Vanessa Gilman, Acc. Dir., CAIA, MCSI
Independent Director
Vanessa Gilman is an Independent Director with Waystone based in the Cayman office. Vanessa offers extensive regulatory knowledge as an independent director to hedge funds, private funds, fund of funds, general partners, and special purpose vehicles that employ various investment strategies. An Accredited Director, Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst and Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, Vanessa has over 25 years of diverse experience in offshore financial services.
A regulatory specialist, Vanessa was Senior Analyst with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) where she supervised hedge funds, fund administrators and securities investment business including investment managers. She oversaw the E-Reporting and Inspection units of the Investment and Securities Division, and enhanced Cayman legislation, regulatory policies, rules, and guidance through several working groups.
In past roles, Vanessa served as Senior Manager of HSBC Securities Services where she ensured adherence to Cayman laws and regulations by the fund services teams in Cayman, Bermuda, the Asia Pacific and Europe. She later served at MaplesFS as independent director to various investment companies funds and as relationship manager to a portfolio of investment vehicles. During her time at RBC Wealth Management, Vanessa managed the funds team and provided director and trustee services to leading international asset managers in the United States, Europe, Asia and Brazil. Earlier in her career, Vanessa served as a fund administrator with Walkers SPV, and as a fund accountant with Goldman Sachs.
Vanessa is a Professional Director with CIMA. She is an Executive Committee member of the Cayman Islands Directors Association, Accredited Director, Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, and Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment. Vanessa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in accounting and a Master’s Degree in behavioral sciences.
Skills and experience
- Serving as director to private fund and co-investment structures focused on large-scale proprietary investments, sponsored by an Asia-based alternative asset manager with US$15Bn of AUM.
- Serving on board of general partner for a master-feeder fund structure pursuing a private debt strategy, sponsored by a US investment manager with US$6.3Bn of AUM.
- Serving as director on master-feeder fund structure utilizing a quantitative strategy to achieve absolute long-term capital growth through investment in multiple asset classes globally, sponsored by a Singapore investment manager with US$4.9Bn of AUM.
- Serving as director to master-feeder structures pursuing merger arbitrage, event-driven fixed income, convertible arbitrage, and SPAC arbitrage strategies, sponsored by a US investment manager with US$2.4Bn of AUM.
- Serving as director to securities investment business registered person sponsoring multiple fund structures employing a multi-strategy approach with AUM just under US$1Bn.
- Serving as independent advisory committee member providing advice to the general partner on governance matters for master fund invested primarily in the securities and debt of European companies, sponsored by a US investment manager with over US$9.8Bn of AUM.
- Serving on board of general partner to a private equity fund structure investing in Japanese middle capital private companies, sponsored by a Singapore-based asset manager with ¥174.5Bn of AUM.
- Serving as director to special purpose vehicles issuing asset-backed securities, including commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities, sponsored by a leading US program administrator for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing, generating over $450Mn of PACE funding.
- Serving as director, advisory board member or managing member on fund structures pursuing various other strategies including distressed credit, event driven, infrastructure debt, long/short equity, managed futures, market neutral, and multi-commodity approaches utilised by investment managers based in Asia, Brazil, Canada, Europe, the US and UK.
- Serving as director, general partner board member, or advisory committee member to various other fund structures investing in real estate, health care, and energy sectors across the globe.
- Hedge funds
- Private funds
- Regulated/Listed funds
- Securities Investment Business Registered Persons
- Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs)
- Regulatory compliance
- Royal Bank of Canada, Wealth Management, Senior Corporate Officer, 2013 – 2018
- Maples FS, Assistant Vice President (Fiduciary), 2011 – 2013
- HSBC Securities Services, Senior Manager, 2010
- Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), Senior Analyst (Investments and Securities), 2007 – 2010
- Walkers SPV Limited, Mutual Fund Administrator, 2004 – 2005
- Goldman Sachs (Cayman) Trust Limited, Fund Accountant, 1998 – 2004
- Professional Director, Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA)
- Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIAA)
- Chartered Governance Institute of Canada (CGIC)
- Executive Committee, Cayman Islands Directors Association (CIDA)
- Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment (CISI)
- 100 Women in Finance
- Bachelor of Science degree, W.P. Carey School of Business – Arizona State University
- Master of Arts degree, School of Behavioral Sciences – Liberty University
- Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (MCSI)
- Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA)
- Accredited Director, Chartered Secretaries of Canada (Acc. Dir.)
- Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS)
- “Women in Compliance: Cayman Update” breakfast hosted by Waystone, New York, 2024.
- “Investor Services” presentation, Fund Administration Course by Cayman Islands Fund Administrators Association (CIFAA), 2010.
- “Regulation and CIMA” presentation, Fund Administration Course by CIFAA, 2010 and 2009.
- Graded qualifying Level II examination essays (CAIAA Grading Jamboree, 2026, 2010 and 2008).
- Selected for CAIA Standard Setting panel, 2022.
- Received gold medallion for high distinction in Master of Arts program (Liberty University, 2018).
- Featured in CAIA Member Spotlight, 2018.
- Served as Member of the Mental Health Commission (Cayman Islands Government, 2015-2016).
- Featured in the Journal of Alternative Investments, Winter 2009.
- Represented CIMA at the Securities Exchange Commission’s International Institute for Securities Market Development in Washington, DC, 2009.
- Bestowed with the highest academic award, the Moeur Award (Arizona State University, 2001).
- Conferred the Professional Advisory Board Scholar Award for outstanding accountancy work (Arizona State University, 2001).
- Granted the first four-year academic scholarship (Goldman Sachs, 1997).
