International disputes lawyer and governance advisor.
Antonio is a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand and a Foreign Registered Lawyer with the Solicitors Regulation Authority in England and Wales. He is an international disputes lawyer and governance advisor with experience spanning complex commercial litigation, regulatory investigations, international sports governance, and the marine industry.
Antonio began his legal career at Russell McVeagh in Auckland, where he practised in general commercial litigation for four years before moving to London. He subsequently worked in the disputes practices of Slaughter and May and Herbert Smith Freehills, advising on complex commercial disputes, regulatory investigations, and governance matters across international markets — including work connected to the Post Office Inquiry.
He later moved in-house as Senior Legal Counsel for a leading international watersports manufacturer, advising across commercial, regulatory, governance, and strategic matters within the marine and sporting sectors.
Antonio currently serves as General Counsel of World Sailing, the international federation governing sailing at Olympic level. He also sits on the Disciplinary Tribunal and Arbitral Board of the Union Cycliste Internationale.
At Brenton Financial, Antonio brings a rigorous legal and governance lens to the Investment Committee — drawing on disputes practice at leading global firms and senior in-house experience across regulated and international markets.
Antonio holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Linguistics and Translation from the University of Auckland, and an LLM from the University of Sydney. He is fluent in English, French, and Italian, with conversational proficiency in Spanish.
Alongside his legal career, Antonio has competed internationally in sailing and windsurfing for more than twenty years. He represented New Zealand in the RS:X and iQFOiL windsurfing disciplines and was one of the founders of the iQFOiL class, now the Olympic windsurfing discipline. He has coached across multiple Olympic campaigns, including Formula Kite at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, as well as 49erFX and iQFOiL programmes leading into the Games.