All of us at the GTA were saddened to hear of the passing of John Roper last week, and our thoughts are with his loved ones. He leaves a considerable legacy in financial regulation, of which the GFSC and the GTA are a part.
John acted as a trustee for us since the inception of the trust in 1999, to its winding up earlier this year. He represented the then Education Council, with Stephen Jones representing GIBA and Peter Morgan representing the then Board of Industry. Thirty years of John’s career was spent at the Bank of England. He moved to Guernsey in 1986 and established the Guernsey Financial Services Commission. During his tenure as Director-General of the GFSC he delivered his now famous ‘meringue’ speech, which likened the local finance industry to the sugar confection (firm on top, soft underneath) and emphasised the necessity of training.
There was such concern across the sector that it led to the creation of the GTA - an independent entity responsive to the local workforce’s needs. He remained one of the GTA’s most passionate supporters and truly believed in everything we are aiming to achieve. He attended all meetings of the trustees over the past 18 years and we owe him a huge debt of gratitude. John’s funeral is on Monday 10 July at 11:00 at the Town Church.
Our chief executive Simon Le Tocq and head of university programmes Kate Lenfestey will attend on the GTA’s behalf.