Our People

Rupert moved to Guernsey as a boy and was educated in the island. His career in financial services has taken him around the globe, beginning in London, moving onto Hong Kong, Cape Town, Zurich and Geneva, before returning to Guernsey. His background is in private banking and trust and corporate services, where he has held a number of senior management roles in global companies. As well as an MBA from the University of Cape Town, Rupert holds a law degree, and is a member of STEP, CISI and the Institute of Directors. Rupert sits on a number of local government and industry committees, and represents Guernsey at TheCityUK, BVCA and AIC. In his spare time, Rupert is Chairman of the Guernsey Rugby Academy.

Barnaby is a strategic marketeer with over 15 years' international experience working across financial services and gaming. He holds a bachelors degree in Economics and Politics from Bristol UWE and the Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Directors.

James is responsible for implementing We Are Guernsey's business development strategy to promote the island as a global finance specialist and connect Guernsey’s industry in its chosen target markets. He has more than 20 years' experience in the fiduciary sector, where he worked for international banks and independent trust companies based in the Channel Islands, Switzerland and the UAE.

Rosie is a writer, broadcaster and editor with more than 20 years’ industry experience. She trained at the Press Association-affiliated Editorial Centre in Hastings. Her background is primarily in print journalism, writing and editing for newspapers and magazines, specialising in business, politics and technology. She also has broadcast experience in radio.

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 that affect the island’s finance industry locally and globally. Stephanie is 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 also sits on the TheCityUK Next Generation Leadership Council. 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.

Emily joined the events team at WE ARE GUERNSEY in December 2016. She is responsible for the project management of the organisation’s annual events programme, ensuring it meets strategic objectives and is in line with the agency mission, as well as reporting on the planning, production and execution of events and third party conferences. Emily holds a Masters in Event Management for Marketing and Communications as well as the PRINCE2 Practitioner Certificate in Project Management. Prior to joining the company, Emily spent three years managing fundraising events for Guernsey-based charity, Hope for a Child.

Henry is an investment professional with over 25 years of investment decision making and over 10 years of Board experience. Henry is a strategic adviser to Guernsey Finance and sits on a number of commercial fund and investment company boards as well as the Crown Dependency of Guernsey’s sovereign wealth and pension funds. He is a member of the Guernsey Investment & Funds Association (GIFA) Executive Committee and is proud to have established the GIFA Schools Investment Challenge, encouraging financial literacy and investment education among young people. Henry holds the Institute of Directors’ Diploma in Company Direction. During his executive career in fund management, investment banking and fintech, Henry managed institutional and private client funds investing across equities, private equity and alternative investments; advised London-listed companies and alternatives funds on strategy, structuring, IPOs and M&A; built technology and investment businesses and advised UK government on fintech and social finance, sitting on parliamentary policy groups and Downing Street roundtables.

Josephine Bush is a former partner at EY where she specialized in renewable energy, sitting on the UK&I Power & Utilities Board. She led on many market-leading transactions in role and latterly, led a global initiative to build out the global renewables sector. Josephine is a member of Gresham Houses sustainable infrastructure investment committee and the founder of the not-for-profit Sustainability & You, which aims to raise levels of awareness in the financial community of the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss with a focus on accelerating solutions. Josephine is a qualified solicitor and chartered tax advisor, as well as qualified with the CFA ESG investing certification, and a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society.

Aaron has a wealth of industry expertise through a 30-year career in finance and banking. He has previously held the role of Standard Chartered Bank’s Global Head of Debt Capital Markets and, since retiring from this position in 2015, has worked extensively as a Non-Executive Director (NED). Notably he has been a NED at Amana Bank PLC – a leading Islamic Bank – where he also chairs the Board Integrated Risk Committee.

Grant was appointed as South African Representative for We Are Guernsey in March 2021. He has more than 2 decades of financial services experience in senior business development roles in South Africa, UK and the Cayman Islands. He was educated in the UK and South Africa. He has worked in private banking, wealth management and fiduciary services in South Africa in a number of senior roles representing global companies. As well as a BCom from the University of Witwatersrand, Grant holds a UK accounting and South Africanhttps://www.weareguernsey.com/umbraco/#/content/content/edit/19270 CFP qualification, and is a member of CII and CISI in the UK.

Jo joined the WE ARE GUERNSEY team in November 2021 as the agency’s UK representative on the ground in London, to maintain the island’s already strong relationship with the UK. He has more than 20 years of experience in financial services, primarily in business development roles. Jo has been responsible for building business relationships in various regions including UK, Switzerland, USA and Asia, and has also played a role in developing business with global financial institutions, particularly from an asset management perspective.

Jonathan is an independent consultant and non-executive director, working with a number of firms in the fiduciary and wealth management industry. Prior to this, he worked at Asset Risk Consultants (‘ARC’) for more than 20 years, in a number of Director roles. Jonathan holds both the Fellow and Chartered Wealth manager designations from the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment as well as a qualified member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). Amongst other roles, he is a STEP Guernsey Committee member and is a Trustee of the Elizabeth College Foundation, and has held a number of listed and non-listed non-executive positions.

William is Guernsey Finance’s first sector-specific Business Development Representative for insurance. He has over 44 years of experience in this sector, with a broad range of market knowledge. Based in London, William is currently a director of a Guernsey Protected Cell Company (PCC). Previously, he has also been the director of a Lloyd’s members’ agent and of a Bermudan Special Purpose Insurer, has been involved in the formation of PCCs and has had extensive interaction with the Guernsey regulator. He also has experience dealing with UK and Lloyd’s regulators.

Sebastian joined the design team at We Are Guernsey in September 2017 after graduating from Edge Hill University. He works on brand and design across the business, from marketing materials and the website to bespoke event imagery and conference stand panels.

Tonicha has been at the agency for five years and during that time, she has been responsible for developing and executing a wide range of global digital marketing campaigns for the agency, promoting our worldwide events and business development opportunities, across a number of different marketing channels including, but not limited to, email, social media and website. She is responsible for driving the organisation's marketing strategy, as well as managing the day-to-day marketing activities and the team. Tonicha is currently working towards her level 6 diploma in Professional Digital Marketing from the Chartered Insitute of Marketing, and has also previously completed a level 5 diploma with the Institute of Digital Marketing. Her studies have given her an excellent foundation in the fundamentals of marketing, including strategy and digital customer optimisation.

Katherine joined Guernsey Finance in October 2021 as Executive Assistant to Chief Executive Rupert Pleasant. Her previous roles include being a medical PA for several years before moving into the finance sector.

Brandon joined our Strategy and Technical team following graduation from the University of Manchester in July 2019 with a BA (Economic and Social Studies) (Joint Hons) Business Studies and Politics. In his role he works with government and industry to assist in the technical development of jurisdictional-wide strategy.

Ruth joined the agency in February 2020 as a digital marketing trainee and transitioned over to Communications Executive in August 2021. She is a graduate of the University of Winchester with a BA Hons in Media, Communication and Advertising, holds a Level 5 Diploma in Digital Marketing, and is a part of the CIPR. As part of the Communications team, she is responsible for the running of both the We Are Guernsey and Sustainable Finance Guernsey podcast channels, oversees the agency's social media, and provides assistance with video editing. She also helps the agency's communication strategy stay in line by keeping up to date with developments in methods of digital and traditional communications and advances in technology.

Alex joined our Strategy and Technical in June 2022. Alex previously worked as a business analyst within the insurance industry as well as an earlier background in high-net-worth family office trust administration and extensive voluntary work. He and the wider team are responsible for the development and facilitating of strategic goals, set in collaboration with both industry and government. Alex also supports Stephanie Glover in her role as Head of Sustainable Finance.

Nick joined Guernsey Finance in March 2022, and works within the design team on artwork and branding across the business, from marketing materials and the website to bespoke event imagery. He worked in design for three years before joining the agency, honing his skills in the eGaming industry.

Claire joined the team in March 2022. Claire has previously worked in local accountancy practices and trust businesses. She is a Certified Accounting Technician and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

Jodie previously worked for Guernsey Finance back in April 2015 for six and a half years as an account executive. Jodie has since decided to have a career change and decided to move into a front facing role and has joined the We are Guernsey Business Development team in August 2022. Jodie supports International BD Director James Crawford, and WE ARE GUERNSEY's representatives in our target markets, with attending networking events and the planning and execution of our webinars and roadshows.

Kenneth joined in October of 2021 after having graduated from the University of Winchester. He supports Sebastian as part of the creative sector; helping to maintain the brand identity and design marketing materials for events.

Leanne joined the events team at We Are Guernsey in September 2022 after completing her A-levels in English Language, Photography and Media Studies. She is responsible for supporting and assisting our Head of Events in the logistics and production of Guernsey Finance events and 3rd party conferences, liaising with event organisers and with industry representatives. She is also responsible for ensuring the events the agency supports are included in our external marketing communications, such as literature, giveaways, prizes, banners and all in line with our sustainability and eco-friendly objectives.

Molly joined Guernsey Finance in February 2022 and since then has been responsible for managing the agency's email marketing campaigns, as well as supporting the Head of Digital Marketing with developing digital marketing strategies, and managing and monitoring the performance of the agency’s various marketing channels. Molly has recently completed her level 5 diploma in Professional Digital Marketing and has started working towards her level 6 diploma in Professional Digital Marketing with the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Her continuous studies provide her with insightful, up-to-date knowledge of digital marketing, including strategy and campaign management.

Naomi assists the EA to the CEO with general administration tasks to keep the office running smoothly, as well as making all the required travel arrangements for the Guernsey Finance team events. Prior to joining Guernsey Finance, Naomi was Head of Facilities Management for a private bank across three jurisdictions.