CAROLINE CELEBRATES 35 YEARS OF SERVICE

From a Small Team to Decades of Shared History 

This year marks three decades since Clermont Trust was formally established. For Caroline Scanlon, Banking Process Administrator, however, the story began a few years earlier. On 1 October, Caroline celebrates 35 years working alongside Clermont Co-Founder Jeff Margolis, making her one of the earliest members of the team from which the Group would eventually develop.

When she joined Jeff’s business, J. Margolis & Associates, in 1991, there were just three people: Jeff, his son Alan and Caroline. She was 23 years old and had no idea that what began as a new job would become a career spanning more than three decades.

“It seems like yesterday,” she says. “It doesn’t feel like work.”

Caroline had already worked with Jeff briefly through an earlier business connection. A few months later, while Jeff was away in South Africa, Alan called her on his behalf and asked whether she would like to join them.

“I jumped at the chance of working with Jeff again,” she recalls. “So, it began from there, Jeff, Alan and me.”

From that three-person team, Caroline has witnessed the evolution of the business that would become Clermont Trust, the arrival of new colleagues and leadership, expansion into new jurisdictions and major changes across the fiduciary industry itself.

Yet when she reflects on those 35 years, the milestones and numbers are only part of the story. What matters most to Caroline are the people, the relationships and something she believes has remained remarkably consistent throughout the years.

“The family feel has never left,” she says. “It takes a special sort of person to work at Clermont. I’ve always said, ‘if you’re in, then you’re in for life’.”

As Caroline celebrates this significant personal milestone, we sat down with her to revisit the early days, the moments that have stayed with her and what it means to have been part of Clermont’s story from before the company formally began.

Caroline, what do you remember most clearly about those early years?

When I joined in 1991, it was Jeff, Alan and me. I loved my role because I was helping them both with whatever was needed, mainly administrative work and supporting Jeff’s clients.

It felt like a small community. Having me in the office meant Jeff and Alan had more time to focus on bringing in new business, and as the number of clients increased, more people joined us.

Barbara and Rosa came on board, and later Norman Epstein became someone we would see more often in the office. I could see that something bigger was beginning to take shape.

Norman then introduced his nephew, Martin Chesler, to the business. Martin helped take the company to another level, and Clermont was born. I do not think Clermont would be where it is today without Jeff, Norman and Martin. From there, the business continued to go from strength to strength.

Barbara, Rosa, Jeff and Caroline – London, 1994

Did you ever imagine that you would still be here 35 years later?

No, I was 23. What 23-year-old thinks they are going to be in the same place at 58?

But one thing that has never left over those 35 years is the family feel. We have grown far beyond the two people who were there when I joined, but that feeling has remained. And I think that is quite rare.

Even as Clermont has continued to grow, it has always had a special feel. I’ve always said, “if you’re in, then you’re in for life.”

What do you think has helped maintain that sense of continuity?

The people. Having a strong management team and colleagues who are willing to work closely with one another makes a big difference.

I’ve never really believed in saying, “That’s not my job.” If I can see that someone needs help, I will ask if there is anything I can do, whether it falls directly within my role or not.

I think that helps create the kind of environment where people work together rather than putting walls around their own responsibilities.

It is also about noticing one another. When you have worked with people for a long time, they know when you are having a difficult day, just as they are there to share the good moments with you. That sense of support has always been very important to me.

Relationships have clearly been an important part of your journey. Has that also been true with clients?

Definitely. I became involved with clients quite early on, and there are some I still speak to today.

Over the years, I have learned how important it is to make people feel valued. We may forget exactly what somebody did for us, but we do not forget how they made us feel.

For me, that is really the foundation of building a relationship. Some of those relationships have lasted for decades, which makes them much more than simply professional connections.

You have worked alongside Jeff for 35 years. What has that relationship meant to you?

Working with Jeff for 35 years has been one of the most amazing things I have done with my life.

I cannot thank him enough for believing in me that day in 1991 and asking Alan to call me. Jeff is kind, hard-working and clever, and he made it possible for me to become part of the family.

I have also learned from his positive outlook on life that anything is possible. Our relationship never felt like a rigid manager-employee relationship. There was always a sense that we worked alongside each other, with mutual respect.

Jeff is also very patient. He listens to you and does not judge, just gives good advice. To me, he has always felt much more like a dear friend than simply a boss.

Jeff and Caroline – Casablanca, 2026

You have also seen the fiduciary industry change enormously. How has your own role evolved?

My role has changed significantly over the years, largely because the regulatory and compliance environment is very different from what it was in 1991.

The industry has had to adapt, and naturally our work has changed with it. I have been involved in the banking side of the business for a very long time, and it is something I genuinely enjoy.

My motto is simple: “If you enjoy what you do, then you do it best.”

When you look back, which moments stand out most and what are you most proud of?

One of the most memorable moments for me was when Clermont moved away from its former Monaco arrangement and established its own presence in Switzerland. That was a very special moment for the business.

But when I think about celebrating 35 years of service, it is not always the milestones that stand out. It is often the feelings around them: the laughs, the tears, the warmth and the loyalty.

What I am most proud of is simply being part of Clermont’s history.

Sometimes colleagues will talk about something that happened years ago and I can say, “I was there.” Jeff might ask about a client from the past or a particular moment, and those of us who were there can often piece the memory together.

To have been part of that journey for so long, including the years before Clermont was founded, means so much to me.

And looking ahead, what do you hope for Clermont’s next chapter?

That Clermont continues to grow, but never loses that family feel.

The Value of Continuity

Thirty-five years after joining a team of two, Caroline remains part of a much larger organisation of more than 140 colleagues across seven countries. For her, however, the measure of that journey is not simply how far Clermont has come, but how much of its original sense of connection has remained.

It is that continuity, carried through people, relationships and shared memories, that gives the milestone its real meaning.

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