Zedra adds three senior executives to Channel Islands business
Independent trust, corporate and fund services company Zedra has expanded its team in the Channel Islands with the appointment of three senior executives.
Paul Nayar (pictured above, right) has been named finance director; Joe Donohoe, (pictured in the middle), client director; and Mark Cleary (left), is the new head of relationship management and funds, Guernsey.
In a statement announcing the hires, Zedra said that Nayar and Cleary will have pan-island roles that will see them working across Jersey and Guernsey. Nayar will be responsible for all financial procedures, policies, controls and reporting systems, working alongside the managing directors and the chief financial officer.
Cleary’s role will be managing the relationship management of bespoke fund services, while also acting on a number of fund boards. As client director, Donohoe has responsibility for a global portfolio of high-net-worth families, and developing new relationships.
Expanded Jersey business
Zedra said the three roles are all new, and that they reflect “the recent growth in the company’s Jersey business”.
Donohoe is an experienced trust professional and a chartered accountant. He moved to Jersey in 1986 to work in the trust industry and has been instrumental in a number of mergers and acquisitions on the Island, the company said. He has also held directorship positions for numerous international finance businesses.
Nayar has 22 years’ experience working in the international finance industry and has held several senior positions working for a number of organisations in the financial sector.
Cleary has 25 years of experience working within the funds and asset management industries, predominantly in Jersey, as well as Luxembourg and Guernsey. Cleary is CFA Charter holder, an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and holds the Islamic finance qualification.
Ashley Cox, Managing Director for Zedra, Jersey, said that the company’s new senior management hires reflects the “continued expansion of the Jersey and Guernsey businesses in relation to both our team and our client portfolio”
Global reach
Zedra was founded last year after Barclays completed the sale of a majority share of its trust business to a group of investors headed up by individuals from the Nielsen and Sarikhani families, who have experience in building and operating financial services businesses in the trust, financial planning, tax and advisory sectors.
The purchase price of the deal wasn’t disclosed, but Barclays retained a 19.9% stake in the business, renamed Zedra, for a minimum of three years, according to a company statement at the time.
It currently has global offices in 11 jurisdictions, including Jersey, Guernsey, Luxembourg, the Isle of Man, the Cayman Islands, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Singapore, the UK and Switzerland.
The company has a diverse client base including high-net-worth individuals and their families, international corporations, institutional investors and entrepreneurs.
The Jersey office is said to house Zedra’s largest team, with more than 140 employees and what it says is “a continued strategy for growth”.
