HIGHGATE

Highgate’s Vice-Presidents, Ileana Konialidis and Valeriya Melnichuk, are now attending the two day #FTAfrica Summit in London, where leaders, policymakers, partners and visionaries come together to address Africa’s ever evolving economic landscape. This year’s theme – driving sustainable growth – highlights both the opportunities and challenges facing the continent in an era marked by rapid changes.    From addressing access to finance and debt restructuring infrastructure to articulating how reforms directly translate to the well-being of the people, the conversations have been vibrant, forward-looking and solution focused. Climate change and sustainability continue to play a key role in the discussions, with a focus on adaptation investment.   Overall, Africa’s place in the world remains at the core of discussions as country specific panels, such as South Africa, Zambia, Angola, Senegal and many others, delved into their global national and regional aspirations.   Over the last couple of years, Highgate has proudly worked alongside legal and financial advisors to help businesses solve disputes and countries in debt distress communicate their reform agendas and achieve favourable conditions for debt treatment. As Highgate’s footprint and expertise on the continent continues to grow, we remain committed to support our clients on the continent and build meaningful relationships with leading experts and policymakers alike.

This week, ministers of finance and central bank governors, advisors, media, civil society leaders, and the international financial community are gathering in Washington, D.C. for the International Monetary Fund The World Bank Annual Meetings.    This year’s meetings come on the heels of a new IMF report forecasting that global public debt will exceed $100 trillion by the end of this year and will approach 100% of global GDP by the end of the decade. At the same time, analysts predict that sovereign defaults will become more frequent in the next decade. Improving the global debt restructuring infrastructure to swiftly provide debt relief for countries in distress will be high on this year’s agenda along with policy measures needed to increase emerging economies’ growth and resilience to external shocks.    Vice President Valeriya Melnichuk is returning to the Meetings to connect with clients and partners. Over the past years, Highgate has been proud to work alongside legal and financial advisors to help countries in debt distress communicate their reform agendas and achieve favourable conditions for debt treatment.      Highgate’s consultants have advised political leaders in over 40 countries and have unmatched experience in sovereign financial communications and dispute resolution. To learn more visit www.highgate.ltd

This week, ministers of finance and central bank governors, advisors, media, civil society leaders, and the international financial community are gathering in Washington, D.C. for the IMF World Bank Annual Meetings. This year’s meetings come on the heels of a new IMF report forecasting that global public debt will exceed $100 trillion by the end of this year and will approach 100% of global GDP by the end of the decade. At the same time, analysts predict that sovereign defaults will become more frequent in the next decade. Improving the global debt restructuring infrastructure to swiftly provide debt relief for countries in distress will be high on this year’s agenda along with policy measures needed to increase emerging economies’ growth and resilience to external shocks. Over the past years, HIGHGATE has been proud to work alongside legal and financial advisors to help countries in debt distress communicate their reform agendas and achieve favourable conditions for debt treatment. I’m here to meet clients and reconnect with partners and friends. If you are in DC, let me know and I’d be happy to catch up!

This week, Anna Kredisova and Róisín McCrimmon had the privilege of attending the Future Resilience Forum, an event that aims to foster pragmatic, depoliticised, and long-term cooperation on global challenges such as climate change, disinformation, energy security, and economic instability. The discussions were candid and thought-provoking, covering topics including supply chain resilience and efforts to counter hostile state actors' threats to democracy. Across all sessions, a shared commitment to supporting Ukraine remained central, with leaders and experts focusing on its importance for global freedom and security. Three key takeaways emerged from the forum: 1. As the world order evolves, preserving democracy will require reevaluating power structures and increased global cooperation to protect democratic values. 2. Governments and individuals must actively engage with the growing influence of social media algorithms to address their impact on human behaviour and societal cohesion.  3. Providing meaningful aid to Ukraine, including using sanctioned assets, is essential to deter future aggression and bolster global unity against threats to peace. The forum featured distinguished speakers including H.E. Bernard Cazeneuve, former Prime Minister of France; Eric Holder, former US Attorney-General; Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google; and Eerik Kross, a member of the Estonian parliament.  It was especially encouraging to hear leaders actively considering the dangers of social media: an issue central to Highgate’s work with the Human Change project. A special thank you to Fiona Hill CBE for organising such an inspiring and important event. 

Last night, Highgate, along with our friends at Jones Day and Kroll, co-hosted an exclusive dinner at the Ned where our guests were guided through a stimulating discussion focusing on creative ways to overcome adversaries in complex jurisdictions.   Over the course of the evening we explored how intelligence, legal and out of court dispute resolution strategies could be used together to crack the most difficult cases.   Under the Chatham House rule, we and our clients shared real life examples and creative tactics that have been deployed successfully in disputes. Many thanks to our speakers Sion Richards, Barnaby Stueck, Michelle Bradfield, Karl S. Moussalli, Zoe Newman, Oliver Stern, Jonny Harman, Thomas Eymond-Laritaz, Alastair Sloan and Theo Crutcher and everyone that came along to the event.

Last week, Highgate’s Senior Adviser John Lough and Vice President Jamie Monckton spoke at the Monthly Barometer's Summit of Minds. As a leading expert on #Russia and #Ukraine, John shared his analysis of Russia’s war on Ukraine, providing insights on the potential development scenarios and the outlook for Russia, both from a #geopolitical and geo-economic perspective. His insights outlined the wider impact the war will continue to have on #global stability and the shifting balance of power.    On a separate panel about #disinformation and #AI, Jamie discussed how the pace of technological change is rapidly changing the information landscape. He said that the "we must be as dynamic in our response as the threats we face.”  He also addressed the role of the individual and the relevant behavioural changes that ought to be made, whilst also encouraging collective effort in private-government sector collaboration in order to protect the integrity of truth and information. Thank you to Thierry Malleret and Mary Anne Malleret-Broom-Smith for the invitation and we look forward to attending next year’s conference in #Chamonix!  

I just came back from #Kyiv where I participated in the 20th edition of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) annual meeting. I have been attending every edition since its creation in 2004 (as President of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation I actually ran it from 2004 to 2009), and every year the mood is different. "Survival" was the main theme this year. Dozens of soldiers are dying every day on the front line to defend their land and freedom from the Russian aggressor in this brutal colonial war. Those still fighting are exhausted. The armament ratio between #Ukraine and #Russia is 1:3. The West is failing to provide in time the required equipment, not realising that it would cost them tens of time more in the years to come to defend Europe if Russia is not defeated now. The incrementalism and lack of political vision and decisiveness of the US Government is particularly shocking - history will judge Biden's foreign policy. I encourage everyone to visit my beloved Kyiv, one of the most beautiful and vibrant European capitals, and stand with Ukraine in this time of hardship. I remain profoundly optimistic. As Ukraine's national anthem reminds us: "The glory of Ukraine has not yet perished, nor the will". Long live Ukraine! Slava Ukraini!

Highgate is proud to serve as strategic advisor to Human Change and its global mission to protect children’s and adolescents’ mental health and development from the dangers of digital addiction.   Human Change has developed a brand-new webinar series, bringing together leading experts and advocates to provide their learnings on creating change in the way we approach and use technology with our children.    Did you know that over half (51%) of U.S. teens (aged 13-19) spend at least four hours a day on social media📱? In response to this over digitalisation of childhoods, more and more parents, educators and families around the world are turning to a smartphone-free childhood to better protect our young people and give them the best start in life.   The first episode of this three-part webinar series looks at the global movement for a smartphone-free childhood and kicks off today at 6.30pm BST / 1.30pm EDT with four experts from psychology, sociology, and advocacy discussing their guidance and advice on how to prioritise the well-being of our children.

For the past four years, HIGHGATE’s #internship programme has played an important role in attracting the best and the brightest junior talent to our team.    Every six months, we carefully select four outstanding graduates from a highly competitive pool of applicants. The most recent round saw over 500 candidates apply, and last week we were delighted to welcome our newest interns to the Highgate team.    Over the next six months they will work alongside our 43 consultants, and we look forward to the fresh perspectives they will bring. Our interns benefit from #mentorship and guidance from senior consultants. They actively contribute to meaningful projects and sharpen their skills in a challenging, high-stakes environment.    It has been rewarding to see Highgate become a place where talented individuals start their careers. If you are looking to kick-start your career, keep an eye on this page for updates. We will announce here when the next round of applications opens.

Goliath, meet your match. We're pleased to share that our Senior Vice President, Paul Austin, LLM, will be speaking at the upcoming Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime. He will be part of the "David & Goliath Unbound" workshop, addressing new approaches to holding banks accountable in #fraud cases. Paul will discuss creative ways to create leverage in parallel to the #legal process to apply pressure and drive settlements in the most complex of financial cases. We look forward to the insights Paul and his fellow panellists will bring as they challenge the status quo in banking fraud accountability.