Entitled “Transforming (un)expected challenges into opportunities for the next 30 years”, the sold-out two-day event (2-4 March) included a broad range of discussions, keynote presentations and roundtable sessions covering timely topics important to today’s wealthy families, including: the death of tax-free regimes, tax residency issues and planning trends in the Asian market, and the treatment of digital assets in succession planning.

The conference, ‘Shaping the Future of Private Wealth’, brought together a breadth of global industry leaders to examine and debate the most pressing issues facing UHNW clients and their family offices.

As part of a wide-ranging panel discussion about ‘Tailoring Family Wealth Strategies’ focused on jurisdiction selection and attributes, Steve joined three other industry leaders including, Jennifer Jordan Mccall from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, Alessandro Bavila from Maisto e Associati and Gilberto Arosemena C. from Infante & Pérez Almillano.

Steve set the framework for the jurisdictional selection discussion with a brief overview of common jurisdictional categorizations including the growing preference of ‘mid-shore’ jurisdictions like the US. He then articulated a number of objective and subjective criteria all wrapped up in a balanced scorecard-based framework, a very useful tool in theory and in practice in arriving at reasoned jurisdictional decision.

The £500 donation was prize money awarded to Karen Morris, Head of Finance at Crestbridge FOS, following her winning the Jersey Society of Chartered and Certified Accountants (JSCCA) President’s Award for Inspiring Leadership recently.

The accolade, which is in memory of late JSCCA president Chris Stuart, recognises those who have shown inspiring mentorship, prioritised and invested in team members, and helped them reach their full potential. Recipients of the JSCCA award are presented with £500 to gift to a charity of their choice – with Karen choosing Youthful Minds, which is part of Mind Jersey and works to support the mental wellbeing of young people living on the Island.

Crestbridge FOS recently pledged to support Youthful Minds as part of its ongoing commitment to the local community for 2025. The charity was deemed a natural fit due to its alignment with the business’s clear focus on supporting client families and emphasis on the wellbeing of its staff.

Over the coming year, the team at Crestbridge FOS will help the charity, which is led by volunteers and this year marks its 10^th anniversary, to raise awareness around mental health in young people and undertake fundraising initiatives to help provide the charity with financial assistance.

Commenting on receiving the donation, Amy Hall, Children, Young Person and Families Service Manager at Mind Jersey, said:

“This is a very welcome donation from Karen and the team at Crestbridge Family Office Services. We’re looking forward to working with the team further as part of their support for us this year, as we continue to raise awareness around mental health in young people in the island.”

Steve Sokić succeeds John Harris, who will remain with the business in a senior advisor role.

The decision to support Youthful Minds – which is part of Mind Jersey and is dedicated to supporting the mental wellbeing of young people in Jersey – represents a natural fit for Crestbridge FOS, with the firm having a clear focus on supporting client families and placing a significant emphasis on the wellbeing of its own people and their families.

As part of its support, the team at Crestbridge FOS will help the charity to raise awareness around mental health in young people, and undertake fundraising initiatives over the course of the year to help provide the charity with financial assistance.

Youthful Minds, which marks its 10th anniversary this year, is led by a group of volunteers aged 11-26, all of whom have a passion for raising awareness and reducing stigma around mental health in Jersey. Through its ongoing outreach programme, the charity aims to educate and raise awareness around children and young people’s mental health in Jersey; to reduce stigma around mental health and mental illness in young people; and ensure the voices of those who have experienced mental health problems are heard.

Commenting on the support for Youthful Minds, Heather Tibbo, CEO, Crestbridge FOS, said:

“Supporting the vital work of Youthful Minds is a natural fit for us, aligning perfectly with our values as a business. Families and young people are at the heart of everything we do – both in terms of our clients and our own people, many of whom have young families. We are therefore very alive to the challenges young people and their families face, both professionally and personally.

“The work undertaken by Youthful Minds is absolutely critical in building a safe and supportive environment for young people in Jersey, and we look forward to building a strong relationship with the amazing team at the charity over the coming months.”

Amy Hall, Children, Young Person and Families Service Manager at Mind Jersey, added:

“We are delighted to have the support of the team at Crestbridge Family Office Services this year, in what is an important 10th anniversary year for us. Their support will be hugely helpful as we continue to raise awareness around mental health in young people in the island, and ensure that young people’s voices, ideas and experiences continue to shape and improve mental health services in Jersey.”

Heather is included in the 2025 eprivateclient 50 Most Influential list, published this week.  The list, produced annually, celebrates the 50 most prominent figures from across the private client landscape in the UK and Crown Dependencies. Identifying those who are driving progress in the sector, being selected takes into consideration the achievements and contribution of key individuals over the past year.

It is the seventh consecutive time Heather has been featured, reinforcing her position as one of the most authoritative figures in the sector and underlining the impact of her leadership, as the firm has continued to grow as an independent and privately-owned business over the past twelve months.

With more 25 years’ experience supporting the needs of UHNW individuals and families, Heather leads the business’ strategy, culture and values while also managing a number of the firm’s key client relationships. She has played a pivotal role in transforming Crestbridge FOS into a successful and diverse business, providing a comprehensive range of cross-border services to families and corporate clients in multiple jurisdictions.

Daniel Cavey, who has significant experience working with complex structures spanning multiple jurisdictions including Switzerland, Cayman and the US, and Debbie Donaldson, who has a particular focus on supporting the objectives of high net worth Middle Eastern families, have both been promoted to Senior Manager.

Held in Jersey last week (5 December), the Awards – now in their third year – celebrate and recognise individual and team excellence, knowledge and best practice across the private wealth sector in Jersey and Guernsey, with winners being selected by an independent panel of judges.

The win follows on from Crestbridge FOS being successful in the same category at Wealthbriefing’s MENA Awards in Dubai last month – a category the firm has won for two years in a row – with this latest award further underlining its capabilities in supporting families of wealth with their global, complex and increasingly diverse needs.

In selecting Crestbridge FOS for the Award, the judges noted in particular that the firm has continued this year to ‘excel in delivering tailored, high-quality fiduciary services with integrity and expertise’, with a ‘commitment to independence, client trust, and employee well-being’.

Commenting on the award win, Heather Tibbo, CEO of Crestbridge Family Office Services, said:

“This year, we have been acutely focused on continuing to build on the reputation we have earned over the past decade for providing technical excellence and top-tier client service, aligned with our strategy to differentiate ourselves in a highly competitive market. This award, which maintains our recent success in being recognised as a leading independent player in the family office space, is a reflection of those efforts and is testament to the collective expertise and experience of our growing team.”

Stephen Harris, ClearView Financial Media’s CEO, and publisher of Wealthbriefing, added:
“These awards are so beneficial as they give organisations the opportunity to clarify their strategic thinking, have it independently validated, be recognised internally and externally and to celebrate in style with their peers.”

The awards have been established to recognise outstanding contributions made by individual team members over the course of the year. Nominations can be submitted by anyone in the firm, and sit across the three categories of our core values Integrity, Professionalism, and Agility. Our judges reviewed all the nominations, ultimately settling on a winner and runner up in each category. Those names announced on the night were:

Integrity: Debbie Donaldson, Manager (winner) for her energy, dedication, kindness, and commitment to her team, and Sarah Eden, HR Business Partner (runner up) for her work with the social committee and championing of inclusion.

Professionalism: Charlie Lucas, Administrator (winner) for his consistently impressive delivery of often highly complex work, and Marta Latek, Administrator (runner up) for her dedication to client service and unswervingly positive disposition.

Agility: Roxana Dumitrache, Team Support (winner) for her tireless and flexible cross-functional support of colleagues, and Ian Carr, Facilities Officer (runner up) for ensuring we benefitted from a comfortable and safe office, made more challenging in this year of relocation.

The variety and quality of nominations in this first year was impressive, making the judges’ task anything but easy. We would like to extend our congratulations to this year’s winners and runners up.

Now in their eleventh year, the Awards were held in Dubai last week to celebrate and recognise excellence, knowledge and best practice across the private wealth sector in the Middle East and North Africa region, with winners being selected by an independent panel of judges.