Our Consultants

Andrew Palmer (Founding Partner)

Andrew Palmer has 16 years of experience in the financial markets with over 10 years working on Wall St and 5 years in the City of London. Andrew graduated with an MBA from Columbia University in New York which included a fellowship at the Chinese University in Hong Kong.

In 1996 he joined JPMorgan's innovative structured credit products group and was instrumental in developing the then nascent credit derivative and securitisation businesses. In 1998 he became the head of Credit Derivatives and Structured Credit Sales in North America. As the market developed Andrew took a more and more active role in shaping its course. He became Global Head of Structuring and Distribution in 2001 and drove the creation of the Credit Derivatives Indices iTRAXX and CDX. In addition to structuring and distributing transactions, Andrew became an industry spokesperson and contributed to the early development of the legal and regulatory framework. In 2004 Andrew moved to London where he was instrumental in the establishment of the tradable Tranched Index Market. Andrew diversified his expertize by joining the Bank of Nova Scotia as CEO of Scotia Capital Europe where he ran their capital markets businesses in Europe and Asia and helped navigate the bank through the credit crisis.

Andrew left Scotia in 2009 to move to Australia and create Albatross Capital Advisers where he has been Expert Witness for cases relating to the capital markets, he has advised asset managers on the valuation of complex portfolios of assets and conducted many classes for Financial Institutions, Universities, Financial Bodies and the Financial press in Australia, Hong Kong, China and Singapore. Andrew is an Honorary Fellow at Macquarie University where he teaches in their Masters of Applied Finance Course. Andrew is also Governor of the Steve Waugh Foundation.

David Gallagher (Partner)

David Gallagher has over 8 years of Investment Banking experience in the city of London. David studied Applied Finance at the Securities Institute of Australia and was awarded with the Macquarie Bank Dux Award for being the top graduating student.

David started his career in Credit Derivatives at Deutsche Bank in 2003. After a successful 12 months, David was approached by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to join their Credit Derivatives team. David quickly moved through the ranks and began trading Credit Derivatives in 2006.

Whilst working on the Exotic Credit Trading Team at RBS, David traded Index Tranches, Bespoke Tranches, First to Default Swaps, Single Name CDS, Interest Rate Swaps and FX.

During this turbulent period for both the financial markets and also RBS, David proved to be a trusted and reliable risk manager and trader. David risk managed 1,000+ single name CDS exposures and the dynamic nature of such portfolios, given the extreme volatility levels.

David has extensive market making experience and was responsible for making markets and providing liquidity in iTRAXX Tranches and First to Default Baskets.

After successfully managing large amounts of risk through the Global Financial Crisis, David was involved in the largest ever Credit Derivative trade to date which was when RBS sold the Exotic Credit Trading business to another large Wall Street bank.

Andy Rigg (Consultant)

Andy Rigg has a fresh, passionate, results driven style that has transformed business performance in teams across the globe. A reputation that is built on delivering results achieved by turning strategy into action. A proven people leader who understands the importance of finding, growing and developing people. The difference between winning and losing is simple it is the quality of the leadership and people that create the genuine competitive edge. “It all starts with great conversations” is his mantra. What is said when it matters, right in the moment when selling, serving or coaching makes the difference.

Educated at Warwick and Harvard he challenges the status quo and unlocks business and personal potential with real world ideas, strategies and methods to achieve goals. Coaching is playing an increasingly critical role in high performance business culture and leadership he argues. Creating a coaching culture and embracing emotional intelligence are philosophies that are winning the talent war and unlocking and embracing people potential.

Prior to embarking on his entrepreneurial journey, Andy’s career has seen him build and lead teams in Europe, Africa and Australia. This cultural diversity has taught him the importance of having the right people with the right skills. A renowned coach, facilitator and speaker he engages people with his story telling practical down to earth tips and techniques for success. Delivering memorable, lasting and valuable learning experiences that deliver results fast!!