An independent seat at the table
Non-executive and independent director roles on regulated entities, including AIFM and ManCo boards, with real challenge on risk, oversight and conflicts rather than box-ticking.
Independent board and strategic advisory
Calm judgment creates value before growth does.
Cannon Hill Partners is an independent advisory firm in London, led by David Sarfas. It advises PE-backed alternative-asset platforms and regulated financial-services firms on fund administration, AIFM and ManCo governance, post-merger integration and value creation, and provides non-executive director and board adviser services.
When I am called in
Four situations account for most of the work. In each, the question is the same: what does the evidence support, and what should the board do about it?
A strategy that has to earn its place
Where to play, which clients to win, and what the economics support. Market attractiveness tested against your actual right to win, then turned into a plan with owners and numbers.
Transactions and integration
Buy-and-build, carve-outs and post-merger integration. Independent challenge of diligence and vendor reports, and a hard look at what the growth story is really made of.
Regulatory and operating pressure
Remediation, outsourcing oversight and operating-model redesign, including where technology, data or AI is the constraint. I bring the right specialists when depth is needed.
What I advise on
Five areas of advisory work, all in fund administration, private markets and regulated financial services.
Fund administration advisory
Strategy, operating model, pricing and client-segment choices for fund administrators, and for the private-equity, private-credit and real-asset managers they serve.
AIFM and ManCo advisory
Governance, substance, delegate oversight and board effectiveness for AIFMs and management companies, across Luxembourg, Ireland, the UK and Jersey.
Post-merger integration
Integration planning and independent challenge for acquisitions in fund and corporate services: operating model, people, client retention and systems.
Operating-partner support
Working alongside private-equity owners of fund-administration and corporate-services platforms on commercial strategy, P&L management, buy-and-build and value creation.
Non-executive director and board adviser
Independent seats on the boards of regulated entities, and board-level advice on oversight, risk, conflicts and strategy.
How I work
Independent by design
No product to sell and no vendor relationships to protect. Advice follows the requirement, whichever way that points.
Judgment before growth
Governance, controls and operating reality come first. Growth built on them lasts. Growth built around them rarely does.
AI informs, people decide
AI is useful for speed and coverage. Accountability, and the call itself, stay with the people responsible.
What I will not do
- Lend a name to cosmetic governance.
- Take a board seat that exists to tick a box.
- Endorse a growth narrative the operating reality does not support.
Reach
Deep experience in the asset classes, structures and jurisdictions where alternative-asset platforms are built and regulated.
30+years in financial services
6jurisdictions with regulated-entity experience
2working languages, English and French
Sectors
Jurisdictions
About
David Sarfas
I founded Cannon Hill Partners after more than thirty years in international financial services, most of them in senior global roles running large businesses and teams across fund administration, corporate and fiduciary services, and private-markets operating models.
Today I work as an independent director and adviser, and take selected stakes alongside the businesses I advise. I am based in London, work in English and French, and approach each situation from the seat of a CEO, board member or investor rather than a functional specialist.
Questions
Who is David Sarfas?
David Sarfas is an independent adviser and board member in fund administration, private markets and corporate and trust services, with more than thirty years in international financial services. He is based in London and founded Cannon Hill Partners.
What does Cannon Hill Partners do?
It provides independent board and strategic advisory to PE-backed alternative-asset platforms and regulated financial-services firms, including non-executive director roles, strategy, transaction and integration support, and operating-model work.
Which jurisdictions does it cover?
Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Jersey, the Netherlands and the United States, where David has regulated-entity experience.
Which languages does David work in?
English and French.
How do I get in touch?
Email info@cannonhillpartners.com. A first conversation is confidential and carries no obligation.