Our Team

Paul Heffner

Mr. Heffner is a co-founder, Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Adamas. Prior to forming Adamas, Mr. Heffner was a Partner of Ajia Partners which managed over HKD2.5 billion in in alternative investment funds focused on Asia. Responsible for Fund of Funds business and development of Middle East relationship. He was also a Managing Director for Hong Kong family office responsible for all technology, media and telecom investments. Mr. Heffner was previously an Associate Director with Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management. He has 20 years of investment experience in Hong Kong and has extensive experience in asset management, marketing, and entrepreneurial ventures. He obtained an MBA from Columbia Business School and graduated with Honours in Asia Studies from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Mr. Heffner also serves as a Non-Executive Director of New Times Energy Corporation Limited (166.HK) and he was the former President of Columbia Alumni Association Hong Kong and is current board advisor.

Barry Lau

Mr. Lau is a co-founder, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer (Private Credit) of Adamas. Prior to the founding of Adamas, he was Head of Fund Derivatives Asia at BNP Paribas focused on structured collateralised lending on hedge fund assets. The portfolio of collateralised loans he originated, executed and managed was around US$1 billion. Prior to BNP Paribas, he was Head of Fund Derivatives Asia at ABN AMRO focused on writing dynamic guarantees by structuring derivative instruments on hedge funds. He was formerly a lawyer at Clifford Chance LLP, London, focused on private equity and hedge fund establishments and investments. Mr. Lau obtained a law degree from University College London.

Mark Hibbs

Mr. Hibbs is a Partner, Chief Investment Officer (Asset Allocation Group) of Adamas. Prior to joining Adamas, Mr. Hibbs was a Managing Director at Ajia Partners Fund of Funds Group, responsible for the portfolio management of the Ajia Partners Japan Opportunity Fund (now known as Adamas Japan Opportunity Fund) and also for managers research for the Ajia Partners Asian Opportunity Fund’s Japan focused sub-portfolio. Prior to joining Ajia Partners Fund of Funds Group, Mr. Hibbs was a Managing Director of the PFC Financial Intermediaries Group (PFC) for Ajia Partners, responsible for all aspects involved in bringing Japan-focused hedge fund startups to market and overseeing the execution process upon launch completion. Prior to joining Ajia Partners, Mr. Hibbs was a country director for Towry Law (Henderson Group) in Japan with responsibility for the firm’s Institutional Business working with and advising local broker partners to structure and market alternative investment strategies and hedge fund linked notes. Mr. Hibbs studied B.Eng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering in Kingston University (Surrey). He is fluent in Japanese and has been working in Japan for both the Private and Public Sectors since 1991. Mr. Hibbs is a regular speaker at Japanese Hedge Fund and Alternative Investor conferences in Japan in addition to being the main panel organizer for Japan Hedge Fund Strategy discussions.

Alan Lau

Mr. Lau is a Partner, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Adamas. Prior to joining Adamas, Mr. Lau was the Operations Director for Samena Capital and Vision Investment Management. He was in charge of the operational due diligence on hedge fund managers before investment. He was previously the Chief Operations Officer for TPG-Axon Capital (HK) Limited, the Hong Kong office of the U.S.-based hedge fund manager. His primary responsibility was to set up the Hong Kong operation and assumed responsibility for setting up the operational and IT infrastructure and was the principal architect in formulating compliance policies and risk management systems. From 2002 to 2004, Mr. Lau was a tax consultant in Deloitte & Touche’s Financial Services Tax Practice in New York. His clients included multi-billion dollar, U.S.-based hedge funds and private equity funds. He had also spent seven years as Head of Operations and Finance for two Hong Kong-based alternative investment managers. Mr. Lau has an MBA and Master of Science in Taxation from Fordham University in New York.