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Judith Watler
Judith has spent more than 30 years in financial services and has been close to the drafting table for Cayman AML law. She was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority in 2014 and continues to serve.
She advised the Cayman Islands Government on the redrafting of the AML Regulations and the Guidance Notes on the prevention and detection of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing ahead of the 2017 CFATF assessment.
Before starting Canopy, Judith was Director of Compliance and Regulatory Services at Walkers Professional Services, where she built the firm's outsourced compliance business from 2018 and led the team of AML officers serving hedge and private equity clients.
Christopher Watler
Christopher has more than 20 years in financial services across New York and the Cayman Islands, working in capital markets, governance, regulatory compliance and risk management. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
He has held senior roles as director, anti-money laundering compliance officer, principal point of contact and liquidator for investment funds, CLOs, securitisation vehicles and private equity structures.
Christopher joined Canopy from the Maples Group, where he was Senior Vice President in the Fiduciary Division. Over 19 years there he managed a team covering capital markets transactions and Cayman regulatory services, including AML, tax compliance and economic substance.
Compliance, due diligence and client service
Bernadette Lewis
AML compliance & regulatory servicesBernadette brings over 25 years of experience from the financial industry, with experience in compliance, regulatory services, and liquidation.
Throughout her career, Bernadette held senior roles within the private financial sector and as a regulator at the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA).
Prior to joining Canopy, Bernadette was the Compliance Audit Manager at Walkers Compliance and Regulatory Services (“Walkers”), where she was involved in the development and implementation of the Anti-money Laundering (AML)/Counter Financing Terrorism (CFT) testing programme and headed the audit department.
Bernadette’s breadth of experience includes provision of AML and CFT services to participants in the investment funds space, including Compliance and CDD, client onboarding, AML/CFT audits, gap analysis as well as review of policies and procedures. She also has expertise with orderly winding down of entities including strike-offs, liquidation, and de-registration of entities licensed in the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands, while advising clients of the regulatory requirements pertaining to de-registration and liquidation.
Prior to joining the private sector, Bernadette performed regulatory roles over a 6-year period with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority as an Analyst/ Senior Analyst in the Banking and Compliance Divisions. During this time, she conducted on-site inspections of financial institutions regulated by CIMA, and advised licensees of CIMA on methods and procedures to resolve non-compliance issues.
At Canopy, Bernadette assists with onboarding of clients, managing the Customer due diligence reviews, and acting as Deputy AML Officer to clients.
EDUCATION
MSc – Major: Forensic AccountingFlorida Atlantic University (FAU), Fort Lauderdale, Florida
MBA – International College of the Cayman Islands (ICCI)
BSc – International Finance and Business Administration International College of the Cayman Islands (ICCI)
Personnel Administration (credits transferred to ICCI) University of the West Indies (UWI) School of Continuing Studies – Jamaica
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS & ACCREDITATIONS
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
Notary Public of the Cayman Islands
Chilian Wong-Ellison
Manager & executive assistantChilian brings over 25 years of experience from the financial industry with experience in trust and company administration, AML compliance and project management.
Throughout her career, Chilian has held roles within the UK, Cayman Islands, Canada, Singapore and USA, including work at a large bank-owned trust company and a professional consulting firm.
Chilian is multi-lingual and brings her expertise in managing Trust and Company structures, AML Compliance, internal audits and company administration projects including work on beneficial ownership, FATCA and CRS and economic substance, gap analysis as well as database migration projects. Chilian is involved at board and executive level on charity and NPO boards.
EDUCATION
MSc- Management Purdue University, Indiana, USA
BA (Hons) – Banking and Finance University of North Wales, Bangor
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS & ACCREDITATIONS
Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP)
Dorlisa Piercy
Compliance Administrative AssistantDorlisa joined Canopy in March 2025, bringing over 20 years of experience in Cayman Islands corporate and compliance services.
Having worked in the Cayman Islands financial services sector since 2004, Dorlisa possesses a diverse professional history, including roles at large organisations including EY and Deloitte. Her extensive experience has given her a deep understanding of the Cayman Islands AML Regime and general regulatory landscape for Cayman Islands entities.
At Canopy, Dorlisa’s main areas of responsibility are conducting client due diligence, AML risk assessments and sanction screening duties. She also serves as a client liaison and coordinating special projects.
In her spare time, Dorlisa enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time with her family.
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