London-based Emissary Partners, a global special-situations firm for family offices, has strengthened its senior leadership team with the appointments of Andrew Clarke as chairman and J. Peter Donald as principal.
“It is our goal to build Emissary Partners as the leading firm at the intersection of family office alternative assets and the impacts of global and geopolitical risks,” Matthew McGrath, Emissary Partners' founder and managing director, told Crain Currency. “This starts with building a leading offering for dealing with complex legacy assets, and we will continue to develop new offerings to meet our clients’ needs.”
Clarke joins the team after 33 years at ExxonMobil, where he was general counsel for ExxonMobil International and the principal legal adviser for the company’s global business in liquefied natural gas. With transactional experience across multiple jurisdictions — including roles in Qatar, Indonesia and Turkey — he is also recognized as a thought leader in international arbitration and investor-state dispute settlement.
In his role as chairman, Clarke will leverage his experience to help clients manage cross-border special-situation investments and oversee the firm’s governance.
Donald, who has been a senior adviser to Emissary since 2020, provides expertise in crisis management, strategic communications and reputation management. He previously served as assistant commissioner for public affairs for the New York Police Department and as spokesman for the FBI’s New York field office.
David Dingman, managing director of the family office Shipston Group Ltd., noted that the Emissary team has identified a universal challenge faced by family offices: managing legacy assets. “Their approach demonstrates a nuanced understanding of complex financial ecosystems, and I've found their insights to be both incisive and of exceptional quality,” Dingman said.