Paul Shepherd

Having travelled all over the world, including all 7 continents, and meeting his wife Kristen in Zanzibar, Paul pursued a dream of owning a dive centre. Both Paul and Kristen love to travel and have been to South Africa to dive with Great White sharks, Mozambique and Indonesia to dive with Manta Rays, Galapagos to see Whale Sharks and Antarctica to see the Penguins and Seals. The couple never lost their adventurous spirit and continue to travel, seeking out new experiences which they share with their customers.

Paul’s business, Seminole Scuba, offers personalised classes with experiences tailored for all adventurers.

What are your best memories of BGS?

Definitely Rugby was the highlight of my time at BGS. Getting to the 1995 Daily Mail Cup final, and the 1998 South Africa tour being the best of those memories.

Can you remember any teachers at BGS who had an impact on you?

Absolutely – Rick Sellers and Conrad Snook guided my rugby career at school and then Paul Roberts saved my butt when I had gone off the rails a bit and got me back into Math especially and saved my GCSE year.

Charles Martin also had a big influence on me and would check on me regularly to make sure I stayed on the straight and narrow. You know it is a great school when even the Head is doing that.

Piers Alexander OB 1984

What is the best thing about working and living in Hong Kong?

Why a diving centre in Florida?

I started diving in 1990 and loved it ever since. I trained as a Dive Instructor in Florida and loved my time doing that. Having been a partner in a Dive centre in Zanzibar for 11 years I wanted my own location and with Kristen being from the US it made it easier. We looked for 8 months to find the correct spot for us and think we found it in Seminole Scuba, Lake Mary just north of Orlando.

Could you have chosen another path and what might that have been?

I would have loved to have been a professional rugby player but I was never good enough.

What has been the most significant highlight of your career?

For me the growth of Seminole Scuba. When we took over it was a hobbyist business. It is now a large operation that continues to grow with 38 full and part time employees.

What is the best thing about working and living in the USA?

Americans love Brits and the accent. They also have the culture of spending money and being adventurous, which makes doing business a lot easier.

What’s next for you?

I would love to continue to grow the business and maybe create a second location.

What motivates you?

I love to make money and be successful. But like to do it by helping people discover the wonders of the underwater world that covers 70% of our planet.

How do you relax?

Playing with my Doberman or watching rugby with a nice glass of red wine.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Put more effort into your classes, it will benefit you more in the future. I was lazy with my studies and could have done a lot better.

Piers is a Partner in the Hong Kong office of Conyers Dill & Pearman; an awardwinning global offshore law firm with a client base including FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies. Piers’ practice includes all aspects of corporate law with particular expertise in investment funds, including private equity, venture capital, real estate and hedge funds. He acts as offshore adviser for international and Asia-based fund managers on the establishment of investment fund structures, through all aspects of the continuing operations and other long-term business requirements of investment funds.

What are your best memories of BGS?

Too many lessons, snow on rugby pitches at Failand and running for the train at Temple Meads with a few other BGS boys. I believe sub-15 minutes from classroom to platform (with the benefit of the downhill of Park Street) was the optimum and sometimes achieved but that may just be fanciful!

Can you remember any teachers at BGS who had an impact on you?

Michael Booker invigilated my entrance exam and, rather disconcertingly, marked the first paper in front of me as I sat the second! Roy Avery always treated me with more consideration than was perhaps deserved. Both very charming people who always had time to chat, even many years after I’d left. The English Department kept my interests sparking and I was very fortunate to be taught with such enthusiasm for the subject. It certainly rubbed off on me, although, as time passes, I find my academic interests have veered more towards history. Sorry, Mr Clare.

Why did you choose law?

There was no great career plan, I’m afraid. The closest thing approximating a Damascene conversion to become a solicitor was suggested by a friend as we both worked on a building site in Montpelier (Bristol, not the south of France sadly) during one summer holiday. A law conversion, finals and training contract later, I was in London at Clifford Chance, practicing law in one of the World’s great legal centres.

Could you have chosen another path and what might that have been?

We completed a careers questionnaire in the Removes and my results were law or forestry. Maybe planting trees could have been an option!

What has been the most significant highlight of your career?

Still striving for that! I’ve been lucky to have been given the opportunity to build and lead one of the premier offshore funds teams in Asia and recently have been appointed as Global Head of Investment Funds for the firm.

Hong Kong has an amazing propensity to reinvent itself to be best positioned to meet the headwinds. We’re gradually coming back to pre- COVID vibrancy in the city and now the borders are open there’s every reason to believe it will continue to be the global financial hub it needs to be. As a centre that draws in trade across the Asia region and more widely in the financial markets, it generates a significant impetus in business, law and finance and keeps work interesting. We live off Hong Kong Island now in the New Territories (more country parks and beaches) but I can see that a return to the city may be in the offing. Hong Kong has been a fantastic place to raise our family and still feels like home for my now UKresident daughter.

What’s next for you?

Many of my contemporaries seem to be retiring; that seems a long way off. Maybe I’m doing something wrong! I hope to do more travelling, especially around Asia.

What motivates you?

I’ve never really suffered from that Monday-morning feeling, thankfully. I enjoy working in a professional, team environment with a global outlook, seeking the best outcome for the clients.

How do you relax?

The gym every morning, tennis and hiking to keep the endorphins going and (less successfully) middle-age at bay. A whisky in the evening with friends, overlooking the harbour, seems to work!

What advice would you give to your younger self? Buy a flat in Clifton.