As we end the first half of 2023, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy Eid Mubarak. This year, the festivities coincide with the end of June.
It is hard to believe we are already halfway through 2023. Recognising this time in the year as Alison & I, and many of the team escape the Dubai heat and enjoy summer leave, I’ve taken the opportunity to reflect on what an eventful year it has been so far. I can’t help but feel proud by all we’ve accomplished.
The business continues to go from strength to strength. With the office move to The Gate, DIFC at the end of summer 2023, we are nearing 12 months in our new GSB home. As last month’s newsletter mentioned, we are excited to announce that renovations will take place this summer to develop the office for our valued clients, employees, stakeholders, and the wider GSB community.
The breadth and depth of the proposition and the team continue to grow. At the time of writing, we have steadily increased to 39 employees at the end of Q2 2023, bringing expertise, knowledge and experience to drive forward our business strategy of providing the best possible global wealth management solutions for our clients. Further developments are expected in the second half of 2023.
In addition, as we continue to develop our proposition, we look forward to sharing exciting updates shortly on significant projects and strategic advancements that will propel GSB to even greater heights.
None of the above would have been possible without the continued support of our key stakeholders, including you as our clients — a huge thank you from all of the GSB team.
Company News
I am delighted to introduce new additions to the team in Rochelle Bercasio, Client Impact Manager and Aaron McAuley, Paraplanner in our Dubai Office.
Rochelle worked for IVCM/Brooklands Trustees Ltd for over eight years as new business and technical administrator and has four years’ experience providing high-level administrative and operational support to senior managers, within a multi-national financial services company. Rochelle joins the Client Impact Team.
Aaron is a University of Ulster graduate and Level 4 CISI qualified. Having arrived in Dubai in 2018, Aaron has worked for both wealth management and private client advisory practices and joins the Wealth Management Team providing support to the Partners teams.
CSR News
World Blood Donor Day 🩸 was Wednesday 14th June. This is a regular fixture in the GSB calendar, with a number of the team visiting the new Dubai Blood Donation Centre to give blood. By donating blood, you become a real-life superhero, helping to save lives and giving hope to those fighting illness and injury. To find out more and the centre’s location, please click the link below.
Charity News
The Brothers ‘N Oars team set off mid-June on their incredible expedition of rowing 4,500km of the Pacific Ocean, starting in Monterey Bay California, USA, finishing on the beautiful ‘Garden Island’ of Kauai in Hawaii.
Some interesting facts about the race:
- The Pacific Ocean is the World’s deepest ocean.
- Just 82 people in 33 boats have successfully rowed to one of the Hawaiian islands from mainland USA.
- The word Pacific means ‘peaceful’.
- The first person to row the Pacific was Patrick Quesnel in 1976.
- The Pacific ocean shrinks by 2cm each year due to the movement of tectonic plates. This means that the Atlantic ocean increases by 2cm each year!
- Of the 33 crews to have completed the voyage, 11 were all female, 18 all male and 4 mixed gender.
- 75% of the World’s volcanos are situated in the Pacific ocean basin which is called ‘The Ring of Fire’.
- The longest anyone has taken to row this route was Peter Bird who took 147 days.
- The fastest female team to row this route was Latitude 35 who completed the row in 34 days, 14 hours, 20 minutes.
- The average crossing time for all crew sizes is 62 days.
Please join us in supporting them on this amazing challenge!
You can also track the progress of the race by downloading the YB Races App to download the app via the App Store or Play Store https://www.ybtracking.com/yb-races-app. Once downloaded, search: World Toughest Row Pacific 2023 to follow.
We hope you enjoy reading this month’s email. We always welcome any comments, thoughts or feedback. If you would like to send us any suggestions, don’t hesitate to get in touch.