In this second part of our Hong Kong 30th anniversary interview, members of our Hong Kong trust team discuss what they value most at Trident Trust and which characteristics have contributed to the company’s success.
If you missed the first part, you can read it here.
Trident Trust Hong Kong celebrates 30 years of excellence in the industry. A worldwide presence, strong local knowledge and connections, and the commitment to responsiveness, attention to detail and personal service have always underpinned why clients have chosen Trident Trust as their provider of trust, corporate and fund administration services for three decades.
With a strong and ever-growing presence in Asia and having been recognised as “Best Independent Trust or Fiduciary Company, Greater China Region” at the 9th Annual Wealth Briefing Asia Awards 2021, our 85-strong Hong Kong team has indeed built a reputation for technical excellence and for delivering the highest quality of client service.
Over recent years the trust services team has demonstrated extraordinary growth. In 2017 the office had four trust administrators, and five years later in 2022, under the leadership of Christiaan de Bruyn, Executive Director, our team had grown to 38.
Recently, members from the trust services team reflected on this notable growth, and how the team has leveraged their collective strengths to respond to it.
Our people, our most valuable asset
“Here at Trident Trust Hong Kong we are more than colleagues,” says Katrina Leung, Director. “We work hard to understand each other’s perspectives and support each other so to reach a good outcome for our clients.” This sentiment is echoed throughout the team; many of its members began their journey with Trident as associates or went to work at the Hong Kong office, inspired by friends working there already; like Kate Wong, Trust Administrator, and Jenny Tse, Senior Trust Administrator, who started, and continue to grow, their careers working closely together on the same team. It is their respect for one another that motivates them on a daily basis as they advocate for their clients, solve problems, and further develop their own skills and competencies.
“Above all, the people we work with are most important,” says Sasha Tian, Manager. “We imagine ourselves as rowing a dragon boat together. We may not all be able to exert the same power all the time, but we are rowing at the same rhythm and in the same direction. And we will get to where we need to go because we all use our own specific strengths.”
Support from the top down
It is clear that at Trident Trust there is not just a healthy respect for the management team, but also a genuine admiration and high esteem that can only really exist when reciprocated. Team members feel respected and valued, and this makes for a winning combination of hard work and job satisfaction.
“Before I joined Trident, I had a discussion with the senior management team about both my and their vision for my career at the company,” Sasha continues. “It was truly refreshing that my career was a priority for not just in the short term, but we were discussing my growth for five and even ten years into the future. This is highly motivating, and it is good to know that these discussions are had at every level.”
Indeed, Trident has the international exposure and depth of experience to facilitate the ambitions of all staff, from the most junior all the way to management.
In the spirit of growing talent, managers aim to maintain a sense of approachability at all times, providing invaluable support to ensure that junior team members do not feel an unsustainable level of pressure. “Rather, we want them to grow and enjoy their work, feel secure in their position and gain the experience and confidence required for further growth,” says Calvin Wang, one of the four original administrators in the trust services team and now a manager. “We are always on hand to answer questions and this open line of communication extends all the way up to our senior management. Our culture of openness has been hugely important in our success and growth, and also in our individual feelings of job satisfaction, motivation and personal progress.”
Efficiency and excellence come from solid procedures and practices
“Our extraordinary growth has not come without its challenges,” says Edward Gumbley, Associate Director. “We have experienced quite a rapid transition, as we have transformed from a relatively small player in the local trust industry before 2017, to a major trust services provider today.”
Essential to overcoming these challenges has been the effective use of systems and processes, and this is where the creation of the office’s core services team was a vital piece of the jigsaw puzzle. It is the support coming from this team of dedicated and knowledgeable staff in the fields of accounting, compliance, operations and FATCA/CRS reporting, which allows administrators to focus on client-facing work.
A wealth of expertise
Thanks to collective effort, mutual respect, solid procedures and a global expertise, Trident is recognised as a market leader in Hong Kong across all service lines. “The quality of our team is the foundation of everything we do,” says Mark O’Sullivan, Managing Director. “We have a committed, talented and hard-working multi-lingual team who deliver high quality personal service, which is recognised in testimonials we receive from clients and their referrals.”