ALLISON NOLAN

Founder

ALLISON NOLAN is the founder and Managing Director of Athena International Management Limited, a boutique corporate governance provider offering experienced independent directors to the international alternative investment funds community. She has been a director of regulated entities since 2002 and has served as a full time professional independent director since 2005. From her background as a partner in a leading offshore law firm and her transaction management experience, Allison has developed a wealth of expertise in the international financial services arena and has extensive knowledge of the legal and regulatory framework in the Cayman Islands and other offshore jurisdictions.

Allison started her legal career at the city of London law firm now known as Taylor Wessing in 1988 where she subsequently qualified as a solicitor, England and Wales (now non-practising) and practiced until 1993. Allison then became Head of Legal at Mitsubishi Corporation Finance PLC in London where she also had overall responsibility for the derivatives documentation department. She joined the major offshore law firm Appleby in 1998 and was admitted as an Attorney-at-Law in the Cayman Islands (now non-practising). Allison became a partner of that firm in 2002 and was ultimately appointed as the Global Head of their Funds and Investment Services team as well as the leader of their Structured Finance and Capital Markets groups in the Cayman Islands.

Whilst practicing as an Attorney-at-Law, Allison was recognized as a leading investment fund lawyer in the Legal 500 and ranked amongst the leading corporate / commercial lawyers in the Cayman Islands in Chambers and Partners Global Guide to Lawyers. Allison was a founder board member and is a past Vice President of the Cayman Islands Directors Association. She serves as the Chair of the Education Committee of the Alternative Investment Managers Association in the Cayman Islands having been actively involved with AIMA since the formation of the AIMA Cayman National Group in 2006.

Allison has been a frequent speaker at investment funds conferences and has contributed to several legal journals and industry publications. She is also actively involved in women’s and diversity initiatives in the financial services industry and is an active participant in 100 Women in Finance.