The new hire has spent many years in Asia and has worked extensively across a wide range of overseas markets.

Jersey Finance has appointed Chris Jenkins as its global head of market development with immediate effect, following the recent departure of Allan Wood. 

Jenkins, who has more than 25 years of international financial services experience, with particular expertise in the digital and fintech space, will be taking on a pivotal role as part of Jersey Finance’s leadership team, the organisation said in a statement. He will oversee a global team of market development specialists in markets across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the US and the UK.

The organisation acts as a mouthpiece for Jersey's financial industry, such as wealth management, funds, banking and investment. In recent years, the island's sector has had to adjust to a world less friendly to traditional offshore hubs and more insistent on transparency. Like its peers, Jersey Finance has had to market its jurisdiction's toolkit of business and financial structures to regions such as Asia and the Middle East. The organisation has been one of the more vigorous defenders of international financial centres and their role in the global economy, standing up to criticism from those hostile to low-tax hubs.

In Jersey since 2015, Jenkins moved from Hong Kong SAR. He was formerly at TORA, a financial technology firm, where he worked for almost two decades, running the client-facing functions globally and acting as a member of the executive team. He spent many years in Asia and has worked extensively across a wide range of overseas markets.

“Chris brings a vast amount of experience to the role, complementing the strong skill sets of the team overseeing the promotion of Jersey as a leading international finance centre across key strategic overseas markets. I am confident our excellent team will continue to be in good hands under his leadership,” Joe Moynihan, chief executive officer at Jersey Finance, said.

Moynihan also thanked Jenkins’ predecessor, Allan Wood, for his contribution to the business during his nine-year tenure: “He has played a pivotal role in stimulating increased business for Jersey's international finance centre, supporting the expansion of its global reach to the US, Africa and Southeast Asia.”

In September 2022, this news service interviewed Wood about Jersey Finance’s wider global ambitions and plans.