2025 Tokyo Practical Workshop

Carol Tsuchida

Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

Carol Tsuchida focuses her practice on investment funds and financial regulatory matters, as well as labor and employment. She helps clients establish, register, and license investment funds in Japan, and she assists with regulatory issues, including those pertaining to Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Law. Additionally, Carol counsels investors across many jurisdictions who are investing in infrastructure funds, hedge funds, and private equity funds throughout Asia.

Fluent in Japanese and English, Carol handles transactional and general corporate matters, including securities law compliance, investment funds, mergers and acquisitions, underwritten public offerings, private equity financings, and venture capital transactions.

In the labor and employment area, Carol counsels companies on their employment law obligations in Japan. She advises on the structure of employment contracts and assists employers in developing and implementing workplace policies. Carol helps employers navigate regulations related to overtime.

Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Carol served as the assistant general counsel for a leading international financial institution that specializes in real estate investment funds.

Thomas Deinet

Executive Director, SBAI

Thomas Deinet was appointed Executive Director of the SBAI (previously known as the HFSB) in 2008. In 2007, Thomas joined the working group to project manage the development of practice standards proposed by 14 leading international alternative investment managers that led to the establishment of the SBAI.

Prior to joining the SBAI, he was a senior manager at Oliver Wyman, where he extensively worked with major financial institutions in Europe covering asset management as well as corporate and investment banking. Thomas also worked as an analyst in energy trading for a major commodities trading firm.

Thomas is a graduate of the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, with a major in industrial engineering and holds an MSc from Purdue University, USA. Thomas is a CFA charterholder.

Michael Turrisi

Chief of Staff, Asia Pacific & Japan , RBC BlueBay Asset Management

Michael is Chief of Staff for Asia Pacific and Japan at RBC BlueBay Asset Management, where he is responsible for corporate strategy in the region. He has over 20 years’ experience covering Asia Pacific, working primarily at alternative and boutique asset managers and is based in Tokyo. Originally from Australia, his career also includes ten years in London at US and UK-based hedge funds. He is often sort out for his views and regularly speaks at industry conferences and events.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Business with a major in Economics from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia.

Thomas Deinet

Executive Director, SBAI

Thomas Deinet was appointed Executive Director of the SBAI (previously known as the HFSB) in 2008. In 2007, Thomas joined the working group to project manage the development of practice standards proposed by 14 leading international alternative investment managers that led to the establishment of the SBAI.

Prior to joining the SBAI, he was a senior manager at Oliver Wyman, where he extensively worked with major financial institutions in Europe covering asset management as well as corporate and investment banking. Thomas also worked as an analyst in energy trading for a major commodities trading firm.

Thomas is a graduate of the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, with a major in industrial engineering and holds an MSc from Purdue University, USA. Thomas is a CFA charterholder.

Carol Tsuchida

Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

Carol Tsuchida focuses her practice on investment funds and financial regulatory matters, as well as labor and employment. She helps clients establish, register, and license investment funds in Japan, and she assists with regulatory issues, including those pertaining to Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Law. Additionally, Carol counsels investors across many jurisdictions who are investing in infrastructure funds, hedge funds, and private equity funds throughout Asia.

Fluent in Japanese and English, Carol handles transactional and general corporate matters, including securities law compliance, investment funds, mergers and acquisitions, underwritten public offerings, private equity financings, and venture capital transactions.

In the labor and employment area, Carol counsels companies on their employment law obligations in Japan. She advises on the structure of employment contracts and assists employers in developing and implementing workplace policies. Carol helps employers navigate regulations related to overtime.

Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Carol served as the assistant general counsel for a leading international financial institution that specializes in real estate investment funds.

Christine Ayako Schleppegrell

Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

Christine Ayako Schleppegrell counsels asset managers on legal, regulatory, and compliance matters, focusing on advisers to private funds (private equity, hedge, venture capital, infrastructure, real estate, credit) and separately managed accounts. She spent several years in private practice and more recently at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in leadership roles in the Division of Investment Management. While at the SEC, Christine led the Private Funds Branch during a time of landmark rulemaking impacting private fund advisers, she draws on this experience to advise on current and pending regulations and to guide clients through enforcement and examination proceedings.

Christine’s practice focuses on the interpretation and application of federal securities laws, primarily the Advisers Act, Investment Company Act, Exchange Act, and Securities Act. She serves as a resource for SEC-registered advisers, exempt reporting advisers, and unregistered advisers, ranging from global asset managers with diverse product offerings to startup advisers launching their first funds. Christine provides strategic advice on fund and adviser structuring and deal-related regulatory issues that arise in connection with corporate purchases and mergers and acquisitions. She also specialises in counseling on marketing rule compliance and performance advertising as well as extraterritorial matters, including participating affiliate arrangements.

François Rivard

Chief Executive Officer, Innocap Investment Management Inc.

As Chief Executive Officer, François is responsible for establishing and delivering the overall vision, mission and growth strategy of Innocap. Francois drives Innocap’s vision of enhancing the way value is created for the communities represented by our clients while maintaining Innocap’s position as the industry-leading technology-enabled Dedicated Managed Account platform.

During his 25 years in the investment industry, François has held various senior functions in capital markets, wealth and asset management in Toronto, Montreal and London. Notably, in his role as Head of the Financial Products Group at National Bank of Canada, he was responsible for engineering and distribution of structured derivative-based investments globally. François is the recipient of Bishop’s University Top 10 Under 10 award, a standing YPO member (and past chapter board member), and has contributed or been featured in Bloomberg, the Globe and Mail, Derivatives Week, Structured Products Magazine as well as a featured speaker at various conferences in North America, London, Paris, Zurich, Abu Dhabi and Singapore. Since 2014 François has been a board member and active contributor to the CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation, one of the largest sick kids hospitals and research centers in North America.

François received a BBA from Bishop’s University and an MBA from HULT Business School in London.

Lawrence Roberts

VP, Prime Brokerage, APAC Business Consulting Services, Morgan Stanley

Lawrence is a senior member of the APAC Prime Brokerage Business Consulting Services Team, based in Hong Kong. He assists hedge fund managers in launching their businesses in the region, with a particular focus on legal, regulatory, and compliance matters.

Lawrence is an English-qualified lawyer with over 15 years’ experience in the Banking industry, and a member of the AIMA Hong Kong Regulatory Committee.

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, he worked as an OTC derivatives, funds, and securitization lawyer in London for a large British bank.

Carol Tsuchida

Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

Carol Tsuchida focuses her practice on investment funds and financial regulatory matters, as well as labor and employment. She helps clients establish, register, and license investment funds in Japan, and she assists with regulatory issues, including those pertaining to Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Law. Additionally, Carol counsels investors across many jurisdictions who are investing in infrastructure funds, hedge funds, and private equity funds throughout Asia.

Fluent in Japanese and English, Carol handles transactional and general corporate matters, including securities law compliance, investment funds, mergers and acquisitions, underwritten public offerings, private equity financings, and venture capital transactions.

In the labor and employment area, Carol counsels companies on their employment law obligations in Japan. She advises on the structure of employment contracts and assists employers in developing and implementing workplace policies. Carol helps employers navigate regulations related to overtime.

Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Carol served as the assistant general counsel for a leading international financial institution that specializes in real estate investment funds.

Thomas Deinet

Executive Director, SBAI

Thomas Deinet was appointed Executive Director of the SBAI (previously known as the HFSB) in 2008. In 2007, Thomas joined the working group to project manage the development of practice standards proposed by 14 leading international alternative investment managers that led to the establishment of the SBAI.

Prior to joining the SBAI, he was a senior manager at Oliver Wyman, where he extensively worked with major financial institutions in Europe covering asset management as well as corporate and investment banking. Thomas also worked as an analyst in energy trading for a major commodities trading firm.

Thomas is a graduate of the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, with a major in industrial engineering and holds an MSc from Purdue University, USA. Thomas is a CFA charterholder.

Thomas Deinet

Executive Director, SBAI

Thomas Deinet was appointed Executive Director of the SBAI (previously known as the HFSB) in 2008. In 2007, Thomas joined the working group to project manage the development of practice standards proposed by 14 leading international alternative investment managers that led to the establishment of the SBAI.

Prior to joining the SBAI, he was a senior manager at Oliver Wyman, where he extensively worked with major financial institutions in Europe covering asset management as well as corporate and investment banking. Thomas also worked as an analyst in energy trading for a major commodities trading firm.

Thomas is a graduate of the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, with a major in industrial engineering and holds an MSc from Purdue University, USA. Thomas is a CFA charterholder.

Christine Ayako Schleppegrell

Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

Christine Ayako Schleppegrell counsels asset managers on legal, regulatory, and compliance matters, focusing on advisers to private funds (private equity, hedge, venture capital, infrastructure, real estate, credit) and separately managed accounts. She spent several years in private practice and more recently at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in leadership roles in the Division of Investment Management. While at the SEC, Christine led the Private Funds Branch during a time of landmark rulemaking impacting private fund advisers, she draws on this experience to advise on current and pending regulations and to guide clients through enforcement and examination proceedings.

Christine’s practice focuses on the interpretation and application of federal securities laws, primarily the Advisers Act, Investment Company Act, Exchange Act, and Securities Act. She serves as a resource for SEC-registered advisers, exempt reporting advisers, and unregistered advisers, ranging from global asset managers with diverse product offerings to startup advisers launching their first funds. Christine provides strategic advice on fund and adviser structuring and deal-related regulatory issues that arise in connection with corporate purchases and mergers and acquisitions. She also specialises in counseling on marketing rule compliance and performance advertising as well as extraterritorial matters, including participating affiliate arrangements.