Perun Consultants Rolodex: Meet Gwynn Hopkins
Introducing our fearless founder-slash-chess connoisseur.
My name is Gwynn Hopkins, and I am the founder and managing director of Perun Consultants. With over 20 years experience in forensic accounting and insolvencies (in Asia, the UK, and across the Caribbean), in addition to managing the firm, I take appointments as an expert witness in litigation matters, as a liquidator or receiver in insolvency proceedings, and director or trustee to assist entities going through restructuring or in times of crisis.
2020 has certainly been an interesting year. On the positive side, for us the highlight was the establishment of our first overseas office in Singapore, where all of our clients based in the southeast Asia region now have direct access to all our services (with a particular focus on forensic accounting, corporate advisory services, restructuring and insolvency appointments, and conflict directorships). Also, we recently concluded a project which spun across half a dozen jurisdictions, encompassed multiple court and arbitration proceedings, a high-value mergers and acquisitions transaction, and involved dealing with numerous complex and interlinked competing interest groups (the members of which were not always on the same side in the various proceedings).
As devastating as COVID-19 is, we’ve always embraced a flexible, remote working structure as an integral component of our culture at Perun. There was no need for us to adopt a new corporate concept and pivot to a totally new way of operating, as we already had an operating structure which allowed us to continue serving our clients in a seamless and efficient way. This was a particularly favourable environment for those of our colleagues with young children, where standard office hours/attendance requirements would make it difficult to deal with childcare.
Similarly, in times of distress, there is always a heightened risk of business failure, as well as increased litigation (particularly since any previously concealed fraudulent conduct in a more benign environment will come to light). There’s no denying that the economic impact of this crisis has been (and will continue to be) catastrophic. However, Perun Consultants remains at your disposal – our services can be deployed to restructure struggling enterprises, recover assets, assist creditors in enforcing their rights, and help parties deal with and resolve contentious issues.
When I clock out, I like to play chess, or wind down with a good book – I particularly enjoy reading about history. I also like staying active; I’ll serve a few games on the squash court when I’m not keeping up with my two sons.