Executive Team

John Atkin - Chief Executive OfficerJohn Atkin - Chief Executive Officer

John Atkin joined The Trust Company in January 2009 from Blake Dawson where he was Managing Partner for six years.

With over 25 years experience in the management of professional service firms, and extensive experience in strategy development and execution, John is responsible for enhancing the strong position The Trust Company occupies in the market and building on its significant record of achievement since its establishment in 1885. Excellence in client service built on great teamwork and world class expertise and systems will be the foundation of The Trust Company’s continuing success under John’s leadership. 

John holds professional memberships with the International Bar Association, Law Council of Australia, Law Society of New South Wales, Australian  Institute of Directors, St James Ethics Centre and the Sydney Institute.

John is a director of The Australian Outward Bound Foundation.

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John Botica - Managing Director Guardian TrustJohn Botica - Managing Director Guardian Trust

John Botica joined Guardian Trust in 2009 as National Operations Manager before being appointed Managing Director in September 2010. He has developed an extensive and successful executive career spanning 28 years within the Australasian financial services sector.

Prior to joining Guardian Trust, John was General Manager Wealth at AXA and has held senior roles in money market and lending, stock broking, product and platform management, and strategy and change management.  John is held in high regard by industry peers and is a recognised thought-leader through his involvement in influencing elements of the governing legislation, initiating the formation of an industry user-group, and serving on a key Ministry of Economic Development and Advisory Committee.

John has demonstrated specific expertise in strategic development, leadership, media and stakeholder management, and operational and channel management.

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David Grbin - Chief Financial OfficerDavid Grbin - Chief Financial Officer

David Grbin joined The Trust Company as a consultant in February 2008 before being appointed Executive General Manager for Finance, Legal, Risk and IT in July 2008.

With more than eight years experience as CFO of a listed company, David has been responsible for increasing shareholder value and establishing key relationships with stakeholders in debt and equity capital markets. He has held a number of Financial and Commercial management positions with Adsteam Marine Limited, The Adelaide Steamship Company Limited and has worked as an auditor for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

David holds a Bachelor of Economics with Honours from the University of Adelaide and has been a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants since 1989.

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Sally Ascroft - Group General Counsel and Company SecretarySally Ascroft - Group General Counsel and Company Secretary

Sally Ascroft joined The Trust Company in 2009 as Group General Counsel and Company Secretary. She oversees and coordinates all legal issues and resources throughout The Trust Company and ensures that company secretarial obligations are met.  With her background in asset finance, Sally is leading business expansion into new asset categories for The Trust Company, such as aviation.

Sally began her legal career with Mallesons Stephen Jaques in 1983 and was admitted as a Solicitor of the NSW Supreme Court in 1985.  During more than 20 years at Mallesons, Sally specialised in banking and finance with an emphasis on syndicated, structured and lease financing.  She worked in the Sydney and London offices and became a Partner in 1996. 

Sally has a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Law from Macquarie University and received the Hunt & Hunt prize for 200 and 300 level law.  She is currently studying for her Graduate Diploma of Corporate Governance at Chartered Secretaries Australia and has achieved distinctions in all subjects completed so far.

With her strong interest in skiing, Sally is a Director and Club Secretary for the Dulmison Ski Club in NSW.  She also has a strong family focus and has taken time out from her career in previous years to spend more time with her two children.

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Cathy Stephenson - Executive General Manager, Business Operations and Information SystemsCathy Stephenson - Executive General Manager, Business Operations and Information Systems

Cathy Stephenson has developed an executive career spanning 10 years in strategic business and operational management, specialising particularly in change management and organisational transformation. Her particular brand of pragmatism and problem-solving has resulted in the successful delivery of strategic and operational review projects.

Cathy has taken on a variety of roles in and around the Guardian Trust business since 2008 when she was employed as a Project and Change Consultant and involved in the redesign of the strategic and operational structure of the company.  Since then, Cathy has been an instrumental member of the Senior Leadership Team; acted as Head of Operations, implementing an operational restructure that resulted in substantial cost efficiencies and benchmarking operational processes; and interim Head of Distribution for Personal Client Services for 3 months, during which time she managed the strategic response to a business crisis mitigating financial loss and reputational damage.  She has also held project, operational and change management roles at NZ Post, Datamail, ECN Group and Planwell Technology.

Cathy specialises in designing, implementing and managing transitional change programmes both within businesses and across organisations, particularly where organisational spread and disparate functional units pose a challenge.

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Ray Gould - Executive General Manager Personal Client ServicesRay Gould - Executive General Manager Personal Client Services

Ray Gould joined The Trust Company in April 2011 as Executive General Manager, Personal Client Services.

With over 25 years’ experience in the financial services industry, developing strategic direction and driving growth, Ray is responsible for taking Personal Client Services to the next level. He will ensure long-term profitability by developing programs to deliver outstanding financial results.

Prior to joining The Trust Company, Ray held senior roles in a number of financial planning and chartered accounting  organisations, including Ernst & Young, where he was tasked with stabilising business operations and developing supported and sustained growth.

As Regional Manager at ipac securities, he was responsible for driving the growth and strategy development of new business for the company’s Sydney and Brisbane offices.

As Sydney Office Principal at Prosperity Advisers, a multi-disciplinary firm of Chartered Accountants and Financial Planners, Ray successfully negotiated a major acquisition which saw revenues increase by nearly 300%.

Prior to this, Ray was Chief Executive of Cutler Hughes and Harris, a mid-tier law firm, where he led the transformation of the once traditional firm by significantly improving financial performance.

Ray holds a Master of Commerce in Taxation from the University of New South Wales, is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has a Diploma of Financial Services in Financial Planning. He is currently a part-time lecturer at the College of Law where he lectures to new partners in small and major practices.

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Myles Orsler - Head of Strategy, Planning and ProjectsMyles Orsler - Head of Strategy, Planning and Projects

Myles Orsler joined The Trust Company in 2009 as Strategy Manager before being appointed Head of Strategy, Planning and Projects in early 2011.  His prior experience includes roles in management consultancy, the military and private equity.

In his role at The Trust Company, Myles is responsible for shaping the strategic direction of the company, for the identification and realisation of opportunities for growth – both organic and inorganic - and for business planning.

Myles has a Bachelor of Arts degree (Geography) and a Master of Sciences degree (Industrial Relations & Human Resource Management) from Oxford University. He also has a keen interest in Asia having been born and raised in Hong Kong.

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Simon Lewis - Head of Strategic Partnerships, Communications and CommunitySimon Lewis - Head of Strategic Partnerships, Communications and Community

Simon Lewis joined The Trust Company in 2006 as Corporate Strategy Manager and was subsequently appointed to the role of Head of Strategy and Communications in 2008. He joined the Executive Team in 2009 and has since taken on the role of Head of Strategic Partnerships, Communications and Community.

In his role, Simon is now responsible for charitable trust fund distributions with a focus on social impact and building strong relationships between The Trust Company and the fund recipients. He oversees corporate events, marketing and communications - including public and investor relations - and was responsible for the recent relaunch of the Company’s brand. As one of the two Executives based in Melbourne, he is working on building the profile of The Trust Company as a thought leader and trustee of choice in the city where the Company was founded 125 years ago.

Simon holds a Bachelor of Business Science (Actuarial Honours) from the University of Cape Town and a Master of Arts (Politics, Philosophy and Economics) from Oxford University, where he attended as a Rhodes Scholar representing his country of birth Zimbabwe.

Simon’s career in financial services started at the Corporate Actuarial Dept of Old Mutual in Cape Town. He then spent five years with the Transaction Services Division of KPMG in both London and Sydney where he provided commercial due diligence and post-deal integration support to a wide range of transactions for Corporate and Private Equity clients.

With a strong interest in community initiatives and the broader Third Sector agenda, Simon established in 2009, an international charity movement with activities in 22 countries. Staffed by a team of volunteers and a project manager from the Melbourne Business School Social Impact Program, hike4hunger has raised over AU$200,000 for community outreach and food relief charities in Zimbabwe and Malawi.

He lives in Melbourne with his wife Jeannine and three young children.

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Andrea Free - Head of People and DevelopmentAndrea Free - Head of People and Development

Andrea Free joined The Trust Company in 2006 as People and Development Manager, and was subsequently appointed to the role of Head of People and Development in March 2009.  In this role, Andrea is responsible for developing, implementing and managing human resources strategies, policies, and initiatives across the business to support the The Trust Company team in achieving strategic business objectives.

Andrea has a Bachelor of Business from the Elton Mayo School of Management at the University of South Australia, where she majored in Human Resources and Marketing.

With more than 12 years in human resources and training, Andrea has experienced a number of industries.  She started working in retail with David Jones and then continued her career in senior roles with The Swatch Group and other financial services companies, including Prudential in London.

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