The Role of Tax in the Mergers and Acquisitions Lifecycle

As the ME M&A and Government and Public Services Tax Leader for Deloitte Middle East, Alex led many complex tax advisory and compliance engagements with large multinationals, regional SWFs and family owned businesses with particular focus on M&A transactions and tax structuring. His focus is on anticipating client needs in a dynamic market and delivering high-value quality professional services; and attracting, developing and retaining a team of high-performing professionals. Alex has over 20 years of experience with Deloitte and has worked in Deloitte offices in UK, Central Europe and the UAE, where he is now based. Alex spent 6 years in London’s REHL tax practice prior to relocating in 2008 to head up Deloitte’s Real Estate and M&A tax practice in Romania, as part of the Central Europe cluster. During his time at Deloitte, Alex has gained significant experience working with leading International clients, advising them on transactional work, cross border tax issues, group restructuring, development of internal tax policy and strategy as well as providing tax compliance support services. Alex is a Chartered Accountant and a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He also holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) Honours degree from Durham University, UK. Alex joined Deloitte from Morgan Stanley Investment bank in 2002 and previously also worked at Goldman Sachs International in London. Alex has also been listed in Euromoney’s 2022 Tax Advisors Guide as a Leading Tax Advisor for the United Arab Emirates.

Oxana is a Mergers & Acquisitions Tax Partner based in Dubai, UAE, with over 20 years of experience. She previously worked as an International Tax Partner at Deloitte UK and spent 19 years at Deloitte Corporate Intelligence Services (CIS). Oxana focuses on building client relationships and delivering high-value projects across multiple service lines.

As a seasoned tax professional with over two decades of experience in international tax and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), Ashish has consistently delivered strategic tax guidance and tailored solutions to multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in diverse industries. His expertise spans a wide range of tax matters, including corporate tax, transfer pricing, and value-added tax (VAT). Ashish has a proven track record of successfully navigating complex tax landscapes, building strong relationships with cross-functional teams and clients, and leading high-performing teams. As a Director at Deloitte Middle East, Ashish handles complex multi-jurisdictional M&A transactions, advising on international tax matters, and spearheading initiatives to optimize tax efficiency for clients in the Middle East and beyond. Ashish is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and a qualified Certified Public Accountant (CPA, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants - AICPA).

Elizabeth combines over 14 years of experience in tax methodological and technology projects, as well as projects related to e-invoicing implementation. She supports companies from various industries with the development of target IT architecture aimed at arranging optimized and effective end-to-end tax processes. Elizabeth has led numerous projects focused on implementing tax-related tools to digitalize companies' operational processes. She is responsible for selecting appropriate technology solutions, ensuring quality control during implementation to meet business and regulatory standards and facilitating a seamless transition to these new tools across both personnel and systems. Elizabeth also oversaw projects conducting audits of implemented tax tools, identifying areas for enhancement, and delivering actionable recommendations to drive necessary improvements. Additionally, she played a pivotal role in conducting user testing and providing comprehensive training sessions to ensure effective adoption and utilization of these tools by end-users. She works with both direct and indirect tax solutions and specifically focuses on Pillar 2 topic. Elizabeth holds a Master's Degree as a specialist in the world economy.