Rupert Pleasant

Chief Executive

Guernsey Finance

Welcome Address

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.

James Close

Head of Climate Change

NatWest Group

Keynote Speech

James has spent his career working at the interface of the public and private sectors with a focus on mobilising finance. He is now committed to working on some of the most challenging global issues focusing on sustainable development and climate change. He is currently the head of climate change at NatWest Group, supporting the implementation of the bank’s purpose-led strategy which included principal sponsorship of COP26. He is also a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Advisory Group for the ICAEW and a trustee for the Trust for Sustainable Living. Prior to this role, he was the head of the circular economy programme for London. Before returning to the UK, James spent five years in Washington, D.C. as the Director for Climate Change at the World Bank. Previously, he was a Partner in the Corporate Finance Practice of EY, and also worked for HM Treasury.

Martin Hartley

Photographer & Explorer

Martin Hartley Photography

Closing Keynote

Martin Hartley is an award-winning expedition and adventure photographer. He has spent the last 20 years documenting, the Arctic Ocean, a place he argues is the most important and fragile place on our planet right now. During this time Martin has covered more than 2,000 miles, over 400 days skiing across the Arctic Ocean, including a 99-day crossing from Russia to Canada with dogs. Martin's passion for using his hard-won expedition and photographic expertise to benefit the future of our planet has taken him beyond the polar regions to desert, jungle, mountain and oceanic environments. He has documented indigenous communities, corporate social responsibility initiatives and ground-breaking scientific programmes, for the European Space Agency and NASA”s Operation Icebridge Mission in 2017 He was nominated by Time Magazine as one of their Heroes of the Environment in 2009 in recognition of his work with the Catlin Arctic Survey, documenting sea ice, thickness and ocean acidification.

Susan Fouquier

Managing Director, Institutional Banking

RBS International

Headline Sponsor Address - RBS International

As the Managing Director of Institutional Banking, Susan is responsible for supporting institutional customers (alternative investment fund managers, asset managers, fund administrators and corporate service providers) with their operational banking and borrowing needs. Susan leads teams in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, London and Luxembourg. With over 20 years’ experience in the financial services sector, Susan started her career with the NatWest Group in 2000 and has undertaken a number of senior leadership roles across various parts of the Group, including real estate finance, business banking, commercial and private banking, risk and strategy. Susan has international experience having worked in Paris for eleven years and is fluent in French. Susan is a former bank appointed trustee for the NatWest Group Pension Fund and was a director of Lothbury Insurance Limited. Susan holds a degree in International Business and Modern Languages from Strathclyde University, Glasgow and has successfully completed the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership NatWest Programme.

Rupert Pleasant

Chief Executive

Guernsey Finance

Conclusions

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.