Sandpiper launches Sandpiper Financial with senior hires

The Sandpiper Group has bolstered its financial services and crisis offering with the launch of Sandpiper Financial, supported by several senior appointments to lead the new division.

Sandpiper Financial will focus on financial communications and special situations advisory for its clients, across Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East.

The division's APAC business will be led by Kainoa Blaisdell (pictured middle), who was previously at FTI Consulting where he was managing director of the financial communications and special situations practice.

With 15 years of experience working in communications and consulting, Blaisdell has also held senior leadership roles in investment research, financial journalism, and private wealth management across Europe and Asia Pacific. Balisdell’s expertise in investor relations, M&A, restructuring, alternative investments and shareholder activism will bring critical support to Sandpiper’s current and future client base facing similar complex situations.

Meanwhile, Justin Teh (pictured second left) is appointed to the position of deputy lead, Sandpiper Financial, Asia. Teh also joins from FTI Consulting, where he was a senior director. Teh specialises in financial communications, advising on complex, multi-stakeholder transactions across M&As, IPOs, and take-privates, including some of the region’s most high-profile deals in recent years. He also has a strong track record in providing counsel on investor relations programmes for listed companies on multiple exchanges across the Asia region.

Angus Booth (pictured far left), who was recently announced as managing director, Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), will also support clients with special situations and financial communications advisory work across these markets.

With over 20 years of experience in corporate affairs and investor relations, Booth has held senior roles at major listed and unlisted organisations including Lendlease and Charter Hall, one of Australia’s largest property fund managers. Most recently, Booth was senior managing director at Sodali & Co, leading its APAC and EMEA M&A, activism, and corporate governance and shareholder engagement business with over US$400 billion in deal value, to become the number one M&A and Activism advisory firm in APAC.

Also joining the Sandpiper team as a senior advisor is Richard Barton (pictured second right), a 30-year financial communications veteran with extensive experience advising on complex corporate, financial and crisis communications issues across Asia, the UK and Europe. He has acted for listed and private companies, financial and professional services firms, hedge funds and family offices, as well as private equity and venture capital funds and their portfolio companies. 

In addition, he has worked on IPOs; friendly, hostile and contested M&A; take-privates; activist battles; as well as defaults and debt restructurings, totalling more than US$300 billion.

Supporting the growth and function of Sandpiper Financial is Kim Spear (pictured far right) who is an existing member of Sandpiper’s senior leadership team with over 20 years of in-depth market experience in Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand, where she has worked on issues and complex situations including leadership transitions, corporate restructuring, and stakeholder engagement.

Emma Smith, CEO, Sandpiper, said: “We are delighted to bring together such talented individuals to join our growing Sandpiper team across our integrated network that spans 13 markets. Each of these individuals has a proven track record of working on some of the most significant transactions across Asia Pacific and globally, and we are delighted to add this key capability to our existing services and sector specialisms in financial services, healthcare, technology, property, and energy."

Kainoa Blaisdell, lead Sandpiper Financial, Asia Pacific, said: “With the launch of Sandpiper Financial, we have assembled a unique team of experts who have advised on some of the most significant and precedent-setting transactions in the region. Backed by this deep bench of experience and Sandpiper’s robust platform of capabilities, we are well positioned to support clients through critical moments of transformation, whether driven by opportunity or uncertainty.”

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Sandpiper for more information. 

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