At the core of our work is a drive to securing transactional outcomes that provide the best possible shareholder value for our clients. Given our pure advisory purpose, we are free from conflicts of interest that may be inherent in larger, multi-product firms. For over 10 years, we have established a solid track record of negotiating exceptional outcomes across M&A, Debt, Capital Management and Strategic Advisory engagements, and are often called into contentious and complex situations.
LCC is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, which formalises our view of being a responsible corporate citizen. We believe strongly in the role of corporations to lead in philanthropic causes and is a keen supporter of sport, art and community causes through the LCC Foundation such as The Sydney Children’s Hospital, Cure for Life and Variety – The Children’s Charity.
Nicholas Assef is the Founder and Principal of LCC Asia Pacific. Formerly an attorney with Allen Allen & Hemsley, Nicholas transitioned to investment banking and founded LCC in 2004 following working in bulge bracket and boutique investment banking operations.
Nicholas has delivered specialist counsel to clients on domestic and cross border corporate initiatives, mergers & acquisitions transactions and contentious corporate situations – typically involving complex disputes between joint venturers, shareholders and / or directors. In addition to servicing the Australian market, Nicholas has worked extensively with Asian & Northern Hemisphere clients executing Australian & Asia wide strategies.
He regularly authors and presents research papers on topics ranging from “game theory” & the China Belt & Road through to sector specific themes around the Engineering, Resource & Oilfield Services, Mining Services, Technology Services and Complex Services Sectors. He has also worked extensively in Resources & Energy.
He is a member of numerous leading professional associations, including the Australian Drilling Industry Association, AUSTMINE, the Mining & Energy Services Council of Australia, the Marine Technology Society and the Law Society of NSW. He is also a member of Rotary International and a Benefactor of the Art Gallery of NSW Foundation.
With over 20 years of banking experience, in particular with project and infrastructure finance, Simon serves as subject matter expert for the firm in Renewables and Energy projects. Prior to joining LCC, he was the Managing Director of Chinese Wind Turbine Manufacturer – Sinovel Wind Group, a leading Chinese manufacturer of Wind Turbine Generators leading commercial teams tendering for Australian & New Zealand wind farm projects.
Previously, Simon was one of three senior bankers for Societe Generale based in Australia. His role had a product and relationship focus that included leading strategic initiatives in major Industrial sectors. He was also with Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney & London as Industry Head, Environmental Initiatives, Project & Infrastructure Finance, providing team leadership for up to eight project / corporate finance bankers and risk executives.
Simon holds an MA and BA in Natural Science with Honours from the University of Cambridge as well as an MBA from Sydney University.
Duncan commenced with LCC Asia Pacific in June 2009.
With a background in electronics and radio engineering, Duncan’s career spans over 30 years in which time he has developed the technical and entrepreneurial expertise that he brings to his work at LCC. Duncan joined LCC from a management consulting practice where he advised clients seeking new markets outside their specialty field, including related venture financing and M&A transactions.
Commercially astute, Duncan has established and run successful technology businesses, including spending 10 years in the financial markets co-founding a world-leading wireless financial information distributor with real-time services across 21 countries. He has also developed businesses in electronics, software, security, engineering, healthcare, music and media.
Adding to his geographically diverse experience, Duncan has served on boards in Africa and the Middle East, and has led reconstructions and negotiations of multi-million dollar government and corporate contracts. Duncan is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Duncan is a motoring enthusiast and avid motorcyclist with many an adventure under his belt, including an attempt to ride across Russia on the infamously unreliable Ural motorcycle sidecar outfit.
Simon commenced with LCC Asia Pacific in 2015. He was previously a Senior Associate in the Special Situation Investments unit of one of the largest investment banks in Asia and was involved with the execution of transactions involving principal investments, mezzanine financing and leveraged financing across Southeast Asia and Australia.
Simon has worked on numerous domestic and cross-border transactions involving parties from the US, Europe, and Asia Pacific across a variety of industries. He supports the firm’s overall M&A and corporate advisory engagements with his deep experience in financial modelling, corporate valuation and corporate finance.
In his role with LCC, he has had significant transaction experiences in the Engineering Services, Mining Services and Renewable sectors. He is currently leading the firm’s private equity & private capital practice as well as facilitating cross-border inbound M&As for ASEAN corporates.
Simon is a CFA charterholder and holds a BSc (Business Management) from Sunway University and The University of Lancaster with First Class Honours (dual certificates).
David commenced with LCC Asia Pacific in 2016.
David is a business professional with more than 15 years of multifaceted internal corporate and management consulting experience in a diverse range of industries in Australia and Europe, predominantly in the service and manufacturing sectors.
Throughout his career he has completed significant consulting assignments and performance improvement projects with various organisations ranging from entrepreneurial start-ups to large international companies. His areas of expertise include strategic planning, strategy development, program and project management, business development, business transformation, pre M&A positioning and post M&A support. His exposure to a variety of organisations and cultural settings enables him to adjust to client’s specifics and thus successfully engage and drive assignments in different environments.
Prior to joining LCC Asia Pacific David was a Senior Management Consultant with Duropack Group and then DS Smith after the latter acquired Duropack. Earlier, he worked as a Senior Management Consultant/Project Manager for Monsters Solutions and as a Senior Business Consultant for Davidson Recruitment.
David holds a Master of Business from Queensland University of Technology and a Bachelor of Economics from University of Belgrade.
