February 2018

Here it is – the first Guernsey edition of Connect. For those of you who are already aficionados of Connect Jersey, you will find some of our regular columns, but with a local Guernsey flavour. In addition, over the coming months we will be featuring interviews with some familiar (and maybe some not-so- familiar) Guernsey faces.

According to Locate Guernsey, the island’s economy has been underpinned by a culture of innovation for centuries – referring I assume, to us enjoying successful ship building, quarrying, horticultural, tourism and most recently finance industries, and the island’s ability to adapt to ever-changing market conditions and to re-invent itself to continue to prosper.

Now the buzzwords are ‘FinTech’ and ‘digital’ with a dedicated team actively promoting the island as a great place to relocate an existing business, or for a new start-up - and demonstrating that Guernsey is ‘open for business.’ Or is it?

Peter Webber on page ... questions how ‘open’ we really are, and isn’t convinced that the island is ready for the growth in population he believes is necessary to safeguard our children’s future.

Whilst the island tries to attract new business start-ups, on page ... one of Guernsey’s own local business owners, James Gavey, shares his story and explains how it took a skiing holiday for him to reach the decision to set up his own architectural business. Perhaps we should all take to the slopes to make any major business decisions!

Coming back to that Guernsey innovative spirit, Connect’s chosen charity for 2018 – Headway Guernsey – has been the driving force behind establishing a unique, ‘three-way’ partnership between two charities and a public sector department in order to deliver a valuable service to the island. Sounds too good to be true? Take a look on page 42.

Enjoy Connect Guernsey.