ANSA McAL Parent Board Members: front row from left – Aneal Maharaj (Group Finance Director), A. Norman Sabga (Group Chairman & Chief Executive), Gerry Brooks (Chief Operating Officer) and Dr. Anthony N Sabga (Chairman Emeritus). Back row from left – Steve Bideshi (Director), Anthony E. Phillip (Director), Frances Bain-Cumberbatch (Group Corporate Secretary), Teresa White (Group HR Director) and Ray Sumairsingh (Director & Sector Head – Automotive).
Shareholders of ANSA McAL Group of Companies Ltd yesterday approved the addition of former Citibank Executive Steve Bideshi as a director on the company’s Parent Board. Bideshi’s appointment was announced yesterday at the ANSA McAL group’s 83rd annual general meeting, at Tatil Building, Port-of-Spain. Bideshi served on the CL Financial board between June 12, 2009 and January 31, 2010 when he resigned. He was also the CL Financial CEO during that period.
At Citibank in 1995 Bideshi was selected as chief country officer of T&T. Bideshi, who served at the Citibank for 28 years was very instrumental in expanding the Bank’s footprint to include Bahamas, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, where he served as a division executive for the Turkey branch in 2004.
After building the T&T franchise into the most profitable corporate banking business in Latin America and Brazil, he achieved similar results in Turkey. He built Citibank Turkey and other parts of the franchise into the second most profitable geographic region after Africa Division. He is currently the head of Bespoke Capital, a boutique advisory firm specialising in corporate finance and liability management.
Prior to Bideshi’s appointment, Gerry Brooks, ANSA McAL’s chief operating officer declared a profit before tax of $904.8 million, which he said was the strongest performance of the Group and the “the best regional conglomerate performance.” “Against the backdrop of a very difficult international and regional economic environment, I am pleased to report another god year, in which your Group recorded revenue of $5.267 billion,” he said. “The highest level of revenue in the Group’s history.”
Brooks said the company would continue to invest and is deliberately focusing on new growth poles. He said the Group acquired the Trimart chain of supermarkets in Barbados, the BMW distribution line and is studying the feasibility of making a US$300 million investment in ethanol, where a memorandum of understanding was signed with the Guyanese government in February.
Results of this feasibility study, he said should be completed in the fourth quarter of 2012. In order to facilitate a more competitive and enabling environment for businesses and the manufacturing sector, Brooks called on the Government to implement the Beverage Container Bill and the building code plan.
Trinidad Guardian
June 01, 2012