Delos draws on a dynamic and experienced team to carry out its activities. It is supported in this by an Arbitration Consultative Committee and the wide networks of its members. Several Delos members have been recognised as Future Leaders in Arbitration by the prestigious publication Who's Who Legal. Their short bios are available below.

DELOS TEAM

President – Hafez R VIRJEE

Deputy Counsel – Melina BELLAGUARDA KOTZIAS and Amélie LUCCHESE

Know-How Group – Besides the GAP Editorial Team (below), members of this group support Delos initiatives with research, analysis and publications. They comprise: for 'In conversation with Neil', David HU (LinkedIn); and for the Tech Channel, Mihaela APOSTOL (LinkedIn) and Thais NEGRAO (LinkedIn)

Research Group – Riddhi JOSHI (LinkedIn) and Varad S KOLHE (LinkedIn)

Communications & Programmes Group – Ghazal MIYAR (Coordinator, LinkedIn), Jazmín ESCALANTE (LinkedIn) and María LLORENTE QUIRALTE (LinkedIn)

Hearing Services Group – Laurent HAUSMANN and Federico Ariel SIVAK (LinkedIn)

ARBITRATION CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE (ACC)

The ACC is composed of experienced arbitration practitioners, who are independent of Delos. The role of the ACC is to keep under critical review the Delos Rules of Arbitration, to support the institution with the administration of arbitrations and to provide subject-matter expertise and programme leadership.

The ACC members are Victor BONNIN REYNES, Filipa CANSADO CARVALHO , Rahul DONDE, Thomas GRANIER, Prof. Florian GRISEL, Iain MCKENNY and Maria POLÁKOVÁ.  

DELOS-Y 

The Delos-Y initiative is chaired by Maria POLÁKOVÁ. She can be reached at delos-y@delosdr.org.

GAP EDITORIAL TEAM

The editorial team of the Delos Guide to Arbitration Places (GAP) is composed of: General Editors Thomas GRANIER and Hafez R VIRJEE; Deputy Editor Alejandra LAPUNZINA VERONELLI; Regional Editors Kate Apostolova, Filipa Cansado-Carvalho, Aksel Doruk, Sara Koleilat-Aranjo, Jonathan Lim, Olivier Mosimann, Myriam Seers and Dr Galina Zukova; Associate Editor David de FREITAS; Assistant Editors Fatima MALIK (LinkedIn), Facundo MARCONE (LinkedIn) and Ezequiel PIEN (LinkedIn); and Coordinator Federico Ariel SIVAK (LinkedIn). They can be reached at safeseats@delosdr.org.

TAGTIME

TagTime is a live webinar series, which features leaders from the world of international arbitration in substantive discussion of well-known cases and relevant case material. This is followed by a Q&A with the audience and concludes with the guest speaker tagging the next guest. Meet our hosts Dr Kabir DUGGAL and Amanda LEE. They can be reached at tagtime@delosdr.org. 

In alphabetical order:

Melina BELLAGUARDA KOTZIAS is a Deputy Counsel at Delos. Melina is a member of the Brazilian and Portuguese bars. She previously served as deputy counsel in different case management teams at the Secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris. After completing a master’s degree at Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas, Melina graduated from Université Paris X Nanterre where she specialized in Energy law, infrastructure and international arbitration. Follow on Linkedin.

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Victor BONNIN is a member of the Arbitration Consultative Committee of Delos. Victor acts as arbitrator but also has previous experience as counsel and arbitral secretary in investment, commercial and sport cases under the most important institutions, such as ICC, LCIA, TAS, Madrid Arbitration Court, etc.  Victor has a broad experience in investment and commercial arbitration related to many sectors such as construction, pharmaceutical, energy and renewables and many types of transactions, M&A, joint ventures, distribution, international sale of goods, among others. After practising arbitration at international law firms, Victor opened his own firm to focus on his practice as arbitrator. He is a qualified lawyer in Spain and as a solicitor in England & Wales. Additionally, he holds a law degree in Swiss law and a Master in Business Law from the Geneva University, where he obtained the Lenz & Stahelin award for the best student of the program. He speaks Spanish, English, French, German, Portuguese and Catalan. He is listed among the Future Leaders of Arbitration by Who's Who Legal. Follow on Linkedin.

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Filipa CANSADO CARVALHO is a member of the Arbitration Consultative Committee of Delos. An independent practitioner based in Lisbon, Filipa has over 20 years of experience in international dispute resolution and has acted in more than 50 arbitrations (including ICC, LCIA, ICSID, OHADA, CIAM and ad hoc), involving jurisdictions in Europe, Africa and Latin America, in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish and in a wide variety of sectors (such as construction, infrastructures, M&A, transport, banking and insurance and advertising). Before devoting herself exclusively to dispute prevention and resolution, Filipa worked in construction law, having advised public and private clients on major national and international projects (FIDIC or not) in several continents. In 2020, Filipa left a leading Portuguese firm to focus on her practice as arbitrator and mediator. Filipa acts regularly as sole, co- and presiding arbitrator, appointed by institutions, parties and co-arbitrators alike. Filipa is also a CEDR-accredited mediator. Filipa is a member of the board of the Arbitration Centre of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She also co-chairs the mentoring programme of CEA Mujeres and is a member of the arbitration practice committee of the Portuguese Arbitration Association. Filipa has been consistently recognized as counsel / arbitrator by the major legal directories including Who’s Who Legal. Follow on LinkedIn.

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David DE FREITAS is an Associate Editor of the Delos Guide to Arbitration Places (GAP). Based in Geneva, he works as an associate at White & Case, specializing in commercial litigation and international arbitration. He is qualified in Brazil and in Portugal and holds a Master’s degree in Global Business Law and Governance from the University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and an LL.M from the City University of Hong Kong. David is fluent in French, English, Portuguese and Spanish and has a good proficiency of Italian. Follow on LinkedIn.

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Rahul DONDE is a member of the Arbitration Consultative Committee of Delos. Rahul has acted as arbitrator, counsel, secretary and assistant of the arbitral tribunal in over 30 international arbitration proceedings under both ad hoc (UNCITRAL, Swiss PILA, Indian Arbitration Act, 1996) and institutional arbitration rules (CEPANI, CRCICA, HKIAC, ICC, ICSID, ICSID (AF), LCIA, SIAC). He has been consistently recognized as Expert”, “Rising Star” and “Future Leader” by the major legal directories including Expert Guides, Legal500 and Who’s Who Legal. Rahul has specific experience in disputes relating to natural resources (water, oil, gas, renewable energy), commercial (agency, distribution, sales, purchase, services agreements) and corporate laws in
different jurisdictions. Having worked in Switzerland and India for several years, Rahul has expertise in complex commercial and investment disputes in both common law and civil law systems. Rahul sits as an arbitrator and is empaneled with all major international arbitral institutions. As counsel, he has advised multinational companies in cross-border construction and commercial disputes and assisted parties in annulment proceedings before the Swiss Federal Tribunal. Follow on Linkedin.

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Thomas GRANIER is a co-founder of Delos and member of its Arbitration Consultative Committee, and Counsel at ASAFO & Co. Mr Granier acts as counsel and arbitrator in a wide array of disputes relating in particular to new technologies, IT, energy, M&A, joint-ventures, construction and distribution. Mr Granier has acted in a number of commercial and investment arbitrations, both ad hoc and under the rules of leading institutions, including the HKIAC, the ICC, the LCIA, and ICSID. Prior to joining ASAFO &Co., Mr Granier was an attorney at McDermott Will & Emery, and previously served as counsel for the Africa, Middle-East and Europe Team at the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris, after having acted as deputy counsel for the Germany, Switzerland, and Austria Team. At the ICC, Mr Granier supervised more than 300 arbitrations and reviewed a number of arbitration awards. Mr Granier holds degrees from the Université Paris I – Panthéon-Sorbonne (Master 2), the Ludwig-Maximilians Universität in Munich (LL.M.) and the Université Paris II – Panthéon-Assas (Maîtrise). Mr Granier is listed among the Future Leaders of Arbitration by Who's Who Legal. Follow on LinkedIn.

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Florian GRISEL is a co-Founder of Delos and a member of the Delos Arbitration Consultative Committee. He is also an Associate Professor at the University of Oxford. A national of France, Florian has gained extensive experience in international business law in the last ten years, focusing on commercial and investment arbitration both as an academic and as a practitioner. He is an attorney at the New York Bar and the Paris Bar, and holds degrees from Sciences po Paris (M.A.), Columbia University (M.P.A.), Yale Law School (LL.M.) and the Sorbonne (LL.M., Ph.D). He has practiced international arbitration in leading law firms based in Geneva (Levy Kaufmann-Kohler) and Paris (Dechert LLP), and has worked for the World Bank (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes) in Washington, DC. In these different capacities, he has been involved in arbitration cases arising in various industries (oil & gas, military procurement, telecommunications, luxury, construction, mining, etc...) and many jurisdictions all over the world (Europe, Americas, Asia, Middle East, Africa). He has authored two books (L'arbitrage international ou le droit contre l'ordre juridique (LGDJ), The Evolution of International Arbitration (Oxford University Press)) and many articles on international business law. He is listed among the Future Leaders of Arbitration by Who's Who Legal and also sits as a board member of a major robotics fund.

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Alejandra LAPUNZINA VERONELLI is Deputy Editor of the Delos Guide to Arbitration Places (GAP). Alejandra is an in-house counsel formerly associate at an international arbitration boutique in Paris. Her practice includes both international commercial and international investment arbitration in English, Spanish and French. She has trained at leading law firms and boutiques in Paris and Buenos Aires and worked as a teaching assistant in International Economic Law at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. She holds a Masters’ degree in Global Business Law and Governance from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Columbia Law School and the Ecole de Droit de Sciences Po, and is admitted to the Paris Bar. Follow on LinkedIn.

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Amélie LUCCHESE is a Deputy Counsel at Delos. She graduated from Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas with a Masters’ degree in International Trade Law and a Masters’ degree in Arbitration, Litigation and ADR. After completing her studies, Amélie trained with the international arbitration teams of leading law firms in Paris and completed an internship at the Secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Hong Kong. She more recently served as legal counsel with the Litigation, Investigations and Regulatory Affairs team of a major European aerospace manufacturer in Blagnac, focusing on commercial disputes before French courts and arbitral tribunals. Amélie works in French and in English. Follow on LinkedIn.

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Iain C McKENNY is a co-Founder of Delos, and a member of the Delos Arbitration Consultative Committee. He is a Director and Co-Founder of third party funder Profile Investment. He was previously General Counsel of Disputes and then Managing Director at Vannin Capital, and practised prior to that at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Latham & Watkins, in London and Paris. Follow on LinkedIn.

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Maria POLÁKOVÁ is a member of the Delos-Y Committee. Maria is a Partner with Squire Patton Boggs, Prague, after having previously worked with the firm’s International Dispute Resolution team in London. Her primary practice focuses on investor-state and international commercial arbitration. She has been involved in a number of major investment cases in which the firm successfully defended sovereign states against foreign investors’ claims, including ECE v. Czech Republic, Eurogas & Belmont v. Slovak Republic or ACP Axos Capital v. Kosovo. Maria served as a co-chair of the Young International Council for Commercial Arbitration (Young ICCA) in 2013 and 2014 and subsequently served as a member of the organization's advisory board. A native Slovak speaker, Maria is a member of the Czech Bar and speaks Czech, English and French fluently. Follow on LinkedIn.

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Hafez R VIRJEE is the President and a co-Founder of Delos. Hafez also serves as an independent arbitrator at Virjee Arbitration. He previously acted mainly as counsel. His clients have spanned the range of listed companies, private equity firms, tech start-ups, industrial concerns, State entities and treaty organisations, in disputes across a wide range of sectors and relationships, including shareholder agreements, joint-ventures, agency, M&A, telecommunications, tech, energy, pharmaceutical, construction and defence. Hafez is a solicitor of England & Wales and also qualified in France. He was previously at Dechert in Paris (with a secondment to Dubai in 2015) and prior to that at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London. He co-edits the Delos Guide to Arbitration Places (GAP) and regularly writes and speaks on international arbitration and legal risk management. He holds degrees from the University of Cambridge (M.A.), the Université Paris II – Panthéon-Assas (Maîtrise) and the University of California – Berkeley (LL.M.). He is listed among the Future Leaders of Arbitration by Who's Who Legal. Follow on LinkedIn.

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