STEP honours contributions of key members with the 2022 Founder’s Awards

STEP is delighted to announce the recipients of the 2022 Founder’s Awards, which are given to members who have made ‘an exceptional and outstanding long-term contribution to the Society above and beyond that normally expected of a member, through office in their branch, or elsewhere in the voluntary life of the Society’.

Commenting on this year’s recipients, Mark Walley, Chief Executive of STEP, said: ‘The energy, expertise and time of our most committed members are integral to everything STEP achieves. We owe them a great deal. Many congratulations and thank you to each of you.’

The recipients are:

Aileen Battye TEP, RBC Wealth Management and Chair of Member Services of STEP Canada. In her role as Secretary, STEP Canada, Aileen is a member of the Executive Committee and is the Chair of the HR Committee and Governance Committee.

Ashley Fife TEP is counsel in the trusts and private wealth team of Carey Olsen Bermuda and was recently the Chair of STEP Bermuda. He has played a key part of the organisation of the recent STEP Bermuda conference.

Berenice Carrasquedo López TEP, a founding partner of BFC Asesores, is Deputy Chair of STEP Mexico. She has also been a key organiser of three STEP LatAm conferences in Mexico and seven other STEP LatAm conferences.

Elaine Blades TEP JD, at RBC Wealth Management, is Deputy Chair, Chair and Past Chair of STEP Toronto. She has been an active member of STEP since 2011, including chairing STEP Toronto. She is currently Director at Large and Chair of STEP’s Education Committee.

Hans-Rudolf Jost TEP, most recently of BDO Switzerland, has been a member of Swiss German and Liechtenstein STEP Branch, later renamed Verein STEP, since it began in 1993. He was a founding Committee member of the Lucerne/Zug Centre in 2010 and has represented the local Committee continuously from then until 2022 taking on the role of local Media Liaison Officer.

Hélène Marquis TEP, Regional Director, Tax and Estate Planning at CIBC Private Investment Counsel. She has been an active member of STEP Canada since 2010 in several roles, including Chair of STEP Montreal and Director at Large of STEP Canada.

Michael Woolf, who founded STEP Monaco and was a STEP Europe advisor from 2016-2022.

Stephen Lawson TEP, a solicitor at Taylor Rose MW in Cheshire, specialising in Contentious Probate Litigation. He has been Chair of STEP Cheshire and a member of the STEP England and Wales Regional Committee and STEP Council. He continues to be heavily involved with STEP activities.

Susan Jane Fielding TEP, a former Senior Consultant, Jackson McDonald, Perth. Her longstanding commitment to STEP Western Australia, which she chaired from 2011 to 2016, has left an enduring legacy. She built branch membership to nearly 90 members by the time she ended her role as Chair in 2016.

Find out more information about the Founder's Awards recipients on our dedicated webpage.