Group directors and managers A dedicated team to guide us to success

GROUP DIRECTORS

At a regional level, directors manage their team and support staff, and maintain a close relationship with our principals to deliver a smooth handling of their claims. Our directors, who are all active senior experts, play an essential role in taking the pulse of the local market to ensure that our services meet the needs of the regional clients.

At a group level, Advanta’s Board of Directors consists of some of its regional directors. They are responsible for assembling a global strategy that carries out Advanta’s mission and realises its vision.

George Viar

CEO


SPECIALITIES

Business Interruption, ALOP / DSU, Banking, Financial Institutions


CONTACT


+44 (0) 207 702 4000

Profile
George is a founding member of Advanta Global Services with 20 years’ experience in financial services. Prior to becoming Managing Director and Head of Forensic Accounting at Advanta in 2003, George held senior management positions in a range of leading forensic accounting and loss adjusting firms. Over the course of his career, he has specialised in business interruption and ALOP / DSU claims. George also has extensive experience in working with the Bankers’ Blanket Bond (BBB) policies and financial institutions.

Professional Qualifications
— BA (Hons) European Business Administration (ICADE Business School)
— Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA - Associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants),
— Dip Marketing (ACIM - Associate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing)

Languages
— English
— Spanish
— French
— Italian

Oliver Thoma

Executive Director


SPECIALITIES

Construction/Erection with ALOP / DSU, Contractor’s Plant & Equipment, Industrial All Risks, Machinery Breakdown (Steam & Gas Turbines, Transformers, Generators, Boilers, etc.), Onshore Energy, Power Generation, Petrochemical Industry, Product Liability, Property, Risk Surveys / DSU Monitoring


CONTACT

othoma@advantaglobal.com
+44 (0) 792 194 8771
+49 170 472 9700

Profile

Oliver has over 20 years’ experience in handling high value CAR / EAR, power, industrial all risk and property claims across Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Before joining Advanta in 2005, he had also gained valuable experience in working on high-profile losses related to tunnel collapses, major plant and machinery breakdown in the mining, petrochemical and energy industries.

Professional Qualifications
— BSc Eng (Elec - Mech) with specialisation in Mining
— MSc Eng (Operations Management)

Languages
— English
— German
— Afrikaans
— Conversant in Spanish

John Donald

Executive Director


SPECIALITIES

Onshore and Offshore Energy/ Natural Resources - Upstream and Downstream, Renewable Energy, Risk Management, Commercial Insurance, Property & Casualty


CONTACT

jdonald@advantaglobal.com
+44 (0) 749 681 6567

Profile
John Donald heads up our Global Energy offering as Global Energy Director. He has worked as an energy loss adjuster for over 30 years, initially in the Middle East before transferring to London in 1990. In recent years he acted as Managing Director and Chairman of The Energy & Natural Resources division of a major loss adjusting firm. He has wide international experience in the onshore and offshore energy markets. John has managed the adjustment of many complex energy claims throughout the world. He also has a wealth of experience in the adjustment of construction claims, hurricane-related losses, property damage, well control and OEE losses, Loss of Production Income (LOPI) and Business Interruption (BI). In his early career he worked at British Steel and on engineering projects in UK-based Petrochemical facilities.

Professional Qualifications
— City & Guilds Mechanical Engineering
— BTEC Mechanical Engineering
— Certified CII

Languages
— English

Jose Miguel Varela

Executive Director


SPECIALITIES

Oil & Gas, Petrochemical Industry, Industrial Risks Auditing, Business Interruption, Property, Liability


CONTACT

jmvarela@advantaglobal.com
+1 305 794 5643
+1 786 369 5151

Profile
Jose Miguel has 23 years of extensive experience in engineering, oil field production management and reservoir control, including 18 years in the loss adjusting profession in the United States, South America and the Caribbean region. In addition, he has experience in risk inspection, focused in energy facilities (power generation and Oil & Gas). Jose Miguel specialises in claims related to oil & gas, petrochemicals, property, as well as business interruption and liability.

Professional Qualifications
— MBA with specialisation in Finance (Florida International University)
— BSc Eng (Petroleum) (Universidad Central de Venezuela)
— Reservoir Engineer (CIED-PDVSA: International Centre for Education and Development - Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.)
— Concentration in Petroleum Refining Economics (Colorado School of Mines)
— Concentration in Petroleum Economics (MIRBIS, Moscow International Higher Business School)
— FUEDI - ELAE (European Federation of Loss Adjusting Experts)
— ACA Accredited Claims Adjuster (Florida Department of Financial Services)
— Certified Fire Protection Inspector (NFPA - National Fire Protection Association)
— Thermography Training Certification (ITC - Infrared Training Center)
— Member of the Golden Key International Honour Society

Languages
— English
— Spanish

Andres Artopoulos

Director


SPECIALITIES

Industrial All Risks, Power and Energy Plants, Oil, Third Party Liability


CONTACT

aartopoulos@advantaglobal.com
+44 (0) 7947 918 801
+54 9 (11) 4143 4387

Profile
Andres has over 32 years’ experience in the insurance industry as an engineer and risk analyst. He started his career as a loss adjuster in 1998 working on claims related to large infrastructure projects across Latin America. Andres has also an extensive teaching experience in delivering advanced courses to insurance professionals. He specialises in industrial all risks, power and energy claims.

Professional Qualifications
— MBA (IAE - Business School, Universidad Austral)
— PgDip Engineering with specialisation in Industrial Hygiene and Safety (Universidad de Buenos Aires)
— BSc Eng (Industrial) (Universidad de Buenos Aires)
— SSN (Argentina National Insurance Commission - Registered Loss Adjuster)

Languages
— Spanish
— Conversant in English

Helen Webb

Director


SPECIALITIES

Renewable Energy Onshore and Offshore, Power


CONTACT

hwebb@advantaglobal.com
+44 (0) 7376 07 1625
+44 (0) 207 702 4000

Profile
Helen is a seasoned insurance professional with over 20 years of experience, specialising in managing complex claims across diverse lines of business, with a predominant focus on the Renewable Energy and Power sectors. Throughout her career, she has led high-profile teams and managed some of the industry’s most challenging claims. Most recently, as Head of Renewables–Claims at AON, Helen delivered global claims solutions for major Onshore and Offshore clients, while also dedicating time to mentoring and developing her teams. Her expertise spans across wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and BESS claims, making her a key figure in the renewable energy insurance market. Based in London, Helen will play a crucial role in supporting the company's Loss Adjusting divisions and expanding Advanta’s presence in the renewables sector.

Professional Qualifications
— CERT CII (Chartered Insurance Institute)

Languages
— English
— Working knowledge of French
— Working knowledge of Spanish

MANAGEMENT TEAM
AND SUPPORT STAFF

In addition to administrative and support staff in our offices, we have centralised teams to assist Group Directors and local offices in their strategies. These teams are key to coordinate group initiatives, centralising functions that are more efficiently handled by specialised teams, and allowing our offices to concentrate on their business.

Due to the multinational nature of our business, and the wide range of responsibilities, our teams are intrinsically multicultural and they are comprised of professionals with diverse backgrounds.

Finance & Compliance

Pauline Yin

Finance Controller


SPECIALITIES

Finance, Human resources, Management Accounting, Compliance


CONTACT

pyin@advantaglobal.com
+44 (0) 796 013 7010

Profile
Pauline has gained her professional experience working internationally, both in the United Kingdom and in Taiwan. She has extensive business insight and has developed a wide-set of skills in finance, management and compliance. Pauline has been involved in all aspects of the group’s corporate compliance matters and works closely with our finance team in this area. She is also responsible for overseeing all HR matters for the team.

Professional Qualifications
— MSc in International Business (University of London, Birkbeck College, London)
— Diploma in International Business (International Trade Institute, Taiwan)
— Diploma in Tourist Industry Management (Ming Chuan College, Taiwan)

Languages
— English
— Mandarin

Merlo Peguy Djeudjui

Finance Manager


SPECIALITIES

Management Accounts


CONTACT

mdjeudjui@advantaglobal.com

Profile
Merlo is an experienced Accounting and Finance professional boasting over 5+ years of experience in many diverse sectors and industries in the UK with overseas offices. Merlo has a strong Corporate Finance understanding along with Financial reporting knowledge and strives to deliver company’s vision and mission statements through set targets from a financial reporting perspective. He also has experience in systems and processes implementation and the continuous improvement of existing processes.

Professional Qualifications
— CIMA (Management Level) Part Qualified
— CIMA Diploma in Management Accounting Operational Level)
— BSc Hons (Business Management Accounting - Brunel University)
— A Levels French, Accounting, Media and Maths - Coulsdon College)

Languages
— English
— French
— Bafang (Cameroonian dialect)

Elena Ramos

Management Accountant


SPECIALITIES

Accounting, Financial Modelling, Financial Analysis, Credit Control


CONTACT

eramos@advantaglobal.com

Profile
Elena has over 16 years of experience working in finance. Before joining Advanta she developed her accounting skills working as a Senior Consultant at one the Big Four firms. Thereafter, Elena joined a health insurance and healthcare company in Spain as a Strategy Analyst acquiring valuable experience in business modelling and analysis in the insurance sector. At Advanta, she is working in the Finance Department collaborating closely with our Group Finance Controller.

Professional Qualifications
— Bachelor of Business Administration (University of Navarra, Spain)

Languages
— Spanish
— English
— Italian
— Basic German

Maria Romero

Management Accountant


SPECIALITIES

Management Accounts


CONTACT

mromero@advantaglobal.com

Profile
Maria has over 9 years’ experience managing her own company in the construction industry, providing her with a deep understanding of the different areas of a business and the issues that often arise both in accountancy and management. Having worked in the UK and Spain, she has also developed a multi-cultural approach to business and work environments. At Advanta, Maria utilises her skills to provide high-quality assistance to our Finance Department and also plays a key role in the implementation of our ERP system across the group.

Professional Qualifications
— Manual and Computerised Certified Bookkeeper (MICB - Member of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers)
— Dip Accountancy and Taxation

Languages
— English
— Spanish

Jurate Nemunyte-Fabry

Management Accountant


SPECIALITIES

Management Accounts


CONTACT

jnemunyte@advantaglobal.com

Profile
Jurate is a seasoned finance professional with over 10 years’ experience in accounting and administration. Prior to joining Advanta, she held various position of increasing responsibility, gaining extensive experience in the preparation of Management Accounts and financial reports, AR including credit control, AP, TAX returns and working with auditors. At Advanta, Jurate manages the accounts of various companies of the Group and is a key member of the teams working on strategic projects within the financial area.

Professional Qualifications
— BA (Hons) in Lithuanian Philology (Vilnius University)

Languages
— English
— Lithuanian

Business Operations

Lee Noble

Operations Manager


SPECIALITIES

Operations, Client engagement, Claims Adjusting, Billing & Administration


CONTACT

lnoble@advantaglobal.com
+44 (0) 207 702 4000
+44 (0)7375 69 3694

Profile
Lee is an insurance professional with ten years of experience in the industry. Throughout the years, he has gained experience in claims adjusting working for a leading loss adjusting firm, and more recently, he has spent several years applying knowledge in supporting loss adjusting operations. Lee joins Advanta to strengthen the Operations area focusing on global coordination, supporting growth, client engagement and satisfaction to ensure the delivery of a first-class experience.

Languages
— English

Cinthia Arboleas

Business Relationship Associate


SPECIALITIES

PR, Communications, Marketing


CONTACT

carboleas@advantaglobal.com

Profile
Cinthia is a Public Relations professional with 14 years’ experience in Corporate Communications, Strategy and Client Management in Latin America. She has a vast experience managing teams and devising business strategy in diverse industries: F&B, Consumer, IT, Health, Construction and Agriculture; including B2B and B2C products and services. She has also volunteered as a Counsellor for different NGOs and has been part of the Argentinian PR Professional Council for more than 10 years. As part of Advanta, Cinthia will strengthen the team handling marketing and operational projects.

Professional Qualifications
— BA in Public and Institutional Relations (Argentinian Business University, UADE)
— Certificate in Digital Marketing Immersion
— Member of the Argentinian PR Professional Council

Languages
— English
— Spanish

Adele Povey

Operations Coordinator


SPECIALITIES

Operations


CONTACT

apovey@advantaglobal.com

Profile
Adele has over 20 years of experience in finance, sales, and customer service relationship management. Before joining Advanta she was a successful business-focused sales manager, with a strong foothold in hospitality. Throughout her career, she gained experience in relationship-building and staff development fields along with success in sales, revenue growth and recruitment management. As a high-energy, experienced individual, she will continue to work closely with managers and directors using her skills to develop and support internal operations.

Professional Qualifications
— MA Hospitality Management (University of West London)
— Postgraduate Diploma Tourism & Hospitality Management (University of West London)
— BA (Hons) Roman Philology: Spanish Language (St. Petersburg State University, Russia)

Languages
— English
— Russian
— Spanish

Ewa Holmes

Marketing Support


SPECIALITIES

Customer Service, Events Management


CONTACT

eholmes@advantaglobal.com

Profile
Ewa is a skilled and dedicated customer service professional with 17 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Before joining Advanta, she worked at a well-known Law firm for nearly two decades working with the Senior teams to improve clients’ experiences. In addition, Ewa was responsible for managing internal and external events, dealing with varied types of suppliers and implementing the latest trends in the market. She has also dealt with administrative tasks such as invoicing, payroll and database management.

Professional Qualifications
— Masters in Tourism and Recreation, specialising in International Tourism (School of Economics, Katowice, Poland)
— BA Tourism & Recreation, specialising in Hotel Management (School of Economics, Katowice, Poland)

Languages
— English
— Polish