Baker McKenzie Grows Tax Practice with Stephanie Pantelidaki Hire
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer by a governmental organisation in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures, and tax compliance refers to policy actions and individual behaviour aimed at ensuring that taxpayers are paying the right amount of tax at the right time and securing the correct tax allowances and tax reliefs.
Baker McKenzie has hired Stephanie Pantelidaki as Head of Financial Services Transfer Pricing in the firm’s tax practice. Stephanie joins from PwC, where she has worked in both the firm’s United Kingdom and Switzerland offices.
Baker McKenzie is a multinational law firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1949 as Baker & McKenzie, it has 77 offices in 46 countries, and over 6000 lawyers worldwide. It is one of the largest law firms in the world by headcount and revenue.
Stephanie has over twenty years’ experience advising on transfer pricing and international corporate tax issues with a particular focus on financial services – having worked with leading institutions in banking and capital markets, investment management, and the insurance sectors.
She started her career in academia as an economic adviser and research fellow at London Business School, and went on to work for organisations including Andersen, KPMG and Baker McKenzie where she helped establish the Transfer Pricing team in the London office.
Alex Chadwick, head of Baker McKenzie’s tax practice in London, said: “Stephanie is a truly exciting hire for Baker McKenzie. We’re seeing increased demands from financial institutions for transfer pricing works and her skills and expertise will enable us to deliver an even better service for our clients.”
Alex Chadwick, Baker McKenzie’s London Managing Partner, said: “We’re welcoming Stephanie back to Baker McKenzie at a great time, with opportunities in abundance for continued growth across the tax practice. Her experience, crossing academia and finance, mean she will bring a lateral-minded point of view to the team. She’s going to be a fantastic asset to us.”
Stephanie’s hire follows a number of recent significant lateral appointments including Leveraged Finance partner Ben Wilkinson, who joined Baker McKenzie from White & Case, M&A partner Nick Rainsford, who joined from Ashurst, private equity partner Justin Hutchinson, who joined from Kirkland & Ellis, Adam Eastell a partner from Slaughter & May and Nick Bryans, also from Ashurst.