Almost 200 women in the finance industry in Jersey and Guernsey attended launch events for the International Ladies in Trusts Association (ILITA), a networking organisation that promotes and supports women working in the trust industry at all stages of their careers.

The events at The Yard in Jersey and at Local & Wild at St James’ in Guernsey were sponsored by international law firm Walkers.

Walkers has a long history of supporting ILITA, which was set up in the Cayman Islands by Walkers partner Shelley White in 2014.

TwitTwooYou founder Jo Buchanan was the guest speaker at the Jersey event, and Citywealth CEO Karen Jones was the guest speaker at the Guernsey event.

Last week’s launch saw the birth of the Jersey and Guernsey branches of the organisation, which is open to women involved in trusts in any capacity – in legal, trust administration or accountancy roles – and plans to run regular events in both islands.

Walkers associate Carla Plater, who organised the Jersey event, said: “We are delighted with the response that we have had for our launch event which exceeded our expectations – we are looking forward to building the Jersey branch of ILITA as a real fixture in the calendar for women involved in the trusts industry.”

Fellow Walkers associate Nitrisha Doorasamy, who organised the Guernsey event alongside associate Kathryn Macken, added: “Events such as these can make a real difference for networking and exchanging ideas and views – we are very grateful to our guest speakers and to everyone who attended for making the launch events a success, and we hope to be able to confirm arrangements for future events shortly.”