Apex head says inclusivity key to success

As of the beginning of December 2022, Anne Storie took up the reins as Apex International’s Country Head in the Cayman Islands, leading the female strong team which provides financial services solutions to their clients on a global scale.

Ms Storie said she felt she was extremely lucky and proud to be leading the Apex team in Cayman with two very strong Caymanian women, Patrice Berry and Stephanie Scott.

“They are incredibly smart, engaged, and talented women that are excellent mentors to our other Caymanian women coming up the ranks. We are very committed to empowering and training young Caymanian women,” she advised.

Apex Cayman offers an efficient and flexible approach to fund services, including corporate secretary, nominee and custody services. By tailoring its solutions to support the specific requirements of each individual client, Apex Cayman is authorised to provide services to registered funds, (mutual and private funds), administered funds, master funds and trusts.

Ms Storie joined Apex Group from Ashland Park Advisory, where she advised and supported a variety of companies in various growth stages in both interim executive and non-executive capacities. Before that, she served as CEO of Waystone in Cayman and the Americas.  She is an active member of the Cayman Islands’ financial services and business community, serving as Deputy Chairwoman for the Trade and Business License Board for the Cayman Islands Government, a member of the Cayman Islands Directors Association, 100 Women in Finance and various committees involved in charitable outreach.

The Cayman Islands has many attributes that continue to make it an attractive jurisdiction for clients, Ms Storie said.

“Cayman as a jurisdiction continually evolves and improves as it is a significant participant in global financial centres,” she advised. “It is a country that is economically and politically stable, has a sound regulatory regime, world class service providers, and an excellent jurisdictional track record that gives confidence to those establishing or investing in Cayman Islands investment vehicles.”

Ms Storie noted that the Cayman Islands made a commitment to work with the FATF and CFATF to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime since the Cayman Islands was placed on the ‘grey list’ in February 2021.

“The government and industry have worked continuously and collaboratively to meet all the recommended actions by the FATF and CFATF. We believe that Cayman will be removed from the grey list shortly which will only strengthen the choice of our clients to choose Cayman as a jurisdiction,” she confirmed.

She furthered that Cayman had an extensive range of investment vehicles domiciled in the jurisdiction, and said the numbers only continued to grow.

“As a single source solution, Apex Group can offer our clients a full suite of services to deliver an extensive range of services across the full value chain to asset managers, capital markets, corporate and family offices. Between the talented team we have in place in Cayman and our global capabilities, we plan on being the provider of choice in Cayman to new and existing vehicles,” she said.

Her team embraced a particular theme that ran through the Apex Group as a whole, she advised.

“As a diverse business made up of more than 11,000 individuals worldwide, inclusivity is a theme that runs through both our values and our DNA. The key to our success is our people, and we are deeply committed to creating a company that reflects the diversity in everything we do. As part of the financial services industry, we are taking accountability, putting this proactive initiative in place to play a part in addressing this inequity,” she said.

Last year, they launched a Women’s Accelerator Programme aims to accelerate the progress of high-performing female talent through the business, eroding the gender disparity at mid- and senior-management levels to provide a clear path for career progression. The programme was a great success, she said, and over half of its graduates secured a promotion or job role progression following the initiative.

“Businesses that do not support diversity will not grow or be dynamic enough to support their client needs in the constantly changing environment of the business world today,” Ms Storie informed. “The worst practice in any business would be ‘group think,’ which happens when you surround yourself with people all the same background and experiences. I have found that some hiring managers or CEOs prefer to surround themselves with people that are just like them because it is more comfortable, but when has a business grown or broke any barriers when they are comfortable? Businesses led by women show a commitment to growth, progress, and innovation.”