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

Diana Hernandez Gonzalez was appointed a Director in January 2020. Ms Hernandez has over 15 years of experience in the BAT Group, having worked in Mexico, Canada, Colombia, United Kingdom and Venezuela in the finance function. As of January 1st 2020, Ms Hernandez was appointed as the Head of Finance for BAT’s Group interest in the Caribbean and Northern Latin America, which includes Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Caribe and Central America. .

She holds a Degree in Finance Management from Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Mexico.

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.

Isha P Reuben-Theodore was appointed a Director in November 2014. Mrs Reuben-Theodore currently heads the Finance function at West Indian Tobacco and has over 17 years of experience in the tobacco industry both locally and within the BAT Group’s interest in the Caribbean. She is also the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Company’s Pension Plan. She is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants U.K. (FCCA), with over 20 years’ experience in various aspects of finance with emphasis on Financial Management and Financial Reporting, Accounting and Auditing.

She holds memberships in the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute.

Arturo Rodriguez Lordmendez was appointed a Director in February 2020. He brings with him over 25 years of experience within the BAT Group, having managed the Operations function in various clusters of in Africa covering more than 30 countries. He was also responsible for the Strategy & Planning area of the BAT Group, Operations, based in United Kingdom. He currently heads the Operations function for BAT Group’s interest in the Caribbean, Canada and Northern Latin America. .

He holds Masters’ degrees in Business Administration, another Master in Sciences Degree from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Mexico as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the Instituto Tecnologico de Victoria in Mexico.

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 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.

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.