Local knowledge.
Global reach.
Our team has delivered high-quality, bespoke research to clients from across industries over many years. Members of our team have worked in investment banking, law, journalism, government and consulting, putting diverse skills and knowledge at the service of our clients.
Our Senior Team
Sean oversees the firm’s strategy and global operations. Throughout his career, he has advised clients on complex risk issues with particular focus on integrity matters. Sean previously lived in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai and was Managing Director and a member of the Executive Committee at a global risk advisory firm. He helped to oversee the rapid growth of that business, leading to its successful sale and integration into a global financial data and technology company. Earlier in his career, Sean worked at the Brookings Institution and Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, DC. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics and the University of Virginia.
Chris heads the EMEA region for Barbican. He was previously the head of EMEA for a global business intelligence firm. Before this he spent eight years at Goldman Sachs, where he was an Executive Director in the firm’s Business Intelligence Group. His work involved identifying and advising on legal, compliance and reputational risk, primarily on capital markets and private equity transactions. He had a particular focus on sanctions and corruption issues. Earlier, Chris was a manager for a global risk consultancy, where he worked in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and London on due diligence matters and investigations into fraud and corruption.
Natalie specializes in due diligence for clients across Asia who are investing both inside and outside the region. With more than fifteen years of industry experience at two global firms, she has led projects all over the world, including in unusual and frontier jurisdictions. She also manages Barbican’s research methodology and training of researchers. Natalie is a Certified Fraud Examiner and holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Modern History from the University of Oxford. She speaks fluent Cantonese and French.
Yanhong leads much of Barbican’s work across Greater China, Japan and Korea. Her specialism is in complex strategic work for hedge funds. She also has extensive due diligence experience, where her clients are primarily private equity firms and large corporates. In her previous work, Yanhong headed the Beijing and Tokyo offices of a global risk firm. Yanhong holds a Master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. She is Chinese but grew up in Japan and is fluent in Japanese as well as Chinese.
Tom heads Barbican’s Americas business. He oversees the company’s growth and key client relationships in both North and South America. Tom has extensive experience managing complex cross-border investigations and business intelligence projects for leading hedge funds, investment banks and corporate clients. Prior to Barbican, he worked for nine years at a business intelligence firm, both in the United States and China. He lived in China for more than a decade and is fluent in Mandarin. He holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins' Carey School of Business and undergraduate degrees from Indiana University. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner.
Charles Chia
Singapore
Director
Charles leads Barbican’s investigative due diligence and business intelligence projects across Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Oceania. Charles joined Barbican from the Singaporean technology firm Grab, where he worked on risk policy. Prior to that, he spent over five years at a global corporate investigations firm, leading and executing hundreds of complex projects for leading investment banks, private equity funds and corporates. He started his career as a consultant at a boutique risk management company. Charles holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a dual major in politics and holds a private investigator license in Singapore. He served his national service as an investigation officer in the special investigation branch of Singapore’s military police command.
Daniel Locke
London
Director
Daniel leads Barbican's EMEA research team. He was previously a senior manager for seven years at a boutique London business intelligence firm, where he focused on complex due diligence assignments, often in high-risk jurisdictions and sectors, for investment banks and hedge funds. He was also responsible for recruiting, training and managing a team of 20 analysts. Daniel's work has been global, but he has particular experience in the Middle East region. Prior to this, Daniel began his career in the UK civil service, spending seven years in various analytical and assessment roles. He has a Master's degree from the University of St Andrews and a Bachelor's from the University of Bristol.
Get in Touch
We are always happy to talk through issues and discuss potential strategies. Don’t hesitate to contact us and find out more about how we can help.
