Group Board Directors Archives - The Sovereign Group https://www.sovereigngroup.com/meet-the-team/group-board-directors/ Intelligent Offshore Tax Planning since 1987 Thu, 16 Apr 2026 07:24:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Howard Bilton https://www.sovereigngroup.com/staff/howard-bilton/ Wed, 08 Dec 2021 01:46:48 +0000 https://www.sovereigngroup.com/?post_type=staff&p=28593 Howard Bilton is Chairman and founder of The Sovereign Group – one of the world’s largest privately owned consultancies specialising in the provision of offshore trusts and companies and associated international tax advice. Howard holds a joint honours BA degree in classics and law from the University of Keele and is qualified as a Barrister […]

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]]> Howard Bilton is Chairman and founder of The Sovereign Group – one of the world’s largest privately owned consultancies specialising in the provision of offshore trusts and companies and associated international tax advice.

Howard holds a joint honours BA degree in classics and law from the University of Keele and is qualified as a Barrister and called to the Bars of England/Wales and Gibraltar.

He is a regular contributor of articles to newsletters and newspapers around the world on a diverse range of subjects.

He is a visiting non-resident professor at Texas A and M University where he assists with their LLM and Masters degrees in International Tax and Offshore Centres.

In 2003 he formed The Sovereign Art Foundation Limited which is a charity registered in Hong Kong, Singapore, Guernsey, South Africa and the UK. SAF has raised over US$15 million which has been used to help many thousands of disadvantaged children using art as a means of rehabilitation and education.
SovereignArtFoundation.com

He is the principal of Hillvalley Limited which since 2005 has been making wine in Portugal which is sold throughout the world under the “Howard’s Folly” brand name.

HowardsFollyWine.com

 

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]]> Gerry Kelly https://www.sovereigngroup.com/staff/gerry-kelly/ Wed, 08 Dec 2021 01:47:43 +0000 https://www.sovereigngroup.com/?post_type=staff&p=28594 Educated at Blackrock College, Dublin, Gerry qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA Ireland) in 1987 and initially went into practice. He transferred to the Isle of Man with accountants Pannell Kerr Forster. In 1990 he joined Bank of Ireland Asset Management before transferring to Jersey as senior manager. He has extensive experience in private […]

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]]> Educated at Blackrock College, Dublin, Gerry qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA Ireland) in 1987 and initially went into practice. He transferred to the Isle of Man with accountants Pannell Kerr Forster. In 1990 he joined Bank of Ireland Asset Management before transferring to Jersey as senior manager. He has extensive experience in private banking and investments.

Gerry first joined Sovereign Trust in Gibraltar as Group Finance Director in 2002 and assumed additional responsibility as Group Operations Director in 2008 before being appointed as Group CEO in 2018.

He has led the Group’s diversification into insurance brokerage and retirement planning as well as the opening of new offices. Gerry is a former Chair of the Gibraltar Association of Pension Fund Administrators and a member of the Gibraltar Finance Centre Council.

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]]> Diane Dentith https://www.sovereigngroup.com/staff/diane-dentith/ Wed, 08 Dec 2021 01:49:29 +0000 https://www.sovereigngroup.com/?post_type=staff&p=28595 Diane was born and educated in Scotland before moving to the Isle of Man in 1982. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators with over thirty years experience in the offshore industry in Gibraltar, the Turks & Caicos Islands and in the Isle of Man. Diane is the Managing Director […]

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]]> Diane was born and educated in Scotland before moving to the Isle of Man in 1982. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators with over thirty years experience in the offshore industry in Gibraltar, the Turks & Caicos Islands and in the Isle of Man.

Diane is the Managing Director of The Sovereign Group and is now based in the Isle of Man. She is also a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and the International Tax Planning Association.

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]]> Nicholas Cully https://www.sovereigngroup.com/staff/nicholas-cully/ Wed, 08 Dec 2021 01:50:44 +0000 https://www.sovereigngroup.com/?post_type=staff&p=28597 After graduating in European Law from the University of Exeter and l’Université de Rennes 1 in 2005, Nicholas worked in investment management in London, qualifying as a stockbroker before moving to Gibraltar to join a boutique asset management firm. He joined the Sovereign Group in 2010, moving to Dubai to build and lead what is […]

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]]> After graduating in European Law from the University of Exeter and l’Université de Rennes 1 in 2005, Nicholas worked in investment management in London, qualifying as a stockbroker before moving to Gibraltar to join a boutique asset management firm.

He joined the Sovereign Group in 2010, moving to Dubai to build and lead what is now the Group’s largest sales team. From 2015 to 2020, he was the Managing Director of Sovereign Middle East where he was instrumental in expanding the Group’s product offering in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to include market entry services. Nicholas has travelled extensively to promote the United Arab Emirates around the world as a place to do business and has spoken at a number of international conferences and seminars on the subject.

In October 2018, Nicholas was appointed to the Group Board as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)  and currently oversees the Group’s sales and growth strategy. He sits on multiple boards and travels extensively. In March 2021, he relocated to Zug, Switzerland.

Nicholas was admitted as a Chartered Director by the Institute of Directors (IOD) in 2024. He completed his Certificate in Company Direction in 2021 and was awarded a Distinction in the IOD Diploma in Company Direction in 2023. He is a Member of the Institute of Directors and an Associate of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI).

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]]> John L. Hodgson https://www.sovereigngroup.com/staff/john-l-hodgson/ Wed, 08 Dec 2021 01:54:38 +0000 https://www.sovereigngroup.com/?post_type=staff&p=28598 John qualified as a solicitor in England in 1983 and was also admitted as a solicitor and notary public in Gibraltar and Hong Kong. From 1988 John worked in private practice in Hong Kong before joining the Sovereign Group in 1998, serving for 20 years as Group Legal Director. He is also an adjunct professor […]

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]]> John qualified as a solicitor in England in 1983 and was also admitted as a solicitor and notary public in Gibraltar and Hong Kong. From 1988 John worked in private practice in Hong Kong before joining the Sovereign Group in 1998, serving for 20 years as Group Legal Director.

He is also an adjunct professor of the Texas A & M University and has extensive experience of commercial and trust matters. John formerly ran his own legal practices in Gibraltar and Hong Kong and also served as non-executive director to companies listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Nordic Growth Market.

He is a member or former member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, the International Tax Planning Association, the Law Society of England & Wales, the Law Society of Hong Kong, the Gibraltar Bar Association and the English and Hong Kong Notaries Societies.

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]]> Mark P L Dowie https://www.sovereigngroup.com/staff/mark-p-l-dowie/ Wed, 08 Dec 2021 01:55:11 +0000 https://www.sovereigngroup.com/?post_type=staff&p=28599 Mark Dowie is a former senior commercial and investment banking professional and until 2016 acted as Chief Executive Officer, Corporate & Institutional Bank at Standard Chartered. In this role he led the bank’s global wholesale banking business. From 2019 to 2024, Mark was Chief Executive of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, one of the UK […]

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]]> Mark Dowie is a former senior commercial and investment banking professional and until 2016 acted as Chief Executive Officer, Corporate & Institutional Bank at Standard Chartered. In this role he led the bank’s global wholesale banking business. From 2019 to 2024, Mark was Chief Executive of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, one of the UK and Ireland’s largest charities. Mark is also a Member of the Admiralty Board, the body which exercises organisational governance over the UK Royal Navy.

He has a very wide range of experience in business management including strategic financial and organisational change; governmental advice; debt and equity fund-raising, public market activity, mergers and acquisitions and small business ownership. Mark joined the Sovereign Group board as a Non-Executive Director in 2017

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]]> David Sutton https://www.sovereigngroup.com/staff/david-sutton/ Wed, 08 Dec 2021 01:50:35 +0000 https://www.sovereigngroup.com/?post_type=staff&p=28600 David commenced his working life through a finance modern apprenticeship whilst also studying towards his Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) qualification, which he achieved in 2001. David has enjoyed a career spanning multiple sectors and countries, both in Finance and IT delivery. He joined the Sovereign Group in Gibraltar as Group FD in 2018 […]

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]]> David commenced his working life through a finance modern apprenticeship whilst also studying towards his Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) qualification, which he achieved in 2001. David has enjoyed a career spanning multiple sectors and countries, both in Finance and IT delivery.

He joined the Sovereign Group in Gibraltar as Group FD in 2018 before progressing to both Group CFO and the Group Board in 2020. David has led the next stage of the Group’s finance development as well as the successful implementation of key IT deployments and ongoing infrastructure investment.

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