Our People
managing director
Paul Copley
Paul is a UK chartered accountant and licensed insolvency practitioner. He spent 20 years at PwC UK, where he was a partner in the Business Recovery Services practice, engaged in both formal insolvency and restructuring roles. Most notably, Paul was appointed Joint Administrator of Lehman Brothers International (Europe), where he worked full-time from 2008 to 2014. While at PwC, Paul was also Joint Receiver of OW Bunker, the world’s largest independent marine fuel distributor. Paul left PwC in 2016 to take up the role of CEO of Kaupthing, the former Icelandic bank, based in Reykjavík, Iceland. That role ended in 2022 when Kaupthing was placed into solvent liquidation, after having returned more than GBP 3bn to investors post-restructuring. Paul then joined Kaupthing’s winding-up committee, and the liquidation concluded in 2023 with the company’s dissolution.
Paul has also served on a number of boards and committees and undertaken advisory mandates in stressed and distressed situations. He currently sits as a Non-Executive Director of Steinhoff, the retail holding company, and is a Non-Executive Director of Noble Resources, the global commodity trader. In 2022, Paul became Chairman of the Matalan group, leading it through its restructuring, and remains a Non-Executive Director post-transaction. Paul also takes insolvency appointments - he is Concurrent Administrator of Phones 4U Limited and in 2019 reprised his role as Joint Receiver of OW Bunker. He also joins governance committees from time to time, such as representing the bondholders’ trustee on the creditors’ committee of Intu Properties plc, a UK REIT.
Education
UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL
BA (Hons) English Language & Literature, 1996
ICAEW
Chartered Accountant, 1999
JIEB
Insolvency Practitioner, 2001
Contact
E: paul.copley@aldanmanagement.com
T: +44 7711 104844
PRINCIPAL
Emily Melhuish
Emily is a UK chartered accountant with over 20 years experience within PwC UK‘s Transaction Services and Business Recovery Services divisions. She spent five years working on the administration of Lehman Brothers International (Europe), as Front Office COO and member of its Executive Committee. She spent six months in Johannesburg working on the restructuring of African Bank Limited, a large South African retail bank, and led the receivership of OW Bunker, the world’s largest independent marine fuel distributor. Emily was appointed as COO of Kaupthing in January 2018 to lead the implementation of its operational and financial wind-down, which concluded upon the company’s dissolution in 2023. She also worked on the OW Bunker receivership once again, following Aldan’s engagement in 2019.
Education
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
MA Physics, 1995
ICAEW
Chartered Accountant, 1998
Contact
E: emily.melhuish@aldanmanagement.com
T: +44 7540 595113