OUR TEAM
MICHAEL ROBINSON
Consultant
Michael is a consultant to Horizons Global. He has over 10 years of experience working as an attorney in private practice. He is a former Managing Associate at Ogier in the Cayman Islands, and was a leading individual in Ogier’s digital assets practice. He was recognized by Legal 500, one of the leading global legal directories, as a “rising star” in both the 2022 and 2023 guides.
Michael is a thought leader and an industry specialist. He pioneered the use of foundation companies to act as wrappers or service providers to blockchain-related businesses, particularly with respect to decentralized autonomous organizations. He is a published author on the subject.
Michael has advised some of the largest Web3 businesses in the world and has worked on over 100 blockchain-related projects. He has advised household names in the Web3 industry as well as the core teams supporting the largest DAOs in the world. He has worked with layer one, two and three protocols, dApp developers, DeFi platforms, centralized finance platforms, centralized and decentralized exchanges, oracles, interchain bridges, grant programs, code audit projects, NFT issuers, stable coin issuers, gaming developers, digital banks, virtual asset proprietary traders, cryptocurrency funds and tokenized funds. He has worked with both regulated and non-regulated entities.
Michael’s prior legal expertise in the Web3 space defines his approach as a consultant and is a significant value add to Horizons Global.
Michael is admitted to act as an attorney in the Cayman Islands and England and Wales but he is non-practicing.
Marc Piano
Director and Consultant
Marc is a former Counsel at Harneys in the Cayman Islands where he was a key team member in the firm's global Web3 practice. He is a recognized and recommended lawyer by Legal 500 and was noted as "Up and Coming" by Chambers in their 2024 guide.
Marc's thought leadership as an industry specialist extends to years of published material, including co-founding, contributing to and editing the Law Society of England and Wales' Blockchain Legal and Regulatory Guidance report from 2020 to 2023, hosting the "Piano Lessons" crypto podcast series, contributing to the British Virgin Islands chapter of "Crypto Assets in Trusts and Foundations" published by Globe Law and Business in 2024, and authoring "DAOs: a note of caution" for Harneys during 2022 and 2023.
Marc has worked on more than 100 blockchain-related projects across three jurisdictions over seven years. He was sought out as an adviser to some of the world's largest digital assets projects and infrastructure, leading on structuring their mission-critical offshore operational and governance elements, and has worked with both regulated and non-regulated entities. Marc's position as one of the leading legal minds with vast experience in the space at all stages of a project's lifecycle will benefit any project seeking to operate out of the Cayman Islands or the BVI.
Mark Mugglestone
Director and Consultant
Mark is a Chartered Accountant, CFA Charterholder and one of the original Web3 professionals in the Cayman Islands. His professional history in the space extends back to the ICO boom in 2017 where he contributed, from an operational perspective, to some of the earliest blockchain projects to domicile in the Cayman Islands. He has had the privilege of working closely with the founders of some of the most recognized and successful Web3 projects of today.
Mark sits on the boards of foundations that support early-stage startups through to some of the largest and highest profile Web3 projects in the industry – across numerous chains and product verticals. This includes extensive experience in providing guidance and strategic direction from project inception through TGE and beyond, to the point where foundations are self-sufficient and operating in an autonomous and sustainable manner.
Wayne Flanagan
Director and Consultant
Wayne is a qualified attorney in the Cayman Islands, UK and Ireland but is non-practicing. He joined Horizons Global from Conyers, where he specialized in Cayman Islands regulatory matters relating to the virtual asset, asset management and investment funds, insurance and banking industries. Wayne’s responsibilities included engagements in formal regulatory submissions as well as providing high quality legal advice focused on governance arrangements and regulatory compliance. In 2024, he was named as a “Leading Associate” by Legal 500.
In 2020, Wayne completed his legal traineeship at Matheson LLP, a top tier corporate law firm in Dublin, Ireland. He initially trained in the Asset Management and Investment Funds Group, which included two client secondments with global asset management firms in Dublin (Fidelity International) and London (Man Group). He qualified as a practicing attorney in Matheson’s Financial Institutions Group, working for a number of years with globally recognised virtual asset exchanges and service providers, asset management firms, insurance firms and banks. He assisted clients with formal registration and licencing projects along with providing tailored legal and regulatory advice.
Following his tenure at Matheson, and prior to joining Conyers, Wayne held the position of International Regulatory Counsel with the Cash App division of Block Inc., a US-based Nasdaq-listed fintech firm. In this role, he worked across multiple jurisdictions with a focus on virtual asset and payments-based projects and services. Noteworthy work streams included a successful digital asset business licence submission with the Bermuda Monetary Authority, and guiding Block. Inc and its subsidiaries in engagements with regulatory authorities in multiple jurisdictions including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Central and Eastern Europe, North America and Australia.
Luis Powery
Associate Director and Consultant
Luis previously worked at Harneys in the Cayman Islands where he played a pivotal role in the firm's global Web3 practice. He has worked on more than 100 blockchain-related projects across multiple jurisdictions over the last six years. He has a comprehensive understanding of complex international structures, including Cayman Islands foundation companies and British Virgin Islands token issuers, with particular expertise in leveraging jurisdictional arbitrage to meet unique client needs. Luis is fluent in Spanish and is familiar with the Web3 structures in Panama.
Luis has worked on some of the world's largest digital assets projects, assisting with their offshore structures, operations, governance and decentralization. He has worked with both regulated and non-regulated entities.
Luis holds a law degree from the University of Liverpool and a Business Management degree from the University College of the Cayman Islands. He contributed to the Law Society of England and Wales' Blockchain: Legal and Regulatory Guidance Third Edition report in 2023.
Sandra Robinson
Business Development and Operations Manager
Sandra is a business development and marketing professional with over 15 years' experience at leading offshore legal and fiduciary services firms, including Maples Group, Ogier, Conyers, EY and JTC Group. She is responsible for developing and driving forward business development and marketing strategies.
Sandra is originally from Jersey in the Channel Islands, and relocated to the Cayman Islands in early 2018. She is a former board member of the Cayman Islands Marketing Professionals Association, serving as their Head of Communications, and is qualified with the Chartered Institute of Marketing.