About US

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Puai Wichman has been involved in the asset protection business since 1993. He chose the name Ora for its meaning of new life and fresh beginnings. He founded Ora Fiduciary (Cook Islands) Limited to provide trustee services from the Cook Islands. His journey now continues with Ora Partners, pulling together multi-disciplinary professionals from around the world to provide first-class premium service to astute and discerning clients.

The focus remains the same: to provide clients with exemplary proactive service, always with a personal touch. It's fair to say that Ora takes the long walk with our clients; it's a close association, which often crosses into life-long friendships.

Puai T Wichman

Founder and CEO Ora Partners

With nearly 30 years’ experience in the offshore financial services sector of the Cook Islands, Puai has played an integral part in the planning and implementation of estate and asset protection plans for many high net worth individuals and their families.

Now based in Auckland, New Zealand he has established Ora Partners New Zealand, an advisory and consultancy services company, strategically placed to take advantage of the superior opportunities presented in a safe business haven such as New Zealand. To that end, Puai has pulled together a team of proven professionals who specialise in diverse areas, including law, investment, tax, and emerging and disruptive technologies.

Ora Partners New Zealand is well placed to assist high net worth families and their businesses navigate through today’s new world economy with a focus on finding strategic investments and a secure place to conduct business in New Zealand.

Trustee Services

Tuaine Marsters

Director – Finance

Tuaine is a Barrister and Solicitor admitted to the bar in the Cook Islands. She has been involved in the trustee company sector of the Cook Islands for over 20 years.

She has been a part of Ora’s Trust business since 2003. She began her role with Ora as an in-house accountant, overseeing all financial reporting and audits of the Company. She was appointed as a director in 2016, responsible for Financial Reporting to the Board of Directors and to the Regulatory Authority of the Cook Islands.

Valentino Wichman

Director – Compliance/Strategy

Valentino (Valery) Wichman is a Barrister and Solicitor admitted in New Zealand and the Cook Islands and has been involved in Ora’s Trust business since 2004.

She oversees Ora’s ongoing Compliance obligations.  She is also an important part of Strategy Development.  Her many achievements include being a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Young Leaders (QYL) Award in 2016 and was instrumental in developing the Cook Islands National Sustainable Development Agenda 2020+ a 100 generational development plan for the Cook Islands.  

Terai Boaza

Client Services Manager

Terai has been a valuable member of our Client Services team in the Cook Islands since 2015, not long after her admission to the bar in Cook Islands as a Barrister and Solicitor.

Over that time, she has matured into a highly experienced trust administration officer, where she brings her legal perspective and expertise to ensure high quality delivery of service to our clients.  In her role, she manages a dynamic team who are dedicated to delivering outstanding customer care and takes the lead on complex legal matters that arise.

Legal

Phil Creagh

Phil Creagh

Director, Anderson Creagh Lai

Phil is a founding partner of Anderson Creagh Lai, and senior partner and chairman of the firm. His practice areas are wide-ranging and include dispute resolution and civil litigation, corporate and commercial advice, and specialist commercial property work.

Phil’s main focus is on providing the strategic focus and oversight of significant commercial and contract related disputes, frequently working with the separate bar. He has had significant recent experience as instructing solicitor in large commercial property disputes, the local authority powers and regulatory area, a significant minority shareholder oppression action, the leading NZ property relationship/trust case and in many other corporate and commercial causes.

In addition to his litigation practice, Phil continues to advise corporate and commercial, and occasionally property, clients on their needs. Outside the law Phil has a number of private family business interests, and has had governance experience, serving on the managing board of a leading Australasian law firm for six years before co-establishing Anderson Creagh Lai, serving as a director for a number of valued personal clients, and serving as an officer and trustee of a number of voluntary organisations. Phil also provides pro-bono assistance and advice to a number of organisations.

Nick Williams

Nick Williams

Legal Counsel | Litigation Attorney

Nick is an experienced litigation lawyer specialising in regulatory and white collar crime, financial markets law, and trusts. He is admitted to practice in both New Zealand and the Cook Islands and has appeared in the Cook Islands High Court in several high profile cases.

Nick has a strong interest in corporate governance and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

He teaches Financial Markets law and Trial Advocacy at the University of Auckland Law School.

Jeffrey Lai

Jeffrey Lai

Director, Anderson Creagh Lai

Jeffrey is a founding partner and the managing director of Anderson Creagh Lai. He provides sound, pragmatic legal and general commercial advice to a wide range of clients, particularly in mid-market and high growth New Zealand companies in various industries.

Jeffrey specialises in corporate structuring and restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, investment funding, domestic and international business expansion, and contractual arrangements. He also has a technology sector focus, particularly in major technology project development, implementation and integration, IT services outsourcing, and commercialisation of science and technology.

Jeffrey holds an LLB (Hons) and BCom from the University of Auckland.

Digital Services

Emmanuel Gadaix

Cyber Security

Emmanuel co-founded the Telecom Security Task Force, specialising in the auditing of Telecom networks.

He has been involved with GSM telecommunications, participating in the launch of many mobile networks in Southeast Asia and Europe, with a focus on intelligent Networks and Value Added Services. 

Antoine Gasnier

Blockchain Development

Antoine has a 15-year track record of hands-on work across the cybersecurity, blockchain and financial technologies industries.

He has a deep understanding of technical challenges and consumer requirements. This, combined with his experience in complex markets, is why Antoine brings necessary operational management skills.

 

Investment Advisory

Jonathan Eriksen

Jonathan Eriksen

Managing Director EriksensGlobal Actuaries & Investment Strategists

Jonathan has over 40 years’ experience in superannuation and investment consulting and is one of the most experienced actuaries in New Zealand.

Some of Jonathan’s major assignments include: 

  • Conducting the first investment review of the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation in 2004. The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has assets of $45 billion and is intended to fund part of the provision of New Zealand’s public superannuation benefits going forward. The report was well received by the Minister of Finance and Eriksens’ recommendations were adopted. 
  • Jonathan advised the New Zealand Earthquake Commission on investment and corporate governance matters surrounding the Disaster Recovery Fund. 
  • He is a past director of Tainui Group Holdings – a Maori Incorporation that has assets in excess of $1 billion. 
  • Provision of specialist advice to governments in pension reform and retirement funding issues; he has advised the Russian, Nauruan and New Zealand Governments on retirement savings policy. 
  • He is currently a director of several companies, is a member of the Institute of Directors (NZ) and Chair of the Trustees Executors Investment Committee and the Board of the BNZ Officer’s Provident Association. 

Jonathan advises corporate clients on a wide variety of actuarial matters including asset-liability analysis, life and general insurance, actuarial valuations and so on. He also advises clients on superannuation (pension) issues and investment matters including governance, preparing SIPO’s, asset allocation, investment manager search and selection and performance monitoring. Jonathan founded EriksensGlobal over 25 years ago. Funds under advice exceed $2 billion which includes several iwi and other Maori organisations as clients. 

Henry Lynch

Advisory Board Member

Henry is Co-founder of Faraday who specialise in purpose-built, high performance professional advisory boards for emerging, small and mid-market enterprises.

Henry is an experienced advisory and governance board chair, non-executive director and former CEO who has led and advised a range of companies in financial services, health and safety, manufacturing, professional services, artificial intelligence, horticulture, construction and technology sectors. He is a Chartered Member of Institute of Directors New Zealand (IoD) and a Fellow of Governance New Zealand. His experience provides valuable perspectives to organisations who are looking to achieve the next level of growth, expansion and transformational change based on the strategic intent of `thinking like a customer’; not about them’.

Ora Partners, your Wealth Solutions Team.

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