Central Bank Governor wanted Nickie

August 27, 2003
Mr Hubert Alleyne
Chairman
Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation
UTC Financial Centre
Independence Square
Port-of-Spain.

Dear Mr Alleyne
Thanks for your letter of August 6, 2003. I am now in a position to give you my reaction based on my subsequent discussions with yourself and Senator the Honourable Conrad Enill. In your letter proposing the appointment of Mr Clarry Benn, you observed that Mr Renrick Nickie, the other candidate rated highly by PricewaterhouseCoopers, has not enjoyed a healthy and productive relationship with the Board or with his executive colleagues. In the meeting in which you participated, Mr Nickie did not deny this, though he advanced his own explanation for the unfortunate situation. I was somewhat surprised to hear Mr Nickie assert in that meeting that, notwithstanding these issues, he continued to receive outstanding performance ratings, even up to 2002. I would have expected that the gravity of the incident cited in your letter and in his Performance Appraisal, would have precluded such an assessment.

I note your position that the issues you raise make it difficult to appoint Mr Nickie as the Executive Director, at the present time. I must also reiterate that the Minister of Finance feels strongly that we proceed with the immediate implementation of a successor plan, as was discussed and agreed one year ago.
Against this background, in the best interest of the Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation, I would propose the following course of action:
i. On the expiration of Mr Benn’s contract on August 31, 2003, Mr Nickie be named to act as Executive Director.
He has always done so in Mr Benn’s absence and the Pricewaterhouse Coopers recruiting team identified his leadership and other relevant skills as a major asset.
ii. Over the next six months, the three principal players - the Board, the Central Bank Governor and the Minister of Finance — continue to work together to formulate satisfactory arrangements for a new leadership structure for the UTC. I hope that you find these ideas constructive and useful.

Yours sincerely,
Ewart S Williams