Sean Rothsey  – Group Executive Chairman 

Sean Rothsey

Sean Rothsey is the founder and Executive Chairman of The Merkin Group, a professional investment and management group of companies he founded in 1981. He is currently Chairman and director of a number of public and private companies including Global Chairman for Emerald Foods Group and New Zealand Natural in NZ, Australia,Hong Kong, China and BVI. He is also past Chairman (2007 to  2013) of ASX-listed company, MDS Financial Group Limited, Trader Dealer Online Pty Ltd, MDS Financial Services Pty Ltd and D2MX Pty Ltd.

Overseeing The Merkin Group’s infrastructure, finance, business and legal affairs and strategic alliances  Sean also has a particular interest in the human aspect of businesses and corporate social responsibility, and this is reflected in the portfolio of The Merkin Group’s businesses and management  as well as the local and global stakeholders around him.

An accomplished and proven asset and business manager, strategist, deal maker, facilitator, mediator and negotiator, his success as a director in both public and private companies since 1981 has been reflected in many industries. 

Sean has been involved in equity capital markets, start ups and  has amassed experience as an operating partner  and global connections in property, shipping and transport, global trade and commerce, asset and wealth managers, the accounting, legal, insurance and underwriting professions, retail and private banking, e- commerce and technology, media film and entertainment distribution and marketing, cattle and agriculture, conservation, environment and sports administration, mining resources and energy and the financial services industries including stock broking, institutional investors and high net worth, sophisticated and professional investors.

Sean Rothsey was a co-founder and Deputy Chairman Noosa Institute for Socio-Economic and Environmental Research (2006–2010); a member of the Community Rating Reference Working Group for Noosa Shire Council, 2007, and an active founding member of the Lake MacDonald Catchment Coordinating Committee for Noosa Shire.

He is recognised for building strategic relationships with and providing large-scale funding opportunities for Greening Australia, Green Corps, Mary River Catchment Co-Ordinating Committee and National Heritage Trust.

A past President of the Sunshine Coast Combined Equestrian Group Inc. and past Chairman of the Organising Committee for the Doonan Eventing Group (Noosa, QLD) (2006–2009), he is also accredited as a Level 2 National Eventing Technical Delegate under the EFA National Officiating Accreditation Scheme having trained under EFA EFNZ and FEI, and has organised EFA Accredited Course Design Seminars and an EFA Accredited Technical Delegates Clinics. Sean has previously organized EFA Accredited Course Design Seminars and an EFA Accredited Technical Delegates Clinics.

Sean’s experience with his successful Pinefilm Entertainment and later partnership – Horizon One Entertainment identified opportunities and manifested in independent, studio and financial strategic relationships. Pinefilm emerged as a major indie player in 1999 and 2000. Their strong catalogue of releases in Australia includes the hits Saving Grace, Maybe Baby, Onegin and Gods and Monsters. Horizon One’s hits from 2006 until 2010 included Bangkok Dangerous, 88 Minutes, Outlander and many others. Overseeing infrastructure, finance, business and legal affairs and strategic alliances, Sean is well known in the Hollywood and global entertainment businesses having acquired and distributed over 400 titles and many series of libraries.

Originally from Sydney, Sean has lived and worked throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Far East, North America, the UK, Africa and The Bahamas. 

Sean moved to Cooroy-Noosa in 1995 and operated his family office on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia from where he easily also serviced his interests in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Hong Kong. Since 2011 Sean spent most of his time in Asia heading the Group’s Hong Kong office which closed in 2019  due to the civil unrest and judicial uncertainty and Sean is back at his Noosa base in Australia.

Specialties
Company Director – public and private, listed and unlisted.
Corporate Governance.
Corporate Advisor, Negotiator, Mediator, Arbitration.
Advice on and management of listings on the ASX, NZX LSE for IPOs and capital raisings. 
Business strategy development and strategic alliances. 
Corporate restructuring, defensive strategies and succession planning.
Facilitation of joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions and trade sales.
Private equity transactions.
Facilitating debt & sub-underwriting.
Global Funds Management
Agribusiness and Soft Commodities
Mining and Resources
Transport Shipping and Logistics
Manufacturing
Film Media and Entertainment

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William (Bill) Purpura   – Responsible Manager & Compliance Manager  Merkin Advisory Pty Ltd

William (Bill) Purpura
Chairman – COMEX Governors Committee
Principal – GLT DIRECT DMCC
Senior Consultant – The Merkin Group, Australia

Bill Purpura’s acts as  both our Responsible Manager and Compliance Manager for our gold and precious metals commodities businesses effective 17 Feb 2021.

Merkin Advisory have been working with Mr Purpura through his firm  GLT Direct, based in the  DMCC in the UAE, since September 2020 as a facilitator as well as a  senior consultant to the gold and precious metals and liquid commodities business.

William Purpura has been involved in the gold and precious metals markets since 1976 and currently is serving his fourth term as Chairman of the COMEX Governors.

He is Principal at GLT Direct DMCC and Managing Partner at GLT Group LLP in the USA.

Mr. Purpura traded gold in Chicago until 1983 when he was approved as a member of COMEX in New York.  In 1987 he co-founded Great Lakes Metals which became one of the largest brokers and trading firms on the Exchange. Clients included major bullion banks, fund managers and large professional traders. He also served as a Senior Vice President of NYMEX and advisor to the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME). In 2007 he rewrote the rules for the COMEX Gold Futures contract and implemented the first iteration of the electronic warrant system for COMEX deliverable metals.

Mr. Purpura was the chief negotiator for the COMEX members during the NYMEX IPO, resulting in more than $800 million of equity for the members.

Mr. Purpura founded Northport Commodities in 2011 with offices in New York, Singapore, and Shanghai. Northport’s Shanghai company was one of the first foreign firms permitted to trade precious metals on Chinese Exchanges. He sold Northport in 2017 to focus on the physical commodity markets.

He has served as an advisor to various exchanges in the US, China, and Singapore along with major banks and brokerages in China and Hong Kong. This included an appointment as an International Advisor to the Shanghai Gold Exchange from 2007 to 2013. Mr. Purpura has conducted numerous seminars in Asia and lectured at major universities in the region.  He was a member the Board of Advisors to the Faculty of Business at the University of Macau as well as the Advisory Board of Asia Pacific Academy of Economics and Management. (APAEM).

Mr. Purpura is active in the physical precious metals and energy markets through his firm GLT Group LLP and is one of the founders of Dillon Gage Asia, a distributor for major sovereign mints around the world. In 2019 he formed GLT DIRECT DMCC in Dubai as a licensed trading firm in oil products and metals.

Mr Purpura brings a global network, a wide skills matrix and specialist core competencies in governance, transparency, risk mitigation and compliance oversight  that fits with and underpins The Merkin Group’s growing footprint in to the gold and precious metals  and liquid commodities business. Bill supplements our engagement of industry stakeholders,  banks trade commodity, criminal and anti fraud units ,specialist  legal consultants such as global sanctions and World Trade Office specialist lawyers, Asian strategic partners  such as PAP E-CON , Ballantine Resources, and other specialist consultants.

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Trish Rothsey    Director – Merkin Management Pty Ltd, Queensland

Trish Rothsey

Trish began full time work at The Merkin Group in early 2006.Trish’s responsibilities included front office management, financial control and treasury management, foreign exchange dealing, database management, accounts payable and receivable, film title data basing, banking reconciliation, records keeping, corporate governance, risk and compliance. Trish is also became proficient in Commercial Property Management,Wealth and Asset Management  viz a viz  Financial Planning and Investment Strategies in core portfolios of the Group.

Trish received training by, and assisted Sean and several Group directors, Chief Financial Officers and General Managers and executive assistants , in the higher aspects of financial control, treasury management, audit, commercial, business and legal affairs, compliance, corporate governance, property management, high volume share trading and investment strategies.

Trish’s exposure to a Family Office since her formative years has given her experience and skills beyond her years. In our past media businesses Trish travelled to The American Film Market in Los Angeles and co administered over 400 titles including acquisition, distribution and sub distribution from potential acquisition status through to modeling, acquisition and all aspects of sub distribution.

Trish’s passion for equestrian pursuits and cattle has led her to gain invaluable management experience on numerous Merkin Group owned and operated cattle stations throughout SE Queensland and a performance horse stud on the Sunshine Coast and also undertook  third party veterinary and cattle stud cadetships. Trish is an accomplished equestrienne having been selected in the 2004 – 2006 QLD Junior Eventing Elite Squads & competed to 2** level (FEI and EFA) in the extreme Olympic Sport of Eventing.That courage, commitment and resolve combined with discipline is demonstrated in her work ethic and her accelerated acquisition of financial and management skills.Trish has a medium rigid truck license and a firearms license.

In October 2012 Trish and former Merkin Group Executive Assistant Amy Colley established an independent business providing paralegal services to North Coast Law in Pomona on the Sunshine Coast.North Coast Law provides a full-scale law service, and that business  predominantly specialise in property Conveyancing, wills and other generic and specialist estate and succession related solutions. This business is not owned or affiliated with The Merkin Group in any way but is highly recommended by us –  and utilised bu us.In 2014 Trish (along with her mother Lee)  independently established Tallowwood Farm , a racehorse and performance horse   spelling and agistment and education and training  operation at Pomona on the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast Saddlery at Cooroy and an online equestrian portal .

Trish remains a director of Merkin Management Pty Ltd and remains responsible for financial control, treasury management, audit, commercial, business and legal affairs, high volume share trading and investment strategies of The Rothsey Superannuation Fund.

Trish has a Certificate 1 in Horticulture (2005) , a Certificate 1 in Agriculture (2005), a Certificate III in Business Administration (2008) and commenced a 6 year Bachelor of Business at Southern Cross University in January 2013. Trish is Sean’s daughter.

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Loretta Nucifora

Director – Merkin Management Pty Ltd, Queensland & Hong Kong. Group Media and Public Relations.

Loretta has been Head of Media and Public Relations for The Merkin Group since 2011 with a particular emphasis of assisting with Australian Chamber of Commerce and other networking in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia, client liason, preparation of mandates, deal summary sheets, information memorandums, research and analysis, due diligence, due diligence site visits and deal origination and distribution for both The Family Office and for third party clients.

Since 2014 Loretta has been a director of Merkin Management Pty Ltd and Loretta shares responsibility with Trish Rothsey for financial control, treasury management, audit, commercial, business and legal affairs, and high volume share trading and investment strategies of The Rothsey Superannuation Fund.

For over a decade from 1997 Loretta worked for several Sunshine Coast consulting engineers managing small to medium sized offices with principals, engineers, geotechnical testers and draughtsmen including controlling invoicing, banking, drawing site plans with Autocad, compiling reports for presentation to certifiers, organising site inspections, liaising with clients, training and supervision of administration staff and all aspects of front and back office management. Major projects included Eenie Creek Retirement Village, “The Boardwalk”, Peregian Beach and “Coral Cove” development in Bowen. Previously Loretta worked with the Noosa Shire Council’s Building Department in administration and contract work.

Originally from Cairns, and then with a long period as an ex-patriate in Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore Loretta accumulated a wealth of experience in positions as diverse as executive secretary for Radisson Long Island Resort Airlie Beach, establishing and operating Nuce’s Bar in Battambang, Cambodia in 1992 – 1993 catering exclusively for the United Nations Defence Forces which necessitated negotiating with local authorities for required licences, stock purchases, product retailing, financial management and all aspects of maintaining an owner business in a challenging and difficult environment. Other previous  employment included project coordination of “Trekback”, a reunion event of Armed Services personnel in WWII, and a retailing position in Cairns’ leading store , “Anchor Sports Store” and a long stint in the personal fitness industry in Singapore.

Loretta is highly computer literate with advanced skills in Microsoft Word, Presentation, Excel, MYOB, Photoshop and Autocad Engineering Plan Program and is highly proficient in front and back office management and staff training.

With a high level of interpersonal skills Loretta is an accomplished communicator with proven organisational skills and a recognised flexibility to adapt quickly in varying roles. With high activity levels accompanied by an effervescent and outgoing personality Loretta is a face that represents the Merkin Group and its missions efficiently and conscientiously. Loretta is Sean’s partner.Contact Loretta [email protected]