B.Bus, Dip SIA, Dip BA, ISFA
Executive Chairman, Chief Investment Officer
Simon is a co-founder and Director of First Guardian Capital, and is the Chief Investment Officer. Simon has over 30 years investment experience. He has specialised skills in equities research, ethical and socially responsible investment, and macroeconomic analysis.
Simon has developed the First Guardian Capital’s Multi-Strategy Investment Matrix model which we apply across all our investment strategies. Simon’s extensive experience as a portfolio manager was gained initially at Trust Company and Colonial Mutual. While at Colonial, Simon managed global equities portfolios for institutional clients. Simon was also an Investment Manager at one of Asia’s largest hedge funds, based in Tokyo, managing portfolios of over $7 billion across the Asia Pacific region.
B.Com (Melb), Dip SIA, M.App.Fin
CEO, Managing Director
David is a co-founder of First Guardian Capital. He brings over 15 years of Investment Management and commercial experience to the firm. He is jointly responsible for the management of First Guardian’s investment portfolios, and is responsible for implementing the Firm’s business strategy across Australia and Asia. As a fluent speaker of Mandarin Chinese and Indonesian, David has established strong business links across the Asian region, covering corporate advisory, capital raising and managing equity and direct asset portfolios for global investors.
Prior to establishing First Guardian Group, David gained extensive experience within top tier global investment managers. David managed equities at UBS Global Asset Management, where he worked for 7 years, holding roles focused on research and investment management. David also spent 5 years at Goldman Sachs JBWere Asset Management, working primarily as a Senior Investment Analyst.
B.Sc (Melb), PGDipFin (Melb), GradDip AppFin (SIA), Fellow FINSIA, MAICD
Managing Director / Corporate Finance
Craig has over 17 years of Investment Banking and Corporate Finance experience across Corporate Advisory, Project and Structured Finance, Principal Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions, Valuations and has worked on a geographically diverse range of transactions. He has had extensive experience in corporate finance origination and execution. Over the years, Craig’s experience has included working for ANZ Investment Bank, Société Générale Corporate and Investment Bank and KPMG Corporate Finance. He was appointed as Chairman of Imunexus in July 2016 and is a Non-Executive Director of LittleStay.
Craig’s successful mandates include arranging and underwriting of large infrastructure, power and utility, energy and natural resource and property projects. His experience extends across multiple industries and all Project Finance sectors globally, gained in both equity and debt (credit and origination) functions. Craig has had involvement in the B20 global Taskforces for Infrastructure and SMEs, and was invited to present as an expert panellist on the financing of major infrastructure projects at the B20 Summit in November 2015 (Turkey).
He has a Bachelor of Science and a Postgraduate Diploma in Finance from the University of Melbourne and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investments from the Financial Services Institute of Australia. He is a Fellow of FINSIA, Authorised Representative of the AFSL and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
B.Com (Eco & Fin), M.Bus (Corp Fin) FINSIA
Executive Director / Corporate Finance
Gavin has over 14 years of experience in finance and risk management. He specialised in advising and structuring Financial Markets and Treasury Management products for institutions and proprietary companies. Gavin’s Risk Management experience addressed risk at an enterprise, business-specific and prudential risk level. He advised listed and private companies in strategy formulation and development, assisting those businesses to achieve commercial outcomes and in seeking funding in various forms to support those requirements.
Gavin has worked in Institutional banking in structured products and group funding developing complex structured products applying various types of financial instruments linked to the issue of European Medium Term Notes.
B.App.Fin, M.App.Eco
Head of Private Equity
Mr. Warren is First Guardian’s Head of Private Equity and Managing Director of the Secured Convertible Bond Fund. Before joining First Guardian in 2017, he was the Co-founder and Managing Director of an ASEAN focused Private Equity fund which successfully exited in 2017 returning a CAGR of 22.3% to unit holders.
Mr. Warren has cultivated a broad skillset from his 15 years within Investment Banking, including providing traditional corporate and advisory services to clients, structuring and executing technical Leverage Buyout (LBOs) transactions, as well as leading internal strategic and organisational initiatives within the Companies he invest in.
B.Bus (UTS)
Head of Business Development
David joined First Guardian after 17 years’ experience in predominately property development, finance and commercial sales and advisory services with groups such as JLL, Ashe Morgan and Mulpha. David and his private HNW investor base also have a successful track record of investments in a wide array of asset classes. His skills span due diligence and valuation, as well as transaction structuring and debt funding.
David holds a bachelor of Business from the University of Technology Sydney. David is also an accomplished rower, having represented Australia is World Championships and Commonwealth Games where he won a gold medal in the Men’s Eight at the 2002 Games in Manchester.
B.Com (Eco, Fin)
Financial Investment Manager
Tanisha's responsibilities encompass research, analysis and project management, with advanced abilities in synthesising information and generating feasible solutions and financial models for a range of innovative investment idea’s. She is able to think of the big picture and effectively delegate, manage and work on various tasks with prodigious efficiency.
She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics and Finance) with Distinction from Deakin University in Melbourne. She is able to approach the valuation of disparate investment projects from an entirely new perspective and promptly compartmentalize the task, delegate responsibilities if needed, and compound the information to the benefit of the entire team.
COO Middle East
Mr. Abidal is a senior partner at First Guardian Group, focusing on healthcare and commodity investment strategies and research. His past experience includes working at financial institutions and healthcare organizations in Australia and the Middle East.
He is currently the CEO of a healthcare and property investment management firm and is responsible for implementing the firm’s business and development strategy across Australia and the Middle East.
Mr. Abidal Guerinat has provided expert advice to key individuals and institutions in the Middle East. He is currently serving as First Guardian’s ambassador to key individuals and organizations in the region. Abidal holds a B.A. degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
B.Eng (Indust. Design), M.Mgt (Accounting)
Investment Analyst
Mandy's focus is on investment research and analysis, covering project feasibility and financial modelling. Before she joined First Guardian Capital, Mandy worked with PwC in Assurance Service, providing professional service to a range of clients from construction and property development industries.
Mandy has advanced skills in industrial design, which she applies when reviewing project plans for potential investment. She speaks fluent mandarin and has a Master of Management Accounting degree from the University of Melbourne. Mandy is an Affiliate Member of ACCA, a leading global body for professional accountants. Her additional skills include project management and financial reporting.