Leaders List interview: 60 seconds with Sailesh Navsaria, JTC Group

Date: 18 Oct 2023

Karen Jones

This week’s 60-second piece is dedicated to Sailesh Navsaria, Group Director – Private Client Services at JTC Group.

Tell Citywealth readers a bit about your role.

My brief at JTC are most matters related to Africa, MENA and its wider diaspora – whether there are personal structures for business families or indeed institutions focused upon these regions.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Albeit I am often travelling but when in the office given much of the markets I deal with are ahead in time zones, much of work in the morning is related to communication and action points in play – the afternoons are really devoted to developing, nurturing and building relationships within our professional network, and supporting colleagues in respect to client relationship management.

Tell us about some recent, interesting client instructions.

Absolutely love working within the impact and sustainability space and corporate mandates for fund and private vehicles for Philanthropic bodies, PE Houses and Asset Managers. At the private client level – working collaboratively with advisors to guide and mould succession and asset holding planning structures for business families emanating from the regions I cover.

What challenges do your clients face and how are you helping your clients to overcome them?

The remit by default means that we deal in higher risk jurisdictions where clients are faced with political, economic, currency and personal risk challenges; our structures offer a safe haven for their holistic private and commercial interests. Families in the region face common challenges when there is wealth…succession, continuity, social pressures, disputes, safety…all these are bread and butter work for us in aligning structuring which can genuinely add value in protection and family harmony.

What is your proudest professional achievement?

Setting up a local trustee services business in Kenya; it went on to pioneer a corporate trustee industry for this region. Immensely satisfying as it enabled us from here in Jersey to export our experience and skill sets to add value to what was at the time an unstructured, unregulated, under skilled and raw service offering.

What do you consider to be the most important attributes for a leader?

Trust – without which nobody will follow you, and that involves being sincere, humble, integrity, nurturing and empowering the team to do the job. Words such ‘We, Our and Us’ are more powerful than the letter ‘I’ in front of your narrative will ever be.

Who do you most admire and why?

At a personal level – my parents who came from abject poverty – endured hard ships, discrimination and hate so that I could have the best chance to succeed.

Professionally two people –

– Our Founder Nigel Le Quesne – the story of an ultimate start-up by taking JTC from a small office above a shop in St Helier to an billion pound Listed business, and in the process sharing that good fortune with all colleagues.

– The Late Meghji Petraj Shah – who arrived in Kenya penniless from India, made a fortune and who in the 1950’s gave the bulk of it away building hospitals and educational establishments which still continue to grow and doing good in East Africa and India.

Where was the last place you travelled to for work or pleasure?

Work – Cairo, one of Africa’s greatest cities with a dynamic business community.

Pleasure – Tuscany

If you weren’t in this industry, what else might you be doing?

Some seven generations of my family have been tailors…guess it would be connected with the fashion industry.

How do you relax after a long day?

Winding down the day – a walk and drinks in beautiful Portelet Bay, Jersey

Self-improvement – Freemasonry.

You can view Sailesh’s profile on the Leaders List here.