West Indian Tobacco Company - Corporate governance

Ingrid L-A Lashley was appointed a Director in August 2008 and the Chairman of the Audit Committee in March 2009. Having spent several years at the helm in banking and mortgage financing, Ms Lashley serves on the Board of Directors of state, publicly traded and private companies in various business sectors in Trinidad and Tobago. She also serves on the Disciplinary Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago. .

Ms Lashley is a graduate of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, with a Masters degree in Business Administration specialising in Accounting and Finance. She also carries the professional designations of Certified Management Accountant, Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Accountant.

Mr Glynn distinguished himself through his performance in various roles in WITCO and BAT beginning with that of Trade Marketing Executive- WITCO; Area Manager- CMS; Trade Marketing and Distribution Manager - Demerara Tobacco, Guyana; Head of Trade- Carreras; Marketing Operations Manager- BAT Iran and Business Development Manager- BAT Central America and the Caribbean, with responsibility for the Trade Marketing, Distribution and Activation portfolio.

Mr Glynn brings 20 years of international management experience in Trade, Marketing and Distribution to ensure the continued sustainability of WITCO

Danielle F Chow was appointed a Director in August 2020. She is an attorney at law and senior business executive, who has operated locally and within the wider Caribbean Region at a strategic level in various functional areas. Her experience in the private sector has extended over the last 30 years, largely in multinational institutions and for the last five years, as part of an local independent constitutionally created Commission She is also a director and Audit Committee member of a local publicly listed FMCG company. Mrs Chow worked in the tobacco industry for 20 years leading the legal, external affairs, human resources, security, and sustainability functions locally and regionally. She is a former Company Secretary and Executive Director of West Indian Tobacco as well as the Chairman of its Pension Plan. .

She holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of West Indies and a Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School. She has participated in several executive training programmes including in areas of sustainability, leadership and governance.

Mr De Silva is currently the Managing Director of Lasco Distributors Limited. He previously held the positions of Nestlé Country Manager and Unilever Managing Director of operating companies in the Anglo-Dutch Caribbean markets. He has over 25 years’ experience in General Management, Supply Chain, Operations and Finance, having worked in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Switzerland, The Dominican Republic and Mexico. Mr De Silva is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants of the UK and an alumnus of IMD Business School in Switzerland.

Andres Lorenzo was appointed a Director in August 2022. Mr Lorenzo brings with him over 18 years of experience within the BAT Group, having worked in Argentina and the United Kingdom. He most recently held the position of VP Commercial Finance for Trade Marketing and Activation at R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in the United States of America. He currently heads the Finance Function for BAT Group’s interest in the Caribbean and Northern Latin America. Mr Lorenzo holds a MBA from IAE Business School in Argentina.

Juan Carlos Restrepo Piedrahita was appointed a Director in November 2019. Mr Restrepo Piedrahita brings with him over 15 years of experience within the BAT group having worked in Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil in the Legal and External Affairs function. Mr Restrepo Piedrahita currently heads the Legal and External Affairs function for the BAT subsidiary in Colombia and is also responsible for the anti-illicit engagement efforts in the Caribbean and Northern Latin America. In a sabatic taken between 2010 and 2018 Mr Restrepo Piedrahita held various positions in the Colombian government such as Presidential Security Advisor, Head of the Anti-drugs agency, and Inspector General for the national intelligence agency in Colombia where he handled an array of high profile issues related to national security, public safety and cyber defense.

He holds a degree in Law from the Universidad de los Andes in Bogota Colombia as well as Masters in International Contracting Regime from the Universidad de los Andes in Bogota Colombia and a further Master’s in National Defense and Security from Escuela Superior de Guerra de Colombia in Bogota Colombia.

Luis Verenzuela was appointed a Director in July, 2023. Mr. Verenzuela brings with him over 24 years of experience within the BAT Group, having worked in Latin America, Canada, SW Africa and the UK. He is currently the Operations Director, Building New Categories. Mr. Verenzuela is a Supply Chain Executive with experience in areas such as Manufacturing, Quality, Procurement, Planning and New Product Introduction (NPI) with senior management responsibilities at End Market, Regional and Global level across different countries, product categories, and business models. Recent experience involved the creation of an end to end new product brand and new company (start up approach).

Mr Martini is a consultant in business strategy, marketing and transformation who has operated globally in a number of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies over the last 28 years. He previously held the position of Chief Executive Officer for the BAT Group’s interest in Colombia, Mexico and Brazil as well as Regional Marketing Director for the Americas and Sub-Saharan Africa. Mr Martini holds a degree in Business Administration from the Universita degli Studi di Parma, Italy.