Alberto Vettoretti was born in Italy and received his education in the UK where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Chinese, Economics, and Management from the University of Durham and an MSc with a specialization in Chinese law from the University of Staffordshire.
He has been living in Asia for over 26 years and speaks and writes fluent Mandarin, Italian, English, and Spanish.
Alberto joined Dezan Shira & Associates as an equity partner in September 1998. Over the years, the company has grown into one of the largest, privately-held pan-Asia professional organization with over 600 professionals and 35 offices.
In 2014, he led the firm’s expansion in Asia through the establishment of the Dezan Shira Asia Alliance network with partners and offices in Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Russia, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Dezan Shira & Associates and its Asia Alliance are at the forefront of professional services in the region and represent one of the largest and longest established professional networks in Asia.
Alberto oversees the global operations and expansion of the firm and directly manages four offices in South China (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhongshan, and Hong Kong) and all the company’s ASEAN branches. Alberto is responsible for the firm’s overall development in overseas markets including its liaison offices in the US and Europe.
In 2006, the firm was appointed as a foundation member of the Leading Edge International Alliance (LEA) of global accountants and auditors. LEA is the 5th largest tax and accounting association world-wide with 135 firms, more than 1,800 partners and revenues of US$ 3 billion in 2022. Alberto is currently a global board member and also a board member of its Asia Pacific Regional Council. Since 2023, Alberto is also the chairman of the LEA global governance committee.
The firm is also a member of ETL global (the 15th largest global assurance and advisory network with revenues of over US$ 2 billion in 2022) and IR Global, one of the largest global multi-disciplinary legal and financial network.
Alberto specializes in corporate structuring, advisory, as well as legal and management issues affecting foreign-invested enterprises in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam. He also acts as board member and supervisor to various multinational corporations doing business in Asia.
Alberto was formerly a national board member of the China – Italy Chamber of Commerce, the Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce, Guangdong – Shenzhen Sub Chamber, the Vice Chairman of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China and the Chairman of its South China Chapter.
Since 2008, Alberto has been a member of YPO (Young President Organization), Pan GBA Chapter – for which he acts as Finance Chair. From 2011 to 2017, Alberto was appointed as an International Advisor to the Guangzhou Government (PR China) in recognition of his expertise on FDI in the region and his contribution to the improvement of the city’s business environment. Alberto has consistently contributed to the firm’s subsidiary publishing company, Asia Briefing Ltd., which produces a variety of titles related to doing business in Asia – including China Briefing, Vietnam Briefing, India Briefing and ASEAN Briefing. Alberto’s comments also regularly appear in international publications such as The Financial Times, The South China Morning Post, Il Sole 24 Ore, China Daily and a host of other local and internationally recognized publications.
Alberto is currently a guest lecturer at the University of Naples l’Orientale (Italy) for their Master in Global Management for China program where he teaches the module on Accounting, Tax and Audit in China.
