Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners
STEP (the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) was founded by George Tasker in 1991 and is the international professional body for those who work in the trust industry and the (often overlapping) field of estate administration. Its members are mainly solicitors, barristers, attorneys, accountants, trust officers and trust administrators as well as banking and insurance professionals in the trust field. STEP has 105 branches and chapters in 95 countries with a current membership in excess of 19,000.
The main focus of the organisation is to administer the examination process to ensure the quality of the membership, to provide educational and networking opportunities for STEP members at branch level and to contribute to debate and public policy in its specialist field.
The president of STEP worldwide is Geoffrey Shindler OBE, who was appointed in November 2006.[1] He is a UK qualified solicitor and one of the founder members of the organisation. The current Chair of STEP is Edward Buckland, a practitioner based in Jersey. He was elected in November 2014.[2]
The professional staff include CEO David Harvey, Deputy CEO George Hodgson, CFO Jim Walkinshaw, COO Elaine Crehan, Director of Events Amanda Callow and Director of Professional Development Nigel Race.
The designation TEP after a member's name is the only widely recognised mark for professionals in the trust and estate administration industry.[3][4]
The 19 founder members of STEP, i.e. those who signed its memorandum of association in 1991 were: Timothy Bennett; Richard Citron; Owen Clutton; Jonathan Cooke; Andrew East; Anthony Holmes; Simon Jennings; James Kessler QC; Thomas Mallett; Ralph Ray; Tony Sherring; Geoffrey Shindler OBE; George Tasker; Arthur Thompson; Nigel Trumper; Timothy Vollans; David Ward; Robert Whillis; George Williams.