An Interview with Edouard Gueudet

What do you do for CISA Trust?

As Head of Business Development, I am in charge of developing and maintaining strategic relationships with key people or intermediaries and of opening business development opportunities for the company. It is a job where you have to come up with ideas covering various topics, such as establishing a new partnership, organizing an event or suggesting a new product. My role also covers marketing, which means that I have to lead, coordinate and conduct marketing activities, give more visibility to the company and increase brand awareness.

What do you love most about your role?

I love interacting with clients, partners and prospects, sharing ideas, understanding their needs and trying to find the best solution as a team. I love doing research and identifying interesting people to meet, to explain how CISA Trust works and to explore how we could do business together. I also find working on marketing tools very rewarding.

How has your business adapted in light of the current COVID-19 crisis?

Our company has reacted very quickly and management activated business continuity plans mid-March in order to continue to provide the highest level of services and ensure there would be no interruption of service. Everything has been going smoothly regarding clients' requests in general and we have not seen big changes. We increased our external communication, for example, we have been more active on LinkedIn and we launched a new version of our website (www.cisatrust.com) and released a short corporate video. We developed new memorandums on structures covering several jurisdictions as well as marketing documentation. Of course, we also participated to an increased number of phone calls and videoconferences with clients, partners and prospects.

Why did you join PCD?

We joined PCD as a corporate member and we were quite excited to participate in many events in the course of 2020, but circumstances have decided differently! Our company is global and offers services from its head office in Switzerland, and from offices in South Dakota, Miami and the British Virgin Islands. PCD is a networking platform that allows us to interact with qualified people in various parts of the world, either where we are present as a service provider, or where our clients live and where we normally travel regularly. PCD allows us to save time and share ideas that can lead to new business opportunities.

Have you attended a PCD Webinar? What did you think?

Yes, I have attended a PCD Webinar and I think PCD has reacted very quickly in order to find solutions for its members in the exceptional situation provoked by the novel COVID-19 outbreak. PCD was able to offer many options and topics of conversation with a good variety of speakers.

My top tip for working from home is...

It is to have a dedicated quiet space where I can concentrate and make phone calls without interruption. When you have little children, this is certainly the most challenging aspect of working from home.

On a weekend, I am most likely found...

In the winter, definitely in the mountains with my wife and our daughter who is 3 years-old and already an enthusiastic and persevering skier who likes challenges! Otherwise, the rest of the year, we would be taking long walks, biking as a family or organizing an activity for our daughter. A little brother will arrive in the fall, so the weekends will certainly be extremely busy!