Governance Guernsey: evolving through innovation

Tabreez is Senior Legal Counsel of Northern Trust’s Guernsey office and is responsible for advising across the fund administration, banking and fiduciary businesses.

Tabreez qualified as an English solicitor in 2010 before moving to Guernsey to join Carey Olsen as a litigator. Since joining Northern Trust in 2015, in addition to advising the Guernsey business, Tabreez is also principal counsel to the EMEA wealth management business and was lead counsel for Northern Trust’s first-to-market blockchain product.

Bob has spent over forty-five years in the energy industry both in the UK and in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Born in Derby, England, Bob started work with a keen interest in electrical engineering straight from school in the 1970’s with the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) and then subsequently PowerGen following privatisation of the UK’s national electricity provider. Bob swiftly moved through engineering roles following completion of his CEGB indentured apprenticeship and subsequent engineering studies. Following a family move to Guernsey in 1990, Bob worked for Guernsey Electricity and The International Energy Group.

With a lifetime of experience operating at all levels and holding senior roles in the electricity industry in engineering, project delivery, management and at Board level, Bob believes that renewable energy is now the key to our sustainable future for our precious islands. He relishes the challenge to make a real difference in delivering the energy transition for the benefit of islanders and local businesses. Bob was appointed director and CEO of The Little Green Energy Company in April 2021 and has been instrumental in the company’s growth and renewable systems and has been working closely with the States of Guernsey to ensure that the future energy marketplace and electricity strategy is fit for purpose and ready for a zero carbon future.

Karen is passionate about Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Returning to Guernsey 8 years ago, she was inspired by third sector entrepreneurs and joined the Guernsey Disability Alliance (GDA) as Executive Director. She went on to found the volunteer groups Equality Guernsey and Access for All. Here her passion for accessibility and inclusion grew as she volunteers with like-minded people to remove barriers to education, health, employment, culture and more … in all areas of island life!

Karen has diverse business, sector and country experience that she utilises to drive for greater inclusion in the island. From business consulting in Asia Pacific with entities such as Coca Cola, Rio Tinto and the Australian Government to North America working for a number of start-ups in Mining, IT and HR. Karen’s exposure to dynamic global working and productivity is something she wanted to replicate locally.

In Australia, Karen was recognised for her HR strategic planning and analytics knowledge and lectured across the region. Karen is qualified in Environmental Science (another passion), Marketing, Human Resources, and Psychology.

Rebecca is Client Director at Guernsey based administration firm, Carey. Within her role she works with new clients to establish fund structures, looking at ways to implement innovation within regulatory frameworks and governance best practice.

She has worked within the Funds Industry for seventeen years, specifically with London listed closed-ended funds, alternative and hedge fund managers, and more recently with new to market private equity fund managers and established fund managers looking to move to Guernsey.

Rebecca believes corporate governance should be part of all aspects of the funds industry and is working to include environmental and social responsibility in the governance agenda to build the trust and transparency required for the industry to flourish.

Rebecca holds c a Masters in Corporate Governance, is a Fellow of the Governance Institute, has several peer reviewed articles published on the subject of evaluation and board performance and is a committee member of the Guernsey Green Finance Strategy Group.

Advocate Adam Cole is a partner in Walkers' Guernsey Insolvency & Dispute Resolution Practice Group, with wide commercial litigation experience and a particular interest in regulatory enforcement referrals, contentious insolvency matters, and trust disputes. He has been practising in Guernsey since 2009 and has been admitted as a Guernsey advocate since 2014.

Before moving offshore, Adam worked in the insurance and reinsurance litigation department of a major international law firm in London and spent time on secondment to a major global insurance underwriter and to the Prague office of CMS Cameron McKenna.

Adam is a member of the Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Experts (ARIES), the Chancery Bar Association and was awarded a Distinction for the STEP Advanced Certificate in International Trusts Disputes.

Adam regularly appears before the Royal Court and Court of Appeal and has been consistently recognised by the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners directories.

Susie Crowder has a range of experience in management consultancy and has held a number of non-executive director roles in the islands, including UBS and C5 Alliance. She also has direct experience in and knowledge of the local training sector, having run her own training company CISA for several years.

She is passionate about the future of the Guernsey economy and its long-term sustainability.

She is currently Human Capital Director for Grant Thornton in Guernsey and a non-executive director of Nexus Technology Limited.

Sam oversees all fund investment and research activity for Ravenscroft group. She is also lead manager on growth and global solutions portfolios and the Ravenscroft Global Growth Fund and Ravenscroft Global Solutions Fund (offshore only).

Sam is also a director of Ravenscroft Investment Management Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ravenscroft Group.

She joined Ravenscroft in 2013, prior to this she worked a couple of financial services firms covering investing and banking, as well as training and qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Sam was educated at The Guernsey Grammar School and the University of Plymouth where she studied accounting and finance. She is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and is a CFA Charter holder.

Francesca is a Client Company Secretary at TMF Group Fund Services (Guernsey) Limited. Francesca is tasked with the assurance of corporate governance within her team. Francesca’s experience within governance is within the financial services sector and has attributed her skills to volunteer work for organizations in Guernsey.

After completing the International Baccalaureate at her Local Grammar School, Francesca entered employment and began studying towards her ICSA qualifications at age 20. Prior to Francesca’s role at TMF Group Fund Services (Guernsey) Limited, Francesca worked largely within the Private Equity and Real Estate sectors of Financial Services.

Stephanie is Head of Sustainable Finance for Guernsey Finance, the promotional body for the island’s financial services industry. Stephanie is the lead for green and sustainable finance initiatives including the development of the strategy and positioning for green and sustainable finance within Guernsey. Stephanie leads the Guernsey Green Finance Strategy Group where she liaises with key stakeholders, including government, the financial services regulator and industry regarding technical development in sustainable finance locally and globally that affect the islands finance industry.

Stephanie is also Guernsey’s representative at the United Nations Financial Centres for Sustainability and sits on their working groups for biodiversity and the FC4S Annual Assessment Programme. Stephanie previously worked in advisory services at KPMG in Guernsey and has a BA (Hons) in Philosophy, Religion and Ethics from King’s College London. She holds the Sustainable Finance Certificate with the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, and is a youth ambassador for the not-for-profit Sustainability & You.

Katherine joined the Commission in June 2016 from Deloitte in London where she provided prudential and risk support to a wide range of FCA regulated firms, following over 5 years spent at the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (and previously the Financial Services Authority (FSA)) where she supervised a wide range of firms including FTSE Listed companies. Since joining the Commission Katherine has been responsible for a wide range of areas currently including finance, IT, risk and financial stability.

Katherine is also the GFSC current representative on the Co-ordination Group of the Global Financial Innovation Network (‘GFiN’) a global network of regulators looking to enable, facilitate and improve the regulation of global innovative firms and markets.

Following a short stint in the operations department of a merchant bank, Christopher moved to Guinness Flight (subsequently Investec Asset Management) in 1994 where he remained until 2016. Immediately prior to leaving Investec Christopher was Technical Director, General Representative of the Guernsey Branch of Investec Assurance Limited and director or alternate director of various licensees, funds and special purpose vehicles.

In September 2016 Christopher founded Midshore Consulting Limited, a financial services consultancy where he acts as Managing Director and Principal Consultant. Christopher is also Vice President of Midshore Consulting USA LLC, a joint venture operating in North America and the Caribbean. He is also a Non-Executive Director of various funds, investment licensees and an insurance manager. In January 2021 Christopher became a Director of Guernsey Finance LBG.

Christopher was Chair of the Guernsey Investment & Funds Association (GIFA) from May 2019 to April 2021 and is a member of both the Executive Committee and the Marketing Committee. He was President of the Guernsey Branch of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) from July 2020 to July 2022 and now sits on the CISI’s International Committee and continues to sit on the Guernsey Branch Committee. Christopher is a Member of the Marketing Development Committee of the Guernsey International Insurance Association (GIIA) where he also sits on a number of Working Groups, including as Chair of the Life Sector Working Group. Christopher has also been on a number of other committees over the past decade.

Christopher is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, a Member of the Institute of Directors and an IMC Member of the CFA Society of the UK.

Ellie Jones is the CEO of Liberate, the Channel Islands Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer and Questioning (LGBTQ+) charity, as well as being the LGBTQ+ lead at the Youth Commission and part of Equality Guernsey. She aims to make a positive difference in the community by drawing attention to the ongoing struggle, locally and globally, for equality of LGBTQ+ people. As part of her work she delivers in excess of 150 LGBTQ+ awareness and training sessions annually across the Bailiwick to schools, business organisations and government departments. She does this in the hope that things are easier for the next generation of LGBTQ+ people, through them being more accepted so they can live their lives free from discrimination, bullying and harassment.

Shannon joined Ravenscroft in May 2017 as a fund analyst. Prior to joining Ravenscroft, Shannon worked in the fund industry for five years. She was educated at Our Lady’s Grammar School in Northern Ireland and studied marketing in Manchester. Shannon is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, holds the CISI Investment Advice Diploma and is working towards her Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level 2.

Marc has a passion for practical and impactful climate change solutions and is the founder of the award-winning company, Environmental and Social Impact Monitor Ltd (ESI Monitor).

Marc developed ESI Monitor to tackle one of climate change’s largest drivers: organisations. The company does this by empowering businesses of any sector or size to sustainably reduce their greenhouse gas emissions through a scientific process of measurement, management, minimisation, and benchmarking.

Marc and his team now work with over 120 businesses in 21 countries, helping them to sustainably and continually improve both their environmental and social impact. Marc continues to work relentlessly to expand ESI Monitor’s reach and, therefore, its positive impact on the planet. Through this, he also hopes to position Guernsey as a leader in green business and boost the island’s economy.

Teresa Le Couteur is Group Company Secretary for Northern Trust Guernsey and has personal responsibility for the governance function within Northern Trust’s Guernsey operation. As part of this, Teresa acts as named Company Secretary to Northern Trust (Guernsey) Limited, a bank licensed to operate in Guernsey; Northern Trust Fiduciary Services (Guernsey) Limited, the private wealth arm of Northern Trust’s Guernsey business; Northern Trust Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited, which is the fund administration arm of Northern Trust’s Guernsey business; and a number of subsidiaries.

Teresa has 20+ years’ experience in the Finance Industry and extensive knowledge of Offshore Funds, Trusts, Company Secretarial work, Compliance and Corporate Governance gained through tenures with various firms in both Guernsey and Jersey; including Private Equity, Real Estate and Hedge Fund specialists. Teresa has experience of managing client entities across various other jurisdictions; including the BVI, Cayman, Cyprus, Delaware, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the UK.

Danielle leads a global team at Northern Trust servicing one of the largest private equity clients in the world. She is a chartered governance professional, chartered accountant and holds an MBA from Cass Business School. Danielle is a former 35 under 35 named by eprivate client, and currently serves as vice chair of the Governance Institute’s Guernsey Branch, and as a non-executive director on several regulated funds in Guernsey.

Rupert is Chief Executive Officer of Guernsey Finance LBG, the promotional body for the Guernsey financial services industry. Prior to this role, he held a number of senior positions with large multi-jurisdictional financial companies, working in London, Hong Kong, Cape Town, Zurich and Geneva.

Rupert sits on various committees in Guernsey and the UK, engaging with business leaders and politicians at the highest level, such as CityUK and the British Venture Capital Association. He holds an LLB and an MBA, and is a member of the Institute of Directors, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and the Chartered Institute for Securities.

Matt Sanders is the Managing Partner of Walkers' Guernsey office, where he specialises in investment funds and corporate matters.

He is a Group Partner with more than a decade's experience offshore, and works as part of Walkers' Guernsey Investment Funds and Corporate Practice Group on a wide variety of matters relating to the structuring and restructuring of investment funds and high value transactions involving Guernsey company law.

He is recognised by Chambers & Partners and Legal 500, and has particular expertise in respect of Guernsey Private Fund structures, and M&A deals involving regulated corporate service providers and trust companies.

Matt's work includes advising on complex issues relating to funds, including having acted on the first conversion and migration of the cells of a Guernsey protected cell company to Malta.

Prior to joining Walkers predecessor firm in Guernsey in 2009, Matt practised with the Business and Trust Law Group at a leading offshore firm in Guernsey. Before moving to Guernsey, he practised tax law in New Zealand at Russell McVeagh, one of New Zealand’s largest commercial firms.

Dr Andy Sloan is the founder of the think tank, the International Sustainability Institute Channel Islands, and runs a climate risk advisory business, Netherite and Grunweldt Advisory, providing services to financial institutions. He is also a non-executive Director of an environmental services monitoring company and several Guernsey based financial companies.

A strong advocate of climate disclosures, Dr Sloan was an expert reviewer for the International Panel on Climate Change’s sixth round assessment. He established Guernsey’s sustainable finance initiative in 2018, representing Guernsey at the UN convened Finance Centres for Sustainability from 2018 to 2021, and was also founder member of the CityUK Green Finance Group. Dr Sloan led the development of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission’s Guernsey Green Fund rules, wrote the Green Principles for Private Equity published by Guernsey Finance and the ESG Framework for Insurers published by the Guernsey International Insurance Association.

An economist by trade, Dr Andy Sloan has over three decades experience of international policy development at the highest levels of national and international bodies. He has been Chief Economist at the States of Guernsey, Deputy CEO, at Guernsey Finance and was International Policy Advisor and Director of Financial Stability at the GFSC when TCFD (Task Force on Climate Change Related Disclosures) was published. Whilst at the GFSC, he was a member of the City UK’s International Regulatory Coherence Standing Committee, the BVCA Channel Islands Working Group, and a member of the technical committee of the International Organisation of Pensions Supervisors.