Lisa Agard will take up the position of CEO of Guardian Media Ltd (GML) from May 01st, 2014. GML board chairman Grenfell Kissoon, who made the announcement yesterday, said Agard will replace Gabriel Faria, who has been the managing director for five years. “Mr Faria will be taking up the position of managing director of Carib Brewery Ltd, which is a subsidiary of ANSA McAL Ltd,” Kissoon said.
Agard, former executive vice president of Mobile and Vice President of Legal at TSTT, is an attorney by training and holds a postgraduate degree in law from the London School of Economics. “Ms Agard has had executive management training from the Wharton School of Business and Columbia University, USA, and from INSEAD, France,” a release said.
Faria, who joined GML as managing director in October 2009, had previously been CEO at Angostura Bitters International Ltd from October 2006 to September 2009; executive director at Angostura Holdings Ltd from October 2001 to September 2006 and CEO of SM Jaleel Company Ltd from October 1996 to September 2001. He is the holder of a masters degree in business administration from Barry University and is a member of the Delta Mu Delta International Honour Society for business administration.
Reflecting on the almost five years he spent at the helm of GML, Faria said: “I learned a lot and I think we have built the best commercial and journalistic team in the market.” He said he determined early on that the success of a media company depended on the quality of its intellectual and artistic output and set about building a strong journalistic team at the T&T Guardian and CNC3. Key appointments under his watch included current Editor-in-Chief Judy Raymond and CNC3 presenters Golda Lee Bruce and Khamal Georges.
Faria also led the upgrade of the company’s technical infrastructure to support new journalism, including the upgrade of the newspaper’s Web site and introduction of the Digital Guardian. He said he was heartened by the success of the Digital Guardian, which he sees as the future of media. He said he regarded the positioning of GML as innovators in the marketplace as another significant accomplishment.
“While GML is the oldest media organisation in T&T, we are also proud to be leading the charge in this rapidly evolving industry,” he said. Faria added: “I am extremely confident that the new CEO, based on her experience, is the right fit for moving GML to the next level.”
Trinidad Guardian Newspapers
April 30th, 2014
Story By: Suzanne Sheppard