First Names Group is sponsoring the Charity, Cultural and Social Enterprise Award at this year’s Isle of Man Newspapers’ Awards for Excellence. Isle of Man managing director Gary Hepburn explains why this category has such significance for the company.
‘It struck a chord with us,’ says Gary Hepburn. ‘A cornerstone of our brand is that we are committed to the prosperity of our employees, clients and the communities in which we operate. It is important for us to ensure that we get our culture right for our own people and to give back to the local community.’
First Names Group is an award-winning global operation with offices in eight locations around the world – the Isle of Man, Jersey, Ireland, Switzerland, Japan, UK, Cyprus and the BVI.
Its combination of experience and entrepreneurial spirit has seen the company named as one of Private Client Practitioner’s Top 25 Trust Companies in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
The brand embodies the importance of putting people and client relationships at the heart of their organisation, as Gary Hepburn explains:
‘Our determination to create a people-centric culture is woven in to the rationale behind the company name - First Names. It’s people who have built our success: the skilled, experienced professionals within the company and the clients and intermediaries who repeatedly put their trust in us.
‘People are at the front and centre of our corporate culture. That means getting the right people and getting it right for them by giving them the right environment in which to flourish.’
Each of the group’s locations around the world has its own distinctive areas of expertise and some of the services offered will be unique to that location. First Names Group employs 160 people on the Isle of Man to provide trust, corporate services, fund and leisure services. The office has significant expertise in property and trading structures, as well as yachts, aircraft and a niche e-gaming service.
Other locations in the group will direct enquiries in these areas to the Isle of Man, thus also bringing business to the island.
In so far as the e-gaming sector is concerned, the Isle of Man office has developed a tailored trust solution that ensures the security of funds deposited by players. Gary was featured in the industry periodical, the STEP Journal, discussing the significance of the innovation which is offered exclusively through First Names Group Isle of Man.
Leisure Services is an area exclusive to the Isle of Man office. It administers in excess of £2.5bn worth of property assets, designs bespoke structures for more than 300 resort developments worldwide, and provides services to over 650,000 consumers.
When it comes to charitable giving the company tends to do it quietly, without too much fanfare. It has a policy of responding to requests for charitable and community support that come from its own First Names: ‘The spirit of the organisation is very much about giving back and we feel that this is best achieved by responding to our own people’s interests and passions rather than a less personal corporate approach,’ says Gary Hepburn.
First Names Group is planning to launch a new corporate social responsibility programme (CSR) in 2014.