Citywealth Leaders List, 60 seconds interview – Gintare Nedelec, Guardian Trust
This week’s 60 seconds Citywealth Leaders List interview is dedicated to Gintare Nedelec, Trust Officer at Guardian Trust.
Tell Citywealth readers a bit about your role.
I’m a trust professional at a boutique trust company in Geneva, working with ultra-high-net-worth families and their advisors on the trust and estate structures across multiple jurisdictions. My work sits at the intersection of law, family dynamics, and long-term wealth preservation — which means no two days, and no two families, are ever quite the same.
What does a typical day look like for you?
It usually starts with emails and rarely slows down form there. The day tends to move between client meetings, complex technical matters, and long-term strategy work – building structures that need to hold together across decades, jurisdictions, and family dynamics that no one fully anticipated when the trust was first settled. There is a lot of context-switching, and a lot of decisions that carry real weight for the families behind them. I work across multiple languages and time zones, which keeps things interesting – and occasionally keeps me humble.
Tell us about some recent, interesting client instructions/requests you have received.
The most interesting instructions are always the ones that reveal how deeply personal wealth really is — succession planning that has to navigate not just tax efficiency but decades of family history, or structures that need to adapt around a client’s evolving life in ways the original settlor never anticipated. The complexity is rarely only legal or tax related – it is almost always human first.
What challenges do your clients face and how are you helping your clients to overcome them?
The defining challenge right now is constant change — regulatory, geopolitical, and generational. Families are navigating increased transparency requirements, shifting domiciles, and the very real question of how to transfer values alongside assets to the next generation. My role is to hold the long view while staying technically current, and to translate complexity into something families can actually make decisions around.
What is your proudest professional achievement?
Earning my TEP qualification and Postgraduate Diploma in Private Wealth Advice while working full-time in a demanding client-facing role felt significant — but, what I am most proud of is the trust clients place in me across borders and generations. The CityWealth Magic Circle & Future Leaders Awards was a wonderful recognition for which I am very grateful, but the relationships behind it are what I actually value.
What do you consider to be the most important attributes for a leader?
Integrity, consistency, and perseverance – without those, technical excellence only goes so far. In private wealth, clients are not only trusting you with their assets — they are trusting you with their legacy. That requires someone who is both technically rigorous and genuinely present.
Who do you most admire and why?
People who build things quietly and with integrity — who do excellent work without needing an audience for it. In my field I am drawn to practitioners who combine deep technical expertise with genuine client empathy. Outside the industry, I am consistently moved and inspired by women who navigate complex environments on their own terms without losing their sense of self in the process.
Where was the last place you travelled to for work or pleasure?
Corfu, which was very restorative — good food, sunny mornings, a relaxing trip with friends that I enjoyed a lot. Before that, London for the CityWealth Magic Circle Awards, which was amazing opportunity to catch up with professionals in London and have a wonderful evening at the CityWealth Awards.
If you weren’t in this industry, what else might you be doing?
I have obtained my bachelor’s degree in public administration before moving into private wealth, so I suspect I would have ended up in the diplomatic field or working for the government — both of which, would involve navigating complexity across cultures, laws and policies.
How do you relax after a long day?
A walk with my Shetland Sheepdog — he is very good at forcing perspective. A glass of natural wine usually follows. I am not someone who switches off easily, but Geneva makes it easier than most cities – there is something about being near the lake that helps.
Gintare Nedelec’s Citywealth Leaders List profile
Guardian Trust’s Citywealth Leaders List profile
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