Executive Committee 2022 -2023

Louise Smyth

President

Louise Smyth joined Companies House in September 2017 as Chief Executive and Registrar for England and Wales.  Louise has served as President of the Corporate Registers Forum since 2021.

Before joining Companies House Louise held a number of senior positions at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), including Director of IT, Director of People, Places & Services.

Louise went on to become Chief Operating Officer in 2014, responsible for Corporate Services: IT, People, Places and Services and Finance

Dr. Geraldine Spiteri Lucas

2023 Conference Director, and Executive Committee

Geraldine Spiteri Lucas is a lawyer by profession who acquired a Doctor of Laws from the University of Malta and a warrant to practice in Maltese Courts.  She also read a Masters Degree in European Studies and Comparative Law.

Geraldine was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Malta Business Registry and Registrar in 2021. Previously to her appointment, she used to head the Legal and Enforcement Unit of the said entity and oversaw its overall function. She also worked for several years in the private sector with a leading Maltese law firm. She is also a member of the board of examiners for the department of Commercial Law of the University of Malta.

Marija Boshkovska

Executive Committee and 2019 Conference Director

Marija Boshkovska joined Central register of the Republic of Macedonia in August, 2017 as General Director of the Institution. As professional in business economics and financial accounting management, she has been involved in the implementation of numerous development projects – essential for the progress of the Central register.

The Central register is self-financed government institution, which is currently in a process of upgrading the existing solutions with a new comprehensive service model – covering all significant aspects that directly affect the quality of services.

Her vision for the Central register arises directly from the needs of the private sector and all service users (including foreign and domestic investors), and from the institutional need to access and share up-to-date information in order to increase the efficiency of their work.

Mariyam Visam

Executive Committee and 2022 Conference Director

Visam is the Registrar of businesses at the Ministry of Economic Development. Visam is leading the digitalization program of business registry services to modernize and increase accessibility to business services across the country. She also oversees FDI registrations and provides her expertise in formulating investment policies.

Visam is also a member of the Board of Directors of Capital Market Development Authority (CMDA).

Visam has over 15 years of experience in economic affairs and financial sector.

Visam also contributes to the academia by facilitating training programs, postgraduate courses in the areas of Entrepreneurship, Corporate Governance, Risk Management & Business Ethics.

Visam holds a Master’s Degree in Business Economics from the University of Queensland, Australia.  Visam was the 2022 Conference Director.

Karen Foat

Executive Committee

Karen is the Deputy Registrar of the Australian Business Register, and the Deputy Commissioner of the Australian Business Registry Services business line at the Australian Taxation Office, which is leading our organisation to be a leading tax, super and registry service.

Julian Lamb

Executive Committee

Julian Lamb is the Executive Director of Registry and the Registrar. He is also a member of our Executive Board.
Julian has the primary executive responsibility for the leadership and management of the Registry.

Julian is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the Companies Registry (Registry), which includes policy and strategic development, and enhancing the Registry’s international reputation.

Prior to joining the JFSC in December 1999, Julian worked in Jersey’s finance industry for more than 20 years, including at director level. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants and the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment.

Julian is a board member of a number of international registry organisations.

Nor Azimah Abdul Aziz

Executive Committee

Nor Azimah Abdul Aziz has been appointed as CEO of the Companies Commission of Malaysia effective May 1, 2020. Prior to this appointment, she was the Deputy CEO (DCEO) of Regulatory & Enforcement and thereafter, DCEO of Corporate Services between the period of 2016 to 2020. She started her career in 1992 as an Advocate and Solicitor and from there on served as a Law Lecturer at the Accounting Department, Faculty of Business and Management, National University of Malaysia (UKM). She joined SSM as General Manager of the Corporate Policy, Planning and Development Department in 2003 and oversaw the passing of significant pieces of legislations under the purview of SSM, among others, the Companies Act 2016, Interest Schemes Act 2016, Limited Liability Partnership Act 2012 and Companies (Amendment) Act 2007. She is currently a Board Member of Audit Oversight Board, Board Member of Financial Reporting Foundation, Member of the Approval and Implementation Committee of Iskandar Regional Development Authority, Board Member of the Labuan Financial Services Authority and was elected as the Executive Committee of the Corporate Registers Forum (CRF) at the 2022 CRF Forum

Chin Li Fen

Executive Committee

Li Fen has been the Deputy Chief Executive of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) since July 2017. ACRA is the national regulator of business entities, public accountants and corporate service providers in
Singapore. As the Deputy Chief Executive of ACRA, Li Fen oversees the Business Registry function, IT and Digital Transformation, and Corporate functions which include legal services, corporate planning, communications, HR
and Finance, etc. Prior to joining ACRA, she was with the Singapore’s Inland Revenue Authority, and spent several years in tax policy and research, before holding senior leadership roles in customer service function, and corporate
areas. Li Fen holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the National University of Singapore.

Bolen Ng

Executive Member (from April 2023)

Bolen Ng has been in the New Zealand public service where he has had a varied career over 27 years.  He has a strong operational background with a people centric focus and has built cohesive operational teams and remotely managed multiple operational sites across geographical locations internationally, including (Hong Kong, Bangkok, Vietnam, the Middle East and Shanghai). Within New Zealand he has led large complex Immigration New Zealand operations. He has built collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

Bolen joined the New Zealand Business Registries, NZ Companies Office, Ministry Of Business Innovation and Employment, in 2021, as the National Manager, and Assistant Registrar and is keen to work with like minded registry counterparts to share challenges and make improvements to our registry systems for our customers whilst maintaining our regulatory role and function.

Abdul Rasheed Purayil KP

Executive Member (from April 2023)

Abdul Rasheed KP works as Director, Companies Registration Office, Qatar Financial Centre, Doha, Qatar. Mr. Rasheed is a former officer of the central civil service in India,  and has officiated as Assistant Registrar of Companies and as Assistant Official Liquidator in India.

A lawyer by profession, Mr. Rasheed has worked with leading law firms in India and Qatar, prior to joining the QFC. His career also includes stints as a prosecutor in India’s federal investigation agency – the Central Bureau of Investigation; and in a senior position in the Indian banking arm of a global financial major.

He has published articles and spoken at international conferences on law, corporate governance and white-collar crimes; and some of his talks have been broadcasted.  His personal interest includes music, literature, and travel.

Martin Fidler Jones

Secretary

Martin Fidler Jones joined Companies House in 2021 as a Senior Policy Advisor, responsible for international affairs, following a decade in charity sector public affairs, policy and communications.  He has been CRF Secretary since 2021.

A fluent French speaker, Martin has also worked at the heart of Parliaments and their governments in Wales, the UK and the EU.

He holds an Honours degree in Economics and a Masters in International Relations, with a specialism in climate change politics.

Helen Tang

Treasurer

Before assuming the Post of the Registrar of Companies in July 2022, Miss Helen Tang served in various policy bureaux and departments of the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, including the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, the former Home Affairs Bureau, the Government Logistics Department, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, the Labour and Welfare Bureau, the Department of Health, the former Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau, the former Information Technology and Broadcasting Bureau, the former Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority, the former Health and Welfare Branch, the former Civil Service Branch and the former City and New
Territories Administration.

Irena Lazarova

Assistant Secretary - Technical Workshops

Irena is a Head of Marketing and Public relations Department at Central registry of the Republic of North Macedonia

She joined the Central Registry 2008. She is responsible for:

– Coordination of external communication, customer care, maintenance and strengthening of the role and importance of the institution to target groups and strengthen the image of the Central registry.

– Taking care of accurate, timely and prompt information to the target groups for the products and services and providing customer support in realizing their commitments to and requirements.

– Planning, coordinating and supervision of the preparation of promotional material and representative of the institution, including maintainance the CMS of the service porlal.

– processing media presentation of the institution

– Organize the implementation of surveys of public opinion in matters arising from the functions of the institution

– Participation in working groups to develop new products and services and to create organizational policies and procedures of public interes.

– Project/Product Manager of the projects related to services for business and citizens.