Board of Directors
On April 24th 2013, the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce held its Annual General Meeting at the Hyatt Regency, where the Board of Directors for 2013 was elected.
They are as follows:
CHAMBER’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2013/2014
- Mr. Moonilal Lalchan – President
- Mr. Robert Trestrail – Sr Vice President
- Mr. Christopher Mack – Vice President
- Mr. Ronald Hinds – Vice President
- Mr. Rakesh Goswami – Vice President
- Mr. Wade George – Director
- Ms. Paula Rajkumarsingh – Director
- Ms. Luana Boyack – Director
- Mr. Jean Pierre Du Coudray – Director
- Mr. Reyaz Ahamad – Director
- Mrs. Jacqueline Francois – Director
- Catherine Kumar – Chief Executive Officer
Our Ex-Officio Directors are:
Moonilal Lalchan is the Vice-President – Finance and Administration at Atlantic LNG Company of Trinidad and Tobago. He is a Chartered Accountant and a graduate of the e-MBA programme of Auburn University Alabama USA, and the Advanced Management Programme (AMP 165) of Harvard Business School USA.
Moonilal is a member of ICATT, A fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants of the UK.
He is The Chairman of the Audit Committee of the National Energy Skills Center, and also an Alternate Governor. An Alternate director of Atlantic LNG Company of Trinidad and Tobago and a Member of the Board of Directors of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce. He was the past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Education Facilities Company Limited.
He is married with five children.
Mr. Robert Trestrail joined the Senior Management Team of Sagicor Life Inc. in May 2001, as an Assistant Vice President of the Trinidad Operations. In August 2003, he was appointed to the post of Vice President (Administration) of the Trinidad Operations. Effective January 1, 2007 Mr. Trestrail ascended to the position of Executive Vice President and General Manager of Sagicor Life Inc’s Trinidad Operations and in 2008, was assigned responsibilities for Life Administration across the 19 territories of the Sagicor Life Inc. group.
A graduate of the University of Toronto, he brings several years of Commercial Banking and executive management experience. In addition to serving on the Board of the Trinidad & Tobago Chamber of Commerce as Vice President, he currently holds the post of Vice Chairman for Trinidad &Tobago Insurance Institute (TTII). Mr. Trestrail has previously served on the Board of the Association of Trinidad & Tobago Insurance Companies (ATTIC), holding the position of Vice President Life Insurance.
Mr. Trestrail currently holds the position of Company Director at a number of private companies in Trinidad & Tobago.
Christopher is the Managing Director of J.T. Allum & Company Limited, a real estate and investment company with significant commercial property holdings based in the southern region of country. One of the company’s major subsidiaries is JTA Supermarkets Limited (“JTA”), of which Christopher also holds the Managing Director position. JTA is one of the largest supermarket chains in the country.
Christopher previously held a senior executive position in the Investment Banking sector with a regional financial institution where he was responsible for origination and structuring transactions with private and public sector entities throughout the Caribbean and Central America. Several of his transactions earned international recognition with select global financial publications.
Christopher is currently a Director of Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago Limited and its brokerage subsidiary, Scotia Investments Trinidad and Tobago Limited.
He is a graduate of the University of Toronto (Canada) where he obtained an undergraduate degree in Pharmacology (Honours BSc.) and a graduate degree in Business Administration (MBA specialized in Finance).
Mr. Hinds is Chairman and Chief Executive Office of Teleios Systems a Trinidad and Tobago based software services company. Before the formation of Teleios, Mr Hinds held key positions in the financial services sector. He served as Managing Director of West Indies Stockbrokers and later at TATIL Life Insurance. He also served as Chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange. In a major career shift in 1979, Mr. Hinds along with two colleagues founded Teleios Systems.
In addition to leading Teleios, Mr. Hinds devotes considerable time to the pursuit of his interest in a range of initiatives including leadership, doing business with integrity and the development of the local and regional ICT sector. He currently serves as Head of the Strategic Leadership Team of Congress Corporate, a global Christian Business Network, Vice Chairman of the government appointed e-business Roundtable and a member of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago’s Payments Council. Mr Hinds is also an Honorary Consultant to the Communication Systems Group in UWI’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Wade is the Tax Leader of Ernst & Young Caribbean. He is an Attorney-At-Law and has a Masters Degree in International Tax from the University of London.
Wade joined the Firm in 1994 and was transferred to New York in 1996 where he was on assignment with Ernst & Young LLP until early 2000 as the Caribbean Tax Desk. He then joined the Trinidad & Tobago office in 2003 where he has responsibility for advising MNCs on foreign direct investment and large regional companies on cross border tax matters.
Some of his responsibilities and experiences include:
- Advising US & Canadian MNCs on various tax considerations involved in FDI into the Caribbean territories of Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and the OECS.
- Advising large regional companies on cross border tax issues involved in merger and acquisitions, green field projects and investment into the United States.
- Utilizing Caribbean investment vehicles for global tax minimization planning, including mergers/acquisitions, green-field projects and capital markets transactions.
Mr George has been a Director of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce since 2007.
Paula Rajkumarsingh is a croporate Finanical Executive withover 10 years of experience at the senior management level. Currently, she is an Executive Director and the Cheif Financial Officer fo the Neal & Massy Group of Companies, where she has established a solid record of contributions leading to improved financial performance, enhanced internal controls and heightened productivity.
Mrs. Luana Boyack operates under the firm Menezes Boyack Law Offices. Menezes Boyack commenced operations on August 1, 2009. Prior to commencing operations at this firm, Mrs. Boyack was a partner of Trinidad and Tobago’s oldest and largest firm.
Mrs. Boyack specialises in the corporate and commercial field which includes Project Finance, Telecoms, corporate structuring and restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions. She has provided professional support to overseas Counsel in complex international financing projects and capital market transactions. These transactions involved meeting both international and domestic requirements of the clients involved.
Her expertise is sought particularly by large corporations involved in the launch, expansion or re-engineering of their operations in Trinidad and Tobago.
Mrs. Boyack has been involved in advising clients in relation to the de-monopolisation of the telecoms market, power plant projects and the establishment and financing of large natural gas fuelled manufacturing plants (which included providing assistance in the negotiation of essential services contracts such as gas, water, electricity and pier use).
Mrs. Boyack is a member of the following Associations:
- Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago;
- Law Association of Grenada.
JP du Coudray (JP) is currently the Managing Director for West Indian Tobacco, which is a member of the British American Tobacco (BAT) group.
He has been with West Indian Tobacco for 12 years, first as an Area Manager in West Indian Tobacco where he was instrumental in implementing the Marketing Structure in Trinidad that remains in place today. In 2003, he was promoted to the post of Trade Marketing & Distribution Manager and spent 2 years in that position before he was transferred to British American Tobacco Caribbean (Carisma) as Territory Manager for the English Caribbean Markets. In October 2006, JP was promoted to Managing Director of West Indian Tobacco and currently occupies this position.
Before joining West Indian Tobacco, JP worked for, amongst others, 3M InterAmerica for 7 Years in a variety of Marketing Positions leaving in 2001 as Export Manager to join West Indian Tobacco
JP enjoys working with people and really embraces the West Indian Tobacco Culture that encourages the principles of Freedom through Responsibility and Strength from Diversity.
JP is a “Trini” national though he spent 5 years at school in the UK and 4 years at College in Canada. He has 4 children, Joshua, Stephanie, Raquel and Jordan-Paul. Joshua and Stephanie are both attending college Raquel is at high school and Jordan, the youngest is about to join pre-school.
JP is an avid sports fan, football and cricket in particular; he attended the World Cup in Germany in 2006 which was the first time that Trinidad and Tobago qualified for the event.
Reyaz Ahamad is currently a Director at Southern Sales & Service Company Limited. He joined the family business in 1987 after returning from York University. Southern Sales is an automotive dealership representing Mazda and Isuzu. Under the leadership of his father, the late Nazir Ahamad and working alongside his two (2) brothers, they continue to expand the business to represent Mazda, Isuzu, Kia and Audi.
Today, Southern Sales now accounts for 22% of the new vehicle market.
Mr Ahamad’s direct responsibility is the operations of the Port of Spain location and the Audi brand. As a member of the executive team his role is to plan the future and development of the company.
Mr Ahamad attended Presentation College, San Fernando and has a Bachelor of Administrative Degree at York University, Toronto, Canada. He is affiliated to the following companies:
- Chairman, Caribbean Finance Company Limited
- Chairman, WABC 103FM Limited
- Director, Agostini’s Limited
- Director, Best Auto Limited
- Director, Junior Schools Limited (St. Andrew’s Private School)
- Member, Donations Committee – United Way
Mr Ahamad is married with 2 children.
Jacqueline Francois is the current Chief Executive Officer of the distribution company Oscar Francois Limited and Managing Director of the Personal Care Products Manufacturing Company, Intersol Limited. She has held both these positions since 2000.
Ms. Francois served on the Board of the Trinidad & Tobago Chamber of Industry & Commerce (TTCIC) and served from 2000 to 2005. She has also served on the Trinidad & Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) as a member of the Infrastructure & Logistics Committee between 2008 to 2012. She passionately dedicated some of her time through involvement as the TTCIC’s representative on the following Cabinet Appointed Committees:
- the now disbanded NACC (National Aids Coordinating Committee)
- the NMHC (National Mental Health Committee) and
- the DAC (Drug Advisory Committee).
Ms. Francois has a B.A., in Computer Science from the University of Western Ontario and in 1992 attained an Executive Masters’ in Business Administration from the University of the West Indies and is fluent in oral Spanish.
Catherine Kumar – B.Sc. (Hons), FCCA, CA
Ms. Catherine Kumar currently the Chief Executive Officer and the Secretary to the Board at the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce – a position she took up in January 2010.
Prior to this, Ms Kumar held several senior leadership positions such as President & Country Head of RBTT Bank Limited and Inspector of Financial Institutions at the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago. She also served as the first female President of the American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago and the Bankers’ Association of Trinidad and Tobago, and she also chaired the Caribbean Group of Banking Supervisors.
Ms. Kumar served the country as a director on several State Boards and as a representative on other committees.
She gained a Bachelor of Science (Hons.) in Management Studies, and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
Ms Kumar was inducted into the Hall of Excellence at St. Joseph’s Convent P.O.S, in recognition of her outstanding achievements in business.
Andrew Sabga is the Sector Head–Beverage for the ANSA McAL Group of Companies. He was the Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Development Company Limited from August 2003 to April 2007.
Mr. Sabga has over twenty years of industry experience in the Manufacturing Sector of the Group, having previously held senior managerial positions at Carib Brewery Limited, as well as directorships at Carib Glassworks Ltd, Caribbean Development Co Ltd, Carib Brewery Ltd and Trinidad Match Ltd. He was the former Chairman of Alstons Marketing Co. Ltd., and is currently the Chairman of Carib Brewery Ltd, Grenada Breweries Ltd, Carib Brewery (St Kitts & Nevis) Ltd and Carib Glassworks Ltd.
He is a Director of ANSA McAL Limited and a Director and Senior Vice President of the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
He holds an MBA, Marketing from the University of Miami and a B.Sc. – B.A. Marketing / Finance from Boston University.
Diane Hadad has a career that reflects success in the corporate world across the wholesale distributorship and retail sales and marketing landscape of Trinidad and Tobago.
She is a single-minded, self-directed entrepreneur with over twenty (20) years Sales and Marketing experience in the distribution of food and household consumables, cosmetics, fine wines and spirits.
Diane is a member of the Management Committee of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry & Commerce – Tobago Division. Separately, she heads the committee and has responsibility for the Airport and Seaport.
The professional strengths of Diane Hadad are as follows: Strategic Planning, Competitive Marketing Strategy, Strategic Partnering, Stock & Inventory Control, Organizational Change, Development, Employee Training & Development and Enhancement,Customer Service Oriented
Diane is the Owner/Managing Director of Jade Distributors Limited, Tobago since 1999. She single-handedly developed and managed over 100 product lines consummate of over 700 skus for wholesale and retail distribution throughout Tobago amounting to over $30M TTD in sales per annum. She also strategically formed alliances and gained affiliations with International brands for the sole distributorship of brands such as Coca Cola, Heineken and Havana Hut Cigars for the Tobago market. She is also the Owner/Managing Director of Jade Technologies Limited, Tobago – a sole franchise holder of Digicel Cellular Phone products and service which in just four (4) years has achieved sales per annum of $19M TTD.
Previous to establishing her own company, Diane worked at the following companies:
- Pernod Ricard, Trinidad as a Sales and Marketing Manager and was responsible for the sales, marketing and branding of the company’s fine wines and spirits in over thirteen (13) Caribbean Islands. She travelled extensively throughout the region to achieve this goal; ensuring that marketing strategies and plans were properly implemented. Professional Courses included training in the Wine & Spirits field completing associated courses in Paris, France and Italy and a Whiskey Masters Class in Scotland and Ireland.
-Trinidad Distributors Limited, Ansa Mc Al Group of Companies, Tobago as Sales and Marketing Manager. She delivered high-quality service across the Tobago market; marketing and distributing numerous product lines for the Ansa Mc Al Group, optimizing profits while vertically and horizontally expanding existing product lines as well as introducing new ones. She developed and prepared relevant reports for submission to the parent company’s Head Office in a timely manner to facilitate greater understanding and effectiveness along the Tobago trade.
-Chez D’s Patissiere, Tobago as Owner operated and managed. This business venture started from the passion for the creation of fine cakes and pastries using innate talents and abilities to deliver quality product and service. She financed and developed this enterprise from personal savings of $60,000TTD and tripled this investment over the period through premier customer service, skills and competencies.
-Republic Bank Limited, Trinidad and Tobago where she held various positions from Customer Service Representative to Teller Supervisor. She developed core competencies in the areas of Customer Service, precise and accurate Financial Reporting, detail and deadline Information Technological reporting – completing all relevant in-house as well as related Computer Literacy required courses.
Professional Appointments:
- 2013-present: Chairperson – Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce – Tobago Division
- 2012-2013: Vice Chairperson – Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce – Tobago Division
- 2010-2012: Board Member – Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago
- 2009- present: Head of Inter-Island Transport Committee – Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce – Tobago Division
- 2008-2012: Member of Management Team – Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce – Tobago Division
