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“When I travelled from Jersey to Switzerland, the local cultural exposure was amazing; my move to Singapore taught me about the group community mentality that the locals have; food was amazing in Singapore, I miss Mustafa shopping centre and prata! Then when I moved to the BVI, I could see the stark difference between Singapore and the Caribbean!” In this exclusive interview by Funds Partnership Asia, be inspired by globe-trotting hustler, Michelle Le Herissier, Managing Director at JTC Trustees, in this series of #GirlsJustWannaHaveFunds as she shares on her unconventional career trajectory, from entering the trustee industry and working her way up. What does it mean to be a woman in this cut-throat industry? Has she ever experienced discrimination? What were the most important lessons she held onto? 

Find out how this courageous lady never let anyone push her down.

1. Can you share with us your career trajectory in a nutshell?

I love poetry, drama and acting and so I got my Diploma in Acting & Musical Theatre, but acting was a tough industry then and at that time, no one was interested so I made the decision to switch into the trustee industry as my father was a trustee then and I never once looked back!

I built my way up the good old fashion way; I worked hard and studied and put over and above what was expected. I landed my first job as a Junior Trust Administrator with Cititrust in Jersey; then a Trust Administrator role came up in Switzerland and I took it! Opportunities had presented themselves then I moved to Credit Suisse as Head of Trust Administration for 18 months before my best friend from Cititrust told me that they needed a Head of Trust Administration in their Singapore office, naturally I went for it! I progressed my career with Barclays as a Director for the Singapore and Hong Kong offices, until it was time to explore the world again. 

That’s when an opportunity with JTC Group came up in their BVI office – so I packed my bags and was there for 2 years. After that, I was on an offsite project in South Dakota and with the volume of the domestic and international trust work in this new jurisdiction, I plunged into JTC Group’s South Dakota office as Managing Director!

2. What inspired you to enter the Trust industry?

My father did a stint in the Cayman Islands back in the 80s, and my parents packed up their home in Jersey and moved to the Caribbean. It was a very bold move in those days without smartphones and the internet and the advanced technologies we have today – but they took a risk and spent 2 years in the Channel Islands. As they showed me and my sister pictures of their adventures, I was so inspired by them and their travels. 

At the age of ten, my parents showed me that the world was my oyster – and I knew then that I wanted to travel the globe to experience new cultures. 

With that, I came to realise this same reality in every step of my career. I believe that a career move is strategic when it keeps me moving forward and gives me more with each step I take. So I followed my father’s footsteps, switched from acting to the Trustee field and worked hard. 

I never expected promotions to land in front of me, I hustled and reached for everything I could. Like I said, I never looked back but just kept moving forward. 

My career has always been important to me and what fuels my inspiration to give my best was the various cultures I get to experience along the way. 

The culture of the Trust industry was eye-opening – I enjoyed the fast pace of the industry, I enjoyed the pressure and challenges the industry gave me and that feeling that my inbox was always full! I was very ambitious, and still am! 

When I travelled from Jersey to Switzerland, the local cultural exposure was amazing; my move to Singapore taught me about the group community mentality that the locals have; food was amazing in Singapore, I miss Mustafa shopping centre and prata! Then when I moved to the BVI, I could see the stark difference between Singapore and the Caribbean! The visa process was way more efficient in Singapore as compared to the Caribbean, the Caribbean has a gentle and natural way of life as compared to Singapore’s fast pace of life. 

Finally, I also experienced change from big, global banks like Cititrust, Credit Suisse and Barclays to my first independent trust company, JTC Group. I took the change like a duck to water – I was given autonomy, I was able to positively influence, I made sure I proved my worth and was given regional responsibilities and exercised my team building skills. The skills that I have gathered over the years all culminated to this point and it gave me the opportunity to build and develop a team when first I started out with JTC.

3.  As a veteran in the industry, can you share with us how the Trust industry has evolved over the years?

The world has become far more transparent and that is how the industry evolves along with it – instances like FATCA reporting, CRS reporting, the need to have greater regulatory oversight, etc. Offshore jurisdictions that were once labelled as tax havens and shelters, and any illegitimate structures are now all things of the past. Technology has also definitely changed and further equipped the industry; for example by granting quicker response times to clients! Because the world is much more connected now, incidents and films like the Panama papers and The Laundromat on Netflix respectively can leave negative impressions of the industry. But it is also because the world is more transparent and connected, that it allows offshore centres to better position themselves; and get rid of the idea that these centres are dodgy places.

I believe that the need for a trust structure will never go away! As the industry evolves and increases transparency, this will only better assist clients to make better wealth management decisions, make the passing of assets and easier process for those left behind, or preserving wealth for their families’ generations to come.

4. As a female leader, what has been the most significant barrier in your career? How did you overcome it? 

Instead of barriers, my perspective is to see such incidences as opportunities to grow and not a barrier that obstructs – simply because I want to be the best that I can be! I think that I have been very lucky in my career. I once had a female boss who put me down and made me feel less than what I was capable of. From there, I have adapted my mentality and approach by remembering Harvey Specter’s (See the image i sent to you girls by Michelle) words from the series Suits: