About Us
Merlys is a funds-sector specialist management consultancy firm with a growing team of highly expert consultants with decades of experience among them. Our purpose is to efficiently and effectively assist large and small banks, funds businesses as well as consultancies and law firms working with the sector, to implement regulatory change.
Delivering expert advisory and hands-on implementation support across our 4 specialist areas of ESG, Regulation, Governance and ID&C, some of the reasons Merlys stands out from the crowd are:
- our decades of experience in ESG
- our business acumen, legal and commercial backgrounds that underpin our consultancy services
- our ability to address complex problems with practical solutions, explained in plain English
- our blend of in-house knowledge and know-how, and hands-on implementation experience and expertise
- our unique, agile structure via our rapid-response Merlys On Tap service (see tab by that name)
Verena Charvet
Founder and Head of Merlys, Verena is a sought-after regulatory specialist of 30 years’ plus experience. Throughout her career she has been involved in the ESG arena. Having worked as a lawyer in the banking and funds industries, following work as a regulator and a period of time in private practice, the combination of industry-specific legal experience coupled with hands-on commercial experience gained in-house in funds and banking, backed by her academic qualifications, makes her and exceptional regulatory consultant.
Verena is published in Butterworths; engaged internationally as a Regulatory speaker on a wide range of matters including ESG with particular emphasis on the funds sector in London, Paris, New York, Luxembourg and Malta.
Regularly sought as a trainer, educator and mentor, Verena’s expertise covers regulatory interpretation, strategy and planning through to implementation. Verena and her team of specialist consultants also provides legal advice through her consultancy with the law firm Merali Beedle, giving clients an all-round service offering.
Verena’s specialist areas of knowledge and know-how are regulated and unregulated international funds (particularly with an emphasis on ESG and sustainable funds); Re-structuring of Funds; Overseas Funds in the UK; Global Fund Registrations, Managing and Chairing Fund Boards, Fund EGMs and AGMs.
Our Specialist Consultants
Verena is the leader of the four teams but for the individual client engagements a project leader is appointed from among the Merlys expert consultants after discussion with the client
Regulation: All things regulatory
This team comprises predominantly consultants with legal backgrounds who are expert in analysing laws and regulations and their application to a client’s business. All of these consultants have upwards of 15 years’ experience in the industry. They have all worked in industry for asset managers, large and small.
Within this team also sit our experts on prime broker and ISDA documentation.
The team is also able to access international and UK law firms for specific legal knowledge and some team members are accredited qualified lawyers and able to provide legal advice within our correspondent firms.
ESG: in which we have 2 decades of experience
Verena is the lead member of this team as she has been advising on ESG matters for over 2 decades. She is supported by other consultants who have similar long-term experience both from the buy and sell side of the asset management industry. The team members are lawyers, accountants, actuaries and banking experts.
This team draws on a wide range of persons within the international ESG community for insight and specific expertise.
Governance: corporate and cultural
This is the group that assists organisations with how they organise themselves. This may be at the corporate level with regard to regulatory stewardship matters or meeting, say, the Financial Reporting Council guidance or simply to meet the organisation’s own constitution. The team is also expert in helping organisations to bring about internal governance change and works closely with the ID&C team.
This team draws on the wide-range of organisational situations that its members have advised over the last 25 years. The team members work with industry leaders.
Inclusion, Diversity and Culture (ID&C)
The consultants in this team have spent considerable time undertaking academic study as well as gaining hands-on expertise in order to be able to advise clients. This is an area of consulting that requires sensitivity as well as practical organisation focused solutions. The consultants are used to designing client-specific solutions. We can also provide executive coaching to support organisational change.
Verena Charvet
Founder and Head of Merlys, Verena is a sought-after regulatory specialist of 30 years’ plus experience. Throughout her career she has been involved in the ESG arena. Having worked as a lawyer in the banking and funds industries, following work as a regulator and a period of time in private practice, the combination of industry-specific legal experience coupled with hands-on commercial experience gained in-house in funds and banking, backed by her academic qualifications, makes her and exceptional regulatory consultant.
Verena is published in Butterworths; engaged internationally as a Regulatory speaker on a wide range of matters including ESG with particular emphasis on the funds sector in London, Paris, New York, Luxembourg and Malta.
Regularly sought as a trainer, educator and mentor, Verena’s expertise covers regulatory interpretation, strategy and planning through to implementation. Verena and her team of specialist consultants also provides legal advice through her consultancy with the law firm Merali Beedle, giving clients an all-round service offering.
Verena’s specialist areas of knowledge and know-how are regulated and unregulated international funds (particularly with an emphasis on ESG and sustainable funds); Re-structuring of Funds; Overseas Funds in the UK; Global Fund Registrations, Managing and Chairing Fund Boards, Fund EGMs and AGMs.
Olga Valadon MSc, ACC, TTCA, FRSA
Olga is a business and culture strategist, leadership coach, change manager and the Founder of Change Aligned.
She began her professional career 25 years ago after completing her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Education and her Master’s degree in Management.
Following a 20-year career in Financial Services, she joined one of the big 4 accounting firms in 2016. Her most recent role at the firm is Chief of Staff. Over the course of her career, Olga worked with teams and clients in EMEA, APAC, and the Americas. She held a variety of leadership positions and served as a sounding board and advisor to many senior leaders in her organisations, including members of Boards and Executive Committees.
Olga is a lifelong learner. Her passion for continuously pushing herself beyond her comfort zone drove her to seek out, throughout her career, the roles that would allow her to grow personally and professionally.
When not working with clients, she enjoys spending time with her family and pursuing volunteering work whether it is coaching charity leaders, mentoring the next generation of women leaders or giving career talks to students. She is a fellow of the RSA and co-lead of the Good Work Guild’s Diversity and Inclusion thematic group. Most recently, she joined the Board of Directors at the University of Cambridge Primary School.
Charles Charvet
Backed by 20 years in legal practice and a goal to be the go-to for all things Regulatory for the Funds Management and Asset Management industries, in 2017 Charles co-founded the Merlys.uk where he is now the Chief Operations Officer.
His earlier career started at Allen & Overy, where he worked in banking and corporate recovery, Charles was then at Simmons & Simmons for 6 years. Initially working on structural re-organisation and re-financing projects, Charles moved to private equity fund investment into the UK – particularly with reference to real estate.
Charles also has hands-on commercial expertise having subsequently built and run a manufacturing business.
Olga Valadon MSc, ACC, TTCA, FRSA
Olga is a business and culture strategist, leadership coach, change manager and the Founder of Change Aligned.
She began her professional career 25 years ago after completing her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Education and her Master’s degree in Management.
Following a 20-year career in Financial Services, she joined one of the big 4 accounting firms in 2016. Her most recent role at the firm is Chief of Staff. Over the course of her career, Olga worked with teams and clients in EMEA, APAC, and the Americas. She held a variety of leadership positions and served as a sounding board and advisor to many senior leaders in her organisations, including members of Boards and Executive Committees.
Olga is a lifelong learner. Her passion for continuously pushing herself beyond her comfort zone drove her to seek out, throughout her career, the roles that would allow her to grow personally and professionally.
When not working with clients, she enjoys spending time with her family and pursuing volunteering work whether it is coaching charity leaders, mentoring the next generation of women leaders or giving career talks to students. She is a fellow of the RSA and co-lead of the Good Work Guild’s Diversity and Inclusion thematic group. Most recently, she joined the Board of Directors at the University of Cambridge Primary School.
Charles Charvet
Backed by 20 years in legal practice and a goal to be the go-to for all things Regulatory for the Funds Management and Asset Management industries, in 2017 Charles co-founded the Merlys.uk where he is now the Chief Operations Officer.
His earlier career started at Allen & Overy, where he worked in banking and corporate recovery, Charles was then at Simmons & Simmons for 6 years. Initially working on structural re-organisation and re-financing projects, Charles moved to private equity fund investment into the UK – particularly with reference to real estate.
Charles also has hands-on commercial expertise having subsequently built and run a manufacturing business.
