerging technology and maximizing ROI for that given technology. Mr. Knobloch has regularly invested in developing IP portfolios and advises growth stage companies on IP issues and risk. He has also overseen the acquisition of multiple patent portfolios for the purposes of patent monetization. Mr. Knobloch received his JD from DePaul College of Law, while working as a patent agent at a top-tier IP boutique. He graduated with a BS in electrical engineering and minor in mathematics from Arizona State University.

Sarah Lo Piparo is an Underwriter on the W&I team. Before joining VALE, Sarah was an associate at Orrick Italy, where she focused on M&A, private equity, and venture capital deals. Before Orrick, Sarah trained at Willkie Farr & Gallagher in Milan, in the corporate and M&A department. Sarah has extensive experience in private M&A, private equity, and venture capital transactions across several industries and different deal sizes. She holds a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Palermo, Italy, and an LL.M. from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

James Melvin is a Senior Vice President of North American R&W. Prior to joining VALE, James practiced at a full-service law firm where he represented international and domestic insurers in coverage and litigation matters with a focus in the areas of healthcare and professional liability. He also acted as monitoring counsel handling complex claims, conducting portfolio reviews, and negotiating settlements under various professional liability insurance policies.

James graduated from Georgetown University with a B.S. in Finance and International Business and received his J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law.

Anna Mikrut-Fugett is an Accountant who works directly with the Chief Financial Officer and Controller within the Finance Department. She is responsible for handling day-to-day financial activities, provides support with financial reporting and aids in special projects.

Prior to joining VALE, Anna was a financial project assistant at a global engineering and management consulting company where she worked on a number of major projects alongside the Finance Project Manager supporting senior level executives. Previous to that, Anna worked as a project coordinator for an electrical contracting company specializing in high-end residential and commercial properties.

Anna’s educational background includes a BA in Accounting & Information Systems and a MS in Accounting from Queens College.

Nikitah was previously a Financial Solutions Advisor at Bank of America Merrill Lynch where she leveraged her expertise to analyze clients’ financial situations, identify their needs, and formulate tailored solutions to help them achieve their financial goals. Her ability to communicate complex financial concepts in a clear and concise manner helped clients make well-informed decisions about their finances. Nikitah received a BA in Economics and Actuarial Mathematics from Rutgers University.

Kevin Perez is an analyst at VALE Insurance Partners focusing on R&W Insurance. Prior to joining VALE in 2022, he was an account associate in PIMCO’s Miami office where he focused on institutional business development and client servicing in the Latin America region. Kevin also completed internships at MFS and Goldman Sachs. He holds an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Georgetown University.

Megan Quail is a Managing Director and Head of North American R&W. She also works directly with executive management on strategic growth initiatives and business development projects. Prior to joining VALE, Megan practiced at a global, full-service law firm where she represented professional liability insurers in coverage and litigation matters involving directors and officers liability (D&O), errors and omissions, and fiduciary liability claims. She also handled complex claims and negotiated settlements under representations and warranties insurance policies.

Megan graduated from Georgetown University with a B.A. in English and Economics and received her J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law.

Steven Rajavinothan is a Senior Underwriter in the Contingent Risks and ATE team. Steven joined from Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP, where he was an associate in the Commercial and Financial Disputes practice. Prior to joining Reynolds Porter Chamberlain in 2017, Steven trained at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, working in the firm’s London and Singapore offices. During his time in private practice, Steven advised on high profile litigation and international arbitration cases across sectors including energy, finance, litigation funding, mining and property management. Steven has a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Warwick and is an experienced debater, having won multiple international debating tournaments.

Mark Richardson is a Junior Underwriter in the W&I team. Mark joined from AXA XL, where he worked a strategic analyst within the Financial Lines department focusing on strategic initiatives for amongst other the M&A insurance offering. Mark studied at the University of Nottingham, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in Risk Management.

Anna Rojas manages all accounting, reporting, and financial operations for the company. Prior to joining VALE, Anna worked at a regional public accounting firm where she serviced clients in a wide variety of industries.

Anna graduated from Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business with a B.S. in Accounting and received her CPA license in January 2010.

Associate for the Vale US Transactional line, Cali received her BA in Communications from Hofstra University and JD from St. John’s University School of Law. Cali is currently enrolled in the LLM in Taxation program at New York University School of Law. Cali got her start in tax working in Ernst & Young’s Indirect Tax practice handling state and local income/franchise, personal income, sales/use, and excise taxes from an advisory, compliance, and controversy perspective. She continued her tax path at KPMG where she practiced state and local tax M&A. Cali is admitted to practice in New York.

Managing Director and Co-Head of Intellectual Property. He has worked in finance and IP for his career and has a broad network of relationships in the IP industry. He was most recently with RKIP Management LLC where he worked with investors looking to make investments into companies with IP. Previously he managed the licensing of patent portfolios for large corporations and was part of the original team at RPX Corporation in San Francisco. RPX manages patent risk for its technology clients, and while he was there he led the development of the RPX Risk Retention Group, which offers IP liability insurance policies.

He received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, his JD from the Northwestern University School of Law and his BA from Williams College.

After launching his career at General Re, Jamie transitioned to an underwriting position with Swiss Re, where he focused on casualty and professional liability. Prior to founding VALE, Jamie was Chief Underwriting Officer at Southport Re and Chief Financial Officer at DGU Insurance Associates.

Jamie earned a Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University where he received an athletic scholarship and served as captain of the tennis team.

Dom was previously Head of Contingent Legal Risk Insurance at Liberty GTS where he helped build out Liberty’s contingent liability practice in the US.  Dom is a former litigator, having litigated a wide range of complex commercial and insurance coverage disputes across the country.  In addition to his litigation experience, Dom has represented insurers outside of the courtroom with respect to hundreds of complex insurance claims, including analyzing potential exposures presented by a number of high-profile litigation risks.  Dom received a BA from Providence College and his JD from the University of Connecticut School of Law.  Dom is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, and the Southern and Eastern District Courts of New York.

Prior to joining VALE, Philip served as a private equity and venture capital investment professional and has held business development and corporate development roles at technology companies.

At H.I.G. Capital he was involved in the origination, structuring, and execution of new investment transactions and the strategic management of the firm’s portfolio companies. While in the Healthcare Investment Banking group at Wachovia Securities, he performed advisory services related to M&A and capital markets transactions for companies in the healthcare industry.

Philip received his MBA degree from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a degree in finance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Hayley Tennant is a Director and Head of W&I. Hayley was previously a Partner in the M&A team at Marsh-JLT Specialty where she specialised in structuring bespoke W&I and Tax liability insurance solutions for clients involved in M&A transactions. Prior to joining JLT in 2018, Hayley was a Vice President with Allied World Assurance Company where she spent 10 years underwriting transactional risk products with a global remit but with a focus on the Nordics, the UK and Central Europe. Hayley holds a degree in Law with French Law from the University of Birmingham and practiced as a corporate law solicitor with Norton Rose Fulbright before moving into the insurance industry.

David is a member of the Underwriting team. Prior to joining VALE, David practiced law in New York as an insurance coverage litigation and claims monitoring counsel for international and domestic carriers, with focus on the areas of directors & officers, financial institutions, fidelity bond, cyber, and professional liability. David graduated from Colgate University with a B.A. in History and received his J.D. from St. John’s University. David lives in Brooklyn Heights with his wife, two young children, and puppy Stanley. In his spare time, David can be found jogging around Brooklyn or exploring new restaurants with his wife.

Prior to joining VALE, Rikki served as a Complex Claim Director at AIG, handling claims arising under Representation and Warranties insurance policies, Tax Indemnity policies and other transactional insurance policies.

At AIG, Rikki held several other positions where she handled claims arising under various other professional liability policies, including, but not limited to, Directors & Officers Insurance, Broker/Dealer Insurance and Bankers Professional Liability Insurance.

Rikki received her JD from New York Law School. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan.

Olivia Vice is a Senior Underwriter in the W&I team. Olivia joined from Hogan Lovells, where she was a senior associate focusing on investment and corporate real estate transactions. Prior to joining Hogan Lovells, Olivia was an investment manager at Ingenious Investments specialising in real estate financing transactions. Olivia trained and practiced as a solicitor at Travers Smith with time spent on secondment to the restructuring team at The Royal Bank of Scotland. Olivia holds a degree in Law from the University of Sheffield.

Frederik von Barnekow is the Managing Director and Head of VALE Europe. Prior to joining VALE, Frederik was a partner and Head of M&A at RiskPoint. During his time at RiskPoint, in addition to underwriting duties, Frederik was responsible for carrier and team management as well as authoring and executing the M&A business plan. Before joining RiskPoint, Frederik practiced law in both Copenhagen and New York with a focus on M&A and corporate law. Frederik holds an LL.M. (Master of Laws) from UC Berkeley (California) and a Master of Laws from the University of Copenhagen.

Underwriting Assistant in the W&I team. Prior to joining VALE in September 2023, Simar  graduated from Imperial College London in MSc Finance, where she expanded her knowledge in M&A, Private Equity, Corporate Finance, and Asset Management. Her previous engagement involved serving as a Financial Research Intern at TradePenetrate. She completed her undergraduate studies in Mathematics at the University of Delhi.

Prior to joining VALE, Peter was Counsel at a large international New York law firm. While in private practice, Peter focused primarily in the fields of taxation, closely-held businesses, and exempt organizations. Peter’s experience also includes general corporate and partnership transactions. Peter’s tax practice includes federal tax matters relating to entity selection, formation, transfer of ownership, and operational issues. He also specializes in the formation of off-shore investment vehicles designed to minimize exposure to U.S. taxation.

Peter received his B.A. in history and sociology from the University of Vermont and his J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.

Peter is a member of the bar in New York and Massachusetts and is admitted to appear before the U.S. Tax Court and several U.S. federal courts.

Karina Wong is an Analyst for the R&W team at VALE. Prior to joining VALE, Karina was part of the Client Reporting Team at a global investment bank where she prepared custody and fund accounting performance reports for its clients.

Karina graduated from Fordham University with a B.A. in Economics.

Michelle Wong is VP of Compliance in the New York office. Michelle is an attorney and a seasoned P&C insurance professional. She has worked for multiple global carriers including Prudential Financial, AIG, Chubb, Zurich and CNA and has extensive experience supporting executives, line management, and underwriting teams. At CNA and Zurich, she supported Specialty Products underwriting, including a $500mm MGU relationship with AON. On the claims side, she was the North America Senior Claims Compliance officer at Chubb and the U.S. Compliance Officer for AIG’s Third Party Administrators. Michelle had responsibility for ensuring its TPAs (handing excess of $20-billion-dollar book of claims under reserve) were compliant with its delegated compliance responsibilities. During the 2008 financial crisis, the New York Federal Reserve designated AIG a systemically important financial institution. She drafted the TPA Exit Strategy which was submitted to the Federal Reserve in the event of AIG’s bankruptcy and wind down.

Michelle has worked extensively with TPAs, MGAs/MGUs, Insureds, brokers, claims and underwriting teams and balances a practical customer centric focus with the needs of the business to develop creative solutions to complex operational, regulatory and compliance issues. Underpinning Michelle’s analysis to each issue she handles is protecting the business from regulatory exposure yet thinking through ways of reducing potential compliance burden.

Michelle has a B.A. from the College of New Rochelle, the first Catholic women’s college founded in New York state by the Ursuline religious order of nuns, and a J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law.