Liza Janakievski
CEO, Managing Director, Head of Asset Management
Liza is the CEO of Asena, a member of Asena’s Board and the Head of the Asset Management practice. She has been advising global families and not-for-profits on portfolio construction, financial and tax advice for over 20 years. Prior to her current role she was the CEO and founder of Giles Wade Private Wealth, a private wealth business working with high-net worth family groups and not-for-profit organisations which merged with Asena in 2024. Liza holds qualifications in both Australia (regulated by ASIC & Tax Practitioners Board) and the US (regulated by the Securities & Exchange Commission S.E.C). Utilizing her experience and expertise, Liza guides the broader team in working through complex and significant cross border advice to support our clients.
Peter Harper,
Founder, Managing Director and Head of Advisory
Peter is the founder of the Asena Family Office, a member of Asena’s Board and the Head of the Advisory practice. Peter has spent decades advising global family offices, companies, and family offices on their US direct investment, cross-border M&A, turnarounds, restructurings, and startups. This has included the development and reset of business plans, establishing liquidity plans, sourcing new debt and equity capital, and reviewing strategic options. He has also advised, negotiated, and renegotiated lending facilities for borrowers with their creditors. Together with his team, and often alongside other professionals, Peter is regularly retained to coordinate or provide commercial, legal, tax, and financial advice to owners and management for their companies and transactions.
Janpriya Rooprai,
Managing Director and Head of Family Office Services
B.Com. (Hons. Business Finance Accounting), India; C.A., India; LLB, India; LL.M. (Taxation), US; MBA, US.
Janpriya is a seasoned financial analyst with a particular focus on cross-border financial transaction analysis, valuation, and Family Office support. Janpriya and her team also provide CFO services to family offices and regularly support them with deal analysis as they look to acquire or divest investments around the world. Janpriya holds a LLM in Taxation from Georgetown University. She is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Bar Council of Delhi.
Arin Vahanian,
Managing Director and Head of Tax – US
Arin is the Head of Asena Family Office’s Family Office Services practice. He has spent decades advising global founders, private clients and family offices on global financial and tax compliance issues. Prior to working at Asena, Arin held senior operational positions in multi-national technology businesses in Asia where he managed large teams of technical specialists as they executed on complex multi-national technology matters. The combination of these unique skill sets have resulted in him being a sought after expert in family office infrastructure.
Prue Smith
Managing Director and Head of Tax – Australia
Prue has over 16 years of progressive tax & accounting experience both in Australia and Germany. A registered tax agent, Prue works with her clients to enhance their business and financial knowledge, promote efficiencies and processes, enabling them to concentrate on what they do best. Throughout her many years in public practice in Australia, Prue has been exposed to a variety of industries and has also completed an Aviation Management degree. Prue is also an SMSF specialist and a lover of all things tax. Prue has been a finalist in the Women in Finance Awards in 2020, 2022 & 2023. Prue loves to combine her love of travel and live music and has attended some of the biggest music festivals in Europe. She is also a tennis fanatic and would love to follow the tour year-round.
