Key People

“Knowing what you don’t know is more important than what you think you know”

Majority Shareholder

Cem A. Azak is a veteran industry leader with vast experience in both investment banking and wealth management across the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and Singapore. He joined Crossinvest (Asia) in October 2020 as the majority shareholder. He is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Crossinvest (Asia).

Before Crossinvest (Asia), Cem was with EFG Bank AG Singapore for many years as Senior Managing Director, Market Head International. At the Swiss private bank, he received multiple awards every year from EFG including ‘Deal of the Year’ awards, Top CRO (“Banker”) awards and DPM Deal of the Year awards. Prior to joining EFG Bank, he was with DBS Private Bank in Singapore as Executive Director, Head of Europe, Middle East & Africa (B). He was also previously with Barclays Bank Group for almost 10 years (first with Barclays Capital - the Investment Banking arm followed by Barclays Wealth Management) where he worked in senior roles and at various locations such as Frankfurt, London and Zurich.

Cem is a shareholder of several companies in the digital space. He is on the fund-raising committee of the registered charity Jazz Association Singapore (“JASSO”). Being a regular supporter himself, Cem received the JASSO Ambassador Award 2019 and the JASSO Gratitude Awards for 2018 and 2019. He was given the Patron of the Arts Award 2020 and Friend of the Arts Award 2018 by the National Arts Council of The Republic of Singapore. Cem is also a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Turkish Entrepreneurship Foundation, a charity that works with youths to advance the entrepreneurship culture.

Cem studied Law at the Johannes-Gutenberg-University, Mainz in Germany. He holds Level 3 Certifications from the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) United Kingdom in Securities, Derivatives and Financial Regulations. He also holds Client Advisor Competency Standards Certifications (CACS) 1 & 2 of the Institute of Banking & Finance (IBF), Singapore. He furthermore holds Certification in Wealth Planning, Certified Private Banker (Level 2) from the Wealth Management Institute (WMI) of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore. Cem is a MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) Appointed Representative under the Securities and Futures Act and the Financial Advisers Act.

In his spare time, Cem enjoys travelling, basketball and horses – he owns two champion racing horses at the Singapore Turf Club.
He is international by origin and global by inclination. Being a German national he was born in Ludwigshafen, Germany and grew up in Frankfurt. His family originates from the former Kingdom of Abkhazia which is in the Caucasus region. The family moved later to the Ottoman Empire now Turkey. He is a proud father of four – two boys and two girls – and speaks fluent English, German and Turkish.

“The secret to successful investing is the result of persistent hard work, preparation and experience.”

Lucy Gao-Azak is the Chief Operating Officer, Member of the Board as well as the Co-Chair of the Investment Committee, at Crossinvest (Asia). Lucy has over 15 years of wealth management experience working in London and Singapore.

Prior joining Crossinvest, Lucy was an Executive Director, Desk Head at EFG Bank AG in Singapore for 6 years. She was overseeing EFG Bank’s Australian business and also a Client relationship Officer for international markets with a focus on Ultra High Net Worth individuals (UHNWIs) in Europe and Asia. She assisted private clients in investment management, credit structuring, and estate planning. Prior joining EFG Bank, she was a Relationship Manager, Vice President, and the Private Banking London Representative for DBS Private Bank responsible for client acquisition and investment advisory for EMEA UHNWIs.

Lucy also spent 6 years at Morgan Stanley in London, UK, as a Product Specialist within its private wealth management group, whereby she specialised in multi-asset class portfolio construction and specialist sales for the Discretionary Portfolio Management business.‎ Lucy began her career as a Quantitative Analyst on Fund/Portfolio Performance Attribution within Morgan Stanley.

Lucy holds a Master of Engineering, Economics and Management, from the University of Oxford after completing her Undergraduate studies at Balliol College, Oxford University. She also holds the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) Diploma in PCIAM (Private Client Investment Advice & Management) and the Investment Management Certificate (CFA Level 3), both from the U.K.

Lucy has two daughters and lives with her husband in Singapore. Her hobbies include painting, travelling, and she enjoys opera and the ballet.‎ Lucy is a British citizen and a native English and Mandarin speaker.

“Capital enhancement and preservation is a marathon, not a sprint”

Marcus is the Head of Investments & Member of the Board at Crossinvest (Asia) and works closely with the Chief Executive Officer on portfolio construction, fund selection and security analysis to generate robust risk-adjusted returns. While he looks for the best that may happen, he never loses sight of the worst that could happen.

Marcus started his career in fixed income at Bank of America and later moved on to Mitsubishi UFJ Trust International. He subsequently worked as an equities trader as well. He has conducted fundamental research across fixed income, foreign exchange and equities and is used to the intense pace of a sales and trading floor. Marcus has worked with central banks, pension funds, asset managers and hedge funds to view investments through different perspectives.

Following the completion of his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, he remains curious and always seeks to further understand financial markets by applying theories and concepts under the contexts of history, politics, philosophy and chess.

In his spare time, Marcus enjoys reading works which have stood the test of time and is an avid athlete and a dog lover. Marcus speaks fluent English and Mandarin.

“With creativity there is a solution for nearly any problem”

Nicholas is the Managing Director – Private Clients at Crossinvest (Asia). Prior to joining Crossinvest, he has held various roles in the wealth industry, including running intermediary distribution for Lloyds TSB and working for the expatriate and international desks at ANZ and ABN AMRO. A long-term expatriate himself, he has first-hand experience of the complexities of working and banking in Asia and has worked with a variety of private and institutional investors. Nicholas began his finance career within UK retail banking and has spent the last fifteen years in Asia.

He favors diverse portfolio construction with the tactical use of hedging and derivatives to produce balanced returns. His clients mostly like his lateral problem-solving approach to finding solutions for both their investments and businesses. Nicholas has an extensive network of lawyers, corporate service providers, property consultants and private equity firms and can facilitate introductions accordingly.

Nicholas has a degree in Psychology from the University of Westminster and is an MAS Appointed Representative under the Securities and Futures Act and the Financial Advisers Act. In his free time, he is a keen athlete, avid reader and fan of historical trivia. Nicholas is fluent in English and Greek.