Gemma Bellfield of Ogier Selected as One of ABI's 2024 '40 Under 40'

Alexandria, Va.- ABI announces that Gemma Bellfield of Ogier (Camana Bay, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) has been selected as one of ABI's "40 Under 40," ABI's award program that recognizes 40 of the top insolvency industry professionals under the age of 40. The honorees will be recognized at a special ceremony on Dec. 13 during ABI's 2024 Winter Leadership Conference at The Phoenician Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Bellfield is a partner with Ogier in the Cayman Islands, where she specializes in insolvency, restructuring and distressed fund disputes. She also is an advisor and/or advocate in a range of cross-border insolvency and commercial disputes in the Financial Services Division of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Bellfield's particular focus is on winding up on the just and equitable ground, disputed insolvency petitions, restructuring applications, liquidator sanction applications, and distressed fund management and redemption disputes. She began her career as a solicitor in Australia before moving to the Cayman Islands in 2016, during which time she also spent three months in Hong Kong on secondment.

Bellfield is a member of RISA Cayman and INSOL, and she was voted the inaugural RISA Next Gen Practitioner of the Year in 2021 in recognition of her contributions to the insolvency profession of the Cayman Islands. She also was a director and ultimately network chair of the Cayman Islands branch of IWIRC, which culminated in the network winning the Ryan Award for best network in 2022. Bellfield is a member of the 2022 class of the III NextGen Leadership Program, was appointed a member of the III NextGen Executive Committee in 2023, was named one of INSOL International's 'Future Forty' in 2022, and was co-chair of Offshore Day at the INSOL Conference in San Diego in 2024. For several years, she also has been a diversity, equity and inclusion leader for the firm's 200+-person Cayman office, coordinating various annual diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Bellfield mentors not only juniors within her team and the firm, but also a number of junior females within the local industry who do not have the benefit of having senior women in their organizations. She volunteers as a Gaelic football referee, as an attorney member of the Cayman Islands Rugby Union Disciplinary Committee, as a judge at local literacy competitions for Cayman schoolchildren, and for the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre. Bellfield also has helped organize and emceed the annual IWIRC Trivia Night every year for the last six years, which has raised tens of thousands of dollars for worthy causes in the Cayman Islands.

"We are honored to celebrate the exceptional leaders within the 2024 class as they continue to make a significant impact both in their practice and in their communities," said ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. "As bankruptcy practice continues to evolve, this diverse collection of honorees will propel ABI and the insolvency community forward."

The "40 Under 40" winners are distinguished by professional achievements and service and were selected by a group of experienced professionals from ABI's current leadership. Now in its eighth year, the goal of ABI's "40 Under 40" award program is not simply to create a one-time ceremony, but to fully engage those selected as future leaders in the insolvency profession and to build on the initiative each year.

Click hereto view the full list of the 2024 "40 Under 40" honorees.

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes nearly 10,000 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.