Citywealth Leaders List, 60 second interview – Joanne Morse, Summit Trust International
This week’s 60 seconds Citywealth Leaders List interview is dedicated to Joanne Morse, Deputy CEO at Summit Trust International.
Tell Citywealth readers a bit about your role.
I’m Deputy CEO of Summit Trust International SA in Switzerland. I work closely with our brilliant CEO, Stella, in leading the firm while also overseeing a number of significant and complex client relationships. It’s a role I love and find very rewarding, combining the challenge of helping drive the business forward with the privilege of working closely with our clients.
What does a typical day look like for you?
If I’m not travelling, my day starts at 6.20am with the usual family logistics – breakfasts, signing school forms and locating missing PE kits(!). I’ll then walk into the office in Geneva, usually listening to a podcast or audiobook.
By about 8.30am I’m at my desk and from there anything can happen: catching up with colleagues on key matters, client and intermediary meetings, emails, signing books, and planning conferences or projects. There’s rarely a dull moment – the days fly by.
There’s often an industry event somewhere in the schedule too, over lunch or in the evening, which is a great way to stay on top of developments. And when I get home, I always make time to catch up with my children before bedtime, and this is usually the liveliest ‘meeting’ of the day!
Tell us about some recent, interesting client instructions/requests you have received.
There are always interesting projects underway. Recently we’ve been acting as director of a company that acquired a yacht, with a major renovation now being planned. Projects like this involve coordinating advisers across multiple jurisdictions and managing the governance around a significant asset which makes the work both complex and fascinating.
What challenges do your clients face and how are you helping your clients to overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges our clients face is talking about what happens after they die or lose mental capacity. Conversations about succession, incapacity or death are never easy, and many people understandably postpone them. A big part of our role is helping families start those conversations early, encouraging open communication and putting clear plans in place so that both family relationships and long-term wealth are protected. In our experience, the hardest conversations are often the most important ones.
What is your proudest professional achievement?
Being asked to write a chapter on offshore trust administration for a Bloomsbury publication was a particularly proud moment.
What do you consider to be the most important attributes for a leader?
Integrity, decisiveness, accountability and empathy.
Who do you most admire and why?
My mother. Her parents moved to the UK from China before she was born, and like many second-generation immigrants she didn’t speak English for the first five years of her life. Once she started school and learned the language, she often had to advocate for her parents and help support her five younger siblings, who spoke very little English. I can only imagine how challenging that must have been for a young Chinese woman growing up in Britain in the 1960s. Her resilience and sense of responsibility have always inspired me.
Where was the last place you travelled to for work or pleasure?
I’m very fortunate to have a role that takes me to some fantastic places. Most recently I was in the Cayman Islands in February for client meetings, a wonderful time of year to be there.
If you weren’t in this industry, what else might you be doing?
I might have become a teacher or a writer.
How do you relax after a long day?
Usually a good TV series or a book (either my own or reading with my children), some skincare and some chocolate!
Joanne Morse’s Citywealth Leaders List profile
Summit Trust International SA’s Citywealth Leaders List profile
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