Our Team
Andrew M Fox
Founder – Director, Chief Executive
MA (Cantab) – Economics & Land Economy
Andrew’s career in banking and investment has focused on Russia and Australia. From 1991, when he left the Commonwealth Bank in Melbourne, he actively engaged with the Russian Far East where he founded investment company Tiger Securities, the Vladivostok Stock Exchange and the First Vladivostok Fund which raised US$12.4m in 1994 for investors seeking exposure to Russian privatization opportunities.
From 2000 Andrew led a Russian-American corporate rescue team in Uzbekistan who stabilised and managed controlling shareholdings of two modern juice factories, then selling them to local interests after a few years.
From 2006, Andrew was a director of Saigon-based PXP, founded to establish successful funds which accessed for international investors the new Vietnamese market broadly following the Russian model of privatization.
Since then he has been an active investor across global markets, serving on many Boards and he holds CISI accreditation (Level 4). Andrew speaks Russian and holds British and Australian citizenships.
Andrew was appointed British Honorary Consul for Vladivostok in 1998 following a British trade mission to the region the year before, and served in that post for 25 years. He serves as trustee of several charities in UK and America including Solidarity With Arts and Nature ‘SWAN’ established in 2017 to celebrate the cultural and conservation wealth of Russia, and 10% of Swans5 net profit is allocated to supporting their work.
Adrian J Palmer
Founder-Director
MA (Cantab) – Economics & Law
Post-graduate diploma– Computer Science (Cantab)
LLM (Cantab) – Computer Security & Privacy Legislation (Cantab)
Barrister (Middle Temple)
Adrian started his career as a barrister from 1979 specialising in Tax, then moved into the London financial markets with NCNB (now Bank of America) and Swiss Bank Corporation International as Swap Dealer and Treasurer.
He was headhunted to Melbourne in 1988 as head of Capital Markets of the State Bank of Victoria, the fifth largest Australian bank, where he managed a team of traders, accountants and tax experts. He also wrote the Bond Trading system, accepted by the Bank of England, which was needed for SBV’s London licence.
State Bank of Victoria was taken over by the Commonwealth Bank, after which Adrian moved to Ernst & Young as Director of Financial Risk Management. He investigated and reported on many of the financial disasters caused by the incorrect use of derivatives. He became an expert in the emerging electricity market for Ernst & Young, as it provided additional complexity with the risks of hedging uncertain demand in a market settled in half hours and where the price could vary enormously. A major achievement was the design of the Western Australian electricity capacity market to avoid some of the extremes of an unfettered price signals.
As an independent expert and advisor, through Exigency Management, Adrian has since 2003 engaged in projects which benefit from his experience, financial, legal, computing and analytical skills; including submitting a bid for the Muja power station in Western Australia, analysing transformer usage and standards for the Australian Federal Government, design of data structures and systems for bill management and the BidEnergy online trading platform.
Since 1989 when they met, Adrian has engaged with and supported many of Andrew’s projects, including working together in Russia, Vietnam and the UK.
Douglas Fox
Associate
As a Swans5 Business Associate Douglas brings a fresh perspective and a solid academic foundation in international business economics. A recent graduate from the University of Manchester, Douglas is passionate about identifying and analysing investment opportunities in emerging markets. With hands-on experience in dynamic work environments and a strong work ethic, Douglas excels in teamwork, business dynamics, and leadership development.
At Swans5, Douglas applies these skills to research and advise on high-potential assets, contributing to the company’s mission of navigating and capitalizing on post-war investment opportunities in Russia.
Fluent in English and Russian.
