Water & Shark, the global advisory firm, has appointed Dr. David Bozward (pictured) as chair of its Global Research Board, reinforcing the firm’s commitment to building an institutionally rigorous, research-led advisory practice with reach across key international markets.
The appointment represents a significant milestone in Water & Shark’s strategic agenda to anchor its advisory output including its proprietary country ranking system, annual publications, and policy-facing research within a framework of academic rigour and global intellectual credibility.
Dr. Bozward brings over 25 years of integrated experience across academia, entrepreneurship, and strategic advisory. He has held senior academic leadership roles, including Director of Employability and Entrepreneurship at Global Banking School, and is internationally recognised for his contributions to entrepreneurship education, applied research, and innovation ecosystem development. His parallel career as a technology entrepreneur and advisor to early-stage ventures gives his academic work a distinctive applied dimension combining scholarly depth with real-world institutional experience.
As Chair of the Global Research Board, Dr. Bozward will provide strategic leadership and methodological oversight across Water & Shark’s research agenda, encompassing its country ranking framework, white papers, thematic publications, and annual reports. His mandate will centre on ensuring that the firm’s research output meets the highest standards of analytical rigour, global applicability, and policy relevance.
“Dr. David’s appointment is a defining moment for our research and thought leadership agenda. His ability to bridge academic excellence with practical institutional insight is precisely what our Global Research Board requires. As Water & Shark deepens its engagement across jurisdictions advising governments, institutions, and global families on complex cross-border matters the quality and credibility of our research infrastructure becomes increasingly central to our value proposition. David brings exactly that standard.”
Harsh Patel, Founder and Global CEO, Water & Shark
“Water & Shark operates at a genuinely consequential intersection where law, capital, policy, and cross-border complexity meet. What distinguishes the firm is its ambition to build advisory frameworks that are not only practically effective but analytically grounded. I am delighted to be joining at a point when well-structured, methodologically rigorous research can play a meaningful role in how the firm shapes thinking, informs decision-making, and contributes to the wider global policy conversation. I look forward to working closely with the team to develop research outputs that are both intellectually credible and institutionally relevant.”
Dr. David Bozward, Chair, Global Research Board, Water & Shark
The establishment of the Global Research Board reflects Water & Shark’s broader institutional evolution. The firm has in recent years expanded its presence and influence across international policy forums, including engagements at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the British Parliament, and the European Parliament. The Board is intended to provide the research architecture that supports and substantiates the firm’s role in these environments.
About Water & Shark
Water & Shark is a global advisory firm delivering integrated legal, tax, corporate, assurance, policy, and cross-border advisory services to businesses, founders, family offices, sovereign-linked entities, and ultra-high-net-worth families worldwide. The firm is recognised for its expertise in wealth preservation, asset protection, international structuring, and government engagement, and operates across key global markets including the United Arab Emirates, the Singapore , India, Hong Kong, United Kingdom & continental Europe. Water & Shark supports clients in navigating regulatory complexity, geopolitical risk, and the demands of sustainable cross-border expansion, wealth migration and succession and has established a growing presence in global policy dialogue through engagements at the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, and major parliamentary institutions – British & European.
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