Switzerland

 

It is no accident that one third of the world’s private banking wealth is managed in Switzerland, which has considerable advantages for trust administration:   Swiss-based trustees may administer trusts governed by the laws of other jurisdictions, including the Cayman Islands, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Bermuda, New Zealand and England and Wales.

While Switzerland is not an “offshore” tax haven or zero tax jurisdiction, the Swiss authorities allow trusts created by and for non-residents of Switzerland to operate without negative tax consequences.

Switzerland is renowned for its banking confidentiality, the quality of its money management and political stability.

Switzerland offers an educated, multi-lingual and highly professional workforce that is recognised around the world for precision and efficiency.

Step Switzerland Platinum

Switzerland Management Team

Daniel Martineau

Executive Chairman
Canadian/Swiss

Spoken : English, French

Daniel worked in management positions for leading trust companies in Canada prior to taking up roles in offshore trust companies in Nassau, Jersey and Geneva, with Coutts International Private Bank. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, he subsequently earned his Masters of Business Administration at the University of Miami. He is accredited as a member of the Financial Planning Institute of Canada and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). Daniel is a founder of the Swiss Association of Trust Companies, a member of the editorial committee for Wealthbriefing, an on-line wealth management news service and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences.

Stella Mitchell-Voisin

Chief Executive Officer

Spoken : English, French

Stella began her career with NatWest Bank, as a graduate trainee in 1991. She quickly moved into the Coutts private banking and trust subsidiary in Jersey before moving to Geneva in 1996. She has a wide range of experience of trust and company management including fine art, bloodstock, commercial and residential property, private equity, family offices and private trust companies. Stella is a law graduate of King’s College, London (LLB Hons), an associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (ACIB) and a Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). Stella is a much sought after speaker at trust conferences and is a regular tutor for the STEP Foundation and diploma courses. 

Robin Lee-Smith

Secretary
British

Spoken : English

Robin began his career with the international law firm Simmons & Simmons in the City of London prior to joining Coutts International Private Bank and Trust Group where he was general counsel in Guernsey, Hong Kong and Zurich. In 1999 he moved to Geneva to join Summit Trust International. He is a graduate of the University of Oxford where he read Jurisprudence. He is a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). Since 2004 he has lived in London where he supervises Summit Trust Company Limited, an English trust corporation.

Clare Usher-Wilson

Deputy Chief Executive Officer
British

Spoken : English, French

Clare is a graduate of History and Politics (BA Hons) at Royal Holloway College, University of London. She began her trust career in Guernsey in 1998 and then moved to Liechtenstein, before settling in Geneva in 2004. Clare has a wide range of experience in trust and company management, including private trust companies, charitable trusts and employee benefits trusts, within which a wide range of assets are managed, including fine art and automobile collections, private equity and commercial and residential property. Clare manages an administration team that is focused on larger, more complex structures where a family office or private investment office is involved. In May 2006, Clare was awarded the Society of Trust and Estate Practictioners (STEP) Suisse-Romand prize for excellence in the Foundation Certificate. Clare is on the executive committee for the STEP Suisse-Romande Association.

Joanne Morse

Head of Family Office
British

Spoken : English, French

Jo is a graduate of Law and French from Cardiff University. She qualified as a solicitor of England and Wales in 2008, working as a private client solicitor in the UK before beginning her trust career in Geneva in 2011. Jo has a wide range of experience in trust and company management, within which a wide range of real assets are managed, including fine art, vintage cars, shipping fleets, yachts, private equity and commercial and residential property. Jo manages an administration team providing bespoke private client trusteeship to ultra high value, complex international trust structures. In May 2018, Jo won Trustee of the Year at the Citywealth Magic Circle Awards held in London.

Sandra Nanni

Chief Financial Officer
Swiss/Portuguese

Spoken : English, French, Portuguese, Italian

Sandra is one of the original members of the team that started Summit Trust International in 1999. She started her career with the trust company of Coutts International Private Bank as an accountant in 1996 prior to joining the trust administration team two years later. She has experience of trust and company management including European structures and private trust companies. Sandra also has a wide experience of corporate and client accounting. Sandra is an economics graduate of the University of Geneva with a specialisation in management, accountancy, law and finance. She is also a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Gill Ferguson

Chief Compliance Officer
British

Spoken : English, French

Gill began her career with Barclay Trust in Jersey in 1991, gaining experience in general banking and securities before moving into the trust department in 1993. In 2001, Gill took the opportunity to move to Geneva with Barclays, by this time having a wide range of experience in trust and company management including fine art, commercial and residential property. In 2003, Gill assisted an independent trust company to set up a Geneva operation, before moving to join Summit Trust International in August 2005. Gill is an Associate of The Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators (ICSA) and a Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Contact us 

Summit Trust International SA

6 Place des Eaux-Vives
Geneva 1207
Switzerland

Telephone: +41 (0) 22 707 8399
Fax: +41 (0) 22 707 8395