Page 12 - Neal and Massy Holdings Annual Report 2012

10 2012
CHAIRMAN’s Report
Team is also well underway towards implementing the strategies
that were created to fulfill on this vision.
I would also like to thank the Board for their partnership over
the past year. I especially wish to thank Sir Allan Fields who retired
from the Company’s Board of Directors on November 6, 2012. Sir
Allan is a highly recognised and accomplished citizen of Barbados
who was first appointed to the Board of Neal & Massy Holdings
in 1998. Sir Allan has served the company for many years and on
behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank him for his
numerous, valuable contributions. I would also like to thank Brian
Young and Geoffrey Cave who are also retiring from the company’s
Board of Directors effective December 31, 2012 and February 1,
2013 respectively. Mr. Young has served on the Board since 1995
and had been the Board’s longest serving member. Mr. Young was
asked to stay on the Board for an additional four years after reaching
his 70th birthday in recognition of his critical roles as the Chairman
of the Company’s Audit Committee and as the Chairman of the
company’s joint venture with Cool Corporation Ltd.; Cool Petroleum
Ltd. (CPL) in Jamaica. The company’s minority stake in CPL was sold
in 2012 and William Lucie-Smith has taken over the chairmanship
of the Audit Committee from Mr. Young. Geoffrey Cave, who is
the Chairman of the Cave Shepherd group of companies, joined
the Neal & Massy Board in February 2009 following the acquisition
of BS&T. Mr. Cave has provided excellent counsel and assistance to
the company’s Barbados operations and also served as a Director on
United Insurance company Limited’s Board. On behalf of the entire
Board of Directors, I wish all three gentlemen well in their respective
endeavours ahead.
The Board, in this past year, welcomed the addition of Gary Voss
and Patrick Hylton. Gary Voss, a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, is
currently the Non-Executive Chairman of Unilever Caribbean Limited.
He joined Lever Brothers West Indies Limited in 1982 as Technical
Director, and was appointed Chairman and Managing Director in
1987. He retired from Unilever in 2001. His early career was spent
with the (then) Texaco Pointe-a-Pierre refinery, the Caribbean
Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) and the Iron and Steel Company
of Trinidad and Tobago (ISCOTT). He is also a director of RBC Finance
Holdings and several of its subsidiaries. Patrick Hylton, a citizen of
Jamaica, is the Group Managing Director of National Commercial
Bank Jamaica Limited (NCB), Jamaica’s largest commercial bank. He
first received public recognition when the Government appointed
him to a leading role in the rehabilitation of the Jamaican financial
sector during the late 1990s.
I wish to also announce the appointments of David O’Brien and
Richard P. Young to the Board. Mr. O’Brien’s appointment will be
effective from January 1, 2013 and Mr. Young’s appointment was
made effective on December 20, 2012. Mr. O’Brien is currently a
Senior Vice President of the Neal & Massy Group and the Executive
Chairman of the Group’s Automotive & Industrial Equipment
Business Unit. In this capacity, he is the Chairman of a number of
companies in this Business Unit, including Neal & Massy Automotive
Limited, Tracmac Engineering Limited and Automotive Components
Limited. He held a number of senior positions at Sagicor Life
Incorporated, before joining Neal &Massy in 2005. Richard P. Young
is a Chartered Accountant and a well-respected member of Trinidad
and Tobago’s business and banking communities. In 2012, he retired
as the Managing Director of Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago Limited
and its wholly owned subsidiaries, after serving in that post for 15
years. Prior to joining Scotiabank, he was a Chartered Accountant at
Price Waterhouse for 18 years and a Managing Director at the then
NEM (West Indies) Insurance Limited. It is my pleasure to welcome
Mr. O’Brien and Mr. Young to the Board.
My gratitude, as always, goes out to our customers for their
continued trust and loyalty and all the employees of Neal & Massy
who dedicate themselves everyday to delivering value and supporting
the growth and longevity of the Group.