By: Philippe De Salis
The trustee must be able to act not only
as a subject matter expert,
but also as an advisor to the family
where software skills are very important
because of his or her position.
At the center of the web of advisors,
the trustees ideally placed to bring all
the different parts of the advice together,
make sure it's coordinated,
and also sometimes ask difficult questions from family
members, challenge them,
and with that, help them find a long-term viable
solution for the the family succession planning.
The other aspect is that it's very important for the trustee
to remain abreast
of developments technical in the industry.
And personally, I found it very useful to be involved,
for instance, on the editorial board
of the Step Trust quarterly review, where we get, uh, to
review articles, uh, from all over the world
and more on the local side.
My role within the committee
and lately as chairman of the Swiss Association
of Trust Companies has allowed me to have direct contacts
with administrations
and also see what happens in the industry at large.