Secretariat Team
Deborah joined ACICA in 2012 and has led the organisation as Secretary-General since November 2013. Prior to joining ACICA, Deborah specialised in commercial dispute resolution in the energy, projects and construction and infrastructure industries at a number of top tier law firms in Australia and the United Arab Emirates. Deborah is responsible for the overall management and operations of ACICA and oversees the ACICA Secretariat in the provision of case management services and project work.
Deborah is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a Vice President of the Asia Pacific Regional Arbitration Group (APRAG), a Council member of the International Federation of Commercial Arbitration Institutions (IFCAI) and a R.E.A.L Ambassador. She has been recognised as an Arbitration Future Leader by Who’s Who Legal in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, and was listed in The Legal 500: Private Practice Powerlist — Arbitration: Australia and New Zealand, 2022.
Deborah is also the Secretary-General of the Australian Maritime and Transport Arbitration Commission (AMTAC), a specialist commission of ACICA that focuses on the development and promotion of maritime and transport arbitration in Australia and the region.
Kiran Sanghera
Kiran joined ACICA in June 2023 as Deputy Secretary-General. Kiran supports the Secretary-General and the ACICA Board with a particular focus on business development. Kiran brings over a decade of institutional experience to the role.
Most recently, Kiran was Special Counsel at HKIAC. She oversaw and implemented HKIAC’s business development initiatives and regularly participated in discussions globally on the work of HKIAC and broader issues related to dispute resolution. Kiran previously worked as Counsel at HKIAC handling the administration of commercial arbitrations (2011–2016). Kiran also led HKIAC’s domain name dispute resolution team, and was the Secretary-General of the Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre (2021–2023).
Kiran has also worked as Director of Litigation Funding at Harbour Litigation Funding where she was responsible for developing the third party funding market across Asia, and has also spent time at the Secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris.
Kiran currently sits on the APAC Regional Committee and the Green Protocols Committee of the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations, and the Equal Representation in Arbitration APAC Sub-Committee. She is the past Co-Chair of HK45 (2018–2020 term).
Kiran was identified as one of the future leaders in the field of arbitration in the Asia-Pacific region in Arbitration 2022 by Who’s Who Legal.
Caroline joined ACICA as Counsel in January 2020. As a dual US/Australian qualified lawyer, she has over a decade of experience in international arbitration, working in private practice in Paris, Hong Kong and Melbourne. She co-founded ACICA45 and now serves as an Advisory Member to the ACICA45 Steering Committee.
She is a member of the ACICA Practice & Procedures Board.
Erika has over a decade of experience in arbitration, having acted as counsel, tribunal secretary and arbitrator in dozens of arbitrations. Erika joined ACICA in January 2021 and has since administered arbitrations under the ACICA Rules 2016, 2021 and the ACICA Expedited Rules 2021. Erika is also on the ACICA Queensland State Committee, the ACICA Diversity Committee and serves as an Advisory Member to the ACICA45 Steering Committee.
Dr Christian Santos is Managing Associate at ACICA with responsibility for administering ACICA’s institutional caseload of arbitrations and mediations, including cases administered by ACICA under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. Christian graduated with an LLB and BA (Politics and International Relations) (Hons 2A) and obtained a PhD (International Relations) in 2022 from the University of Notre Dame Australia. Christian first joined ACICA as an intern in 2019 before becoming an Associate. He was made Managing Associate in 2022.
After graduating from a Master of Business Law from the University of Sydney, Madeleine joined ACICA in August 2021. As a member of the Secretariat, Madeleine has worked on arbitrations, mediations and assists with the day-to-day operations at ACICA. Madeleine also holds a Bachelor of Laws and Government from Sciences Po Paris and is accredited as an ACICA Tribunal Secretary. She is currently finishing her Juris Doctor. Madeleine is fluent in English, French and Spanish.