FCB’S HOWAI IS CEO 2003

First Citizens Bank’s (FCB), chief executive officer (CEO), Larry Howai is the “Most Admired CEO 2003,” and Guardian Holdings Limited (GHL) is the “Most Admired Company 2003.”

Those were the pioneering results of a collaborative effort between the UWI Institute of Business (IOB) and TIDCO to discover the sterling exemplars of business leadership as well as the principal, corporate practices in the local business community. Howai beat two other CEOs in the category including bpTT’s CEO, Robert Riley and Satyakama “Kama” Maharaj, CEO, Sacha Cosmetics Ltd who was the runner-up. GHL was chosen over three other finalists which included Angostura, bpTT and RBTT which was the runner-up. The awards were designed to promote the strategic enhancement and distribution of economic, scientific and technological best practices and advances in business. Speaking at the awards ceremony which was held yesterday at the Trinidad Hilton, Brian Harry, president, TIDCO said these awards were an integral part to the thrust towards greater national competitiveness.

“Our competitiveness as a nation is dependent on our ability to develop competitive companies, individuals and processes at all levels of our society that foster competitive behaviours.” He said from a business education standpoint, these annual awards represent an important opportunity for business leaders to seek and share essential advice and innovative ideas. The awards, he added, will also allow a broader cross-section of companies to benchmark their performance, not only with excellent local organisations but with foreign high-performance companies. In order to measure and assess the value of TT’s CEOs and companies, executives and employees were invited to submit nominations to the IOB/TIDCO research team. Nominators provided justifications in support of their nominees, who were then short-listed. Initially, the candidates were selected by a jury of their peers. Harry said the finalists in the “Most Admired CEO” category demonstrated a keen ability to motivate, communicate, inspire and foster creativity amongst employees. Trade Minister, Ken Valley said this initiative was necessary since it focused on benchmarking best practices, which he added was critical in TT. He said the awards were also timely as they orient local firms to issues of best practices and strategic positioning and away from an emphasis on short term results and hefty bonuses for top management. He said the crises or WorldCom and Enron have demonstrated what can happen when people throw ethics out the window. He added that not only do their shareholders lose out, but the corporate world as well.