Wayne Pisani heads the tax, regulatory and compliance practice within Grant Thornton and leads the financial services tax and regulatory team.
He advises an extensive client base ranging from private clients, including family offices and high-net-worth individuals, to NASDAQ listed companies. Working across several industry sectors, he deals with a wide range of cross-border regulatory, compliance and tax planning engagements involving both local and international financial institutions, asset protection, M&A and project finance transactions, driving the development of innovative solutions that support clients in their transition to more sustainable outcomes.
Wayne is the vice-president of the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners having been the president of the Institute and a member of the board of governors of FinanceMalta between 2018 and 2021. He is presently a member of the steering committee of the Malta Financial Services Advisory Council set up by the Minister for Finance and Employment and tasked with setting out a ten-year strategic plan for the Maltese financial services industry and is also a member of the International Fiscal Association, the International Bar Association and the Maltese Chamber of Advocates.
He was admitted to the Bar in 2001 following a Bachelor of Arts degree in Law and International Relations, and a Doctorate in legal studies from the University of Malta in 2001 after researching and submitting a thesis on “Merger control: a comparative study of regulatory systems for potential implementation into the Maltese legal system.” Wayne also read for a Master of Arts degree in Financial Services at the University of Malta, graduating in 2003 after submission of a thesis entitled “The Impact of Information Technology on Financial Services”. In 2018, having successfully submitted a research project on “Tax arbitrage in ICOs: a European perspective”, published in the EC Tax Journal, he was awarded an Advanced Diploma in International Taxation by the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
Wayne is a published author and an experienced and passionate digital finance specialist embracing the mantra to pursue “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. He is an active thought leader in the financial technology space, proactively exploring digitalisation opportunities to transition to more sustainable finance, aspiring for net zero and a more sustainable way of living. He is a lecturer with a number of institutes and the University of Malta, makes regular contributions at fintech conferences, and has a passion for the security and technological aspects of distributed ledger technology, sustainable development and the collaborative economy. He is also a joint contributing author to “European Competition Laws: A Guide to the EC and its Member States, the leading legal compendium with respect to Competition law in Europe”, published by Lexis Nexis and revised annually.
