Diversity on Boards- written by Elizabeth Watson- Governance Expert

It has become well accepted that diverse boards, made up of individuals with a variety of backgrounds, skills and experience, make better decisions. Directors with different backgrounds bring different perspectives and are able to identify and debate all sides of an issue. This can prevent group-think, spark creativity, enhance risk review and lead to better decision-making. Diversity in this context includes diversity with respect to industry experience, functional expertise, market knowledge and leadership style, as well as community perspectives, culture and gender. In the case of an organization such as YVR, where so much of its business and clientele is international, it would seem counter-intuitive to restrict the board's ability to recruit individuals with international experience or perspectives and forgo any competitive advantage such a board might bring.

30 years down the road...My column 26th July 2011

With British Columbia's snow capped mountains for the background, the four women in our group posed for a photo. The camera was quick but the significance remains. No two are alike in this quartet bonded across generations by family, friendship and food. Yet, each is a true Trini. Diversity is our best asset, our collective smoothening of differences as we put all shades, colours and ancestry into one neat 4 by 6 photo frame. But that diversity is also about age and there's some work to do.

Having to write this column from the beautiful ski resort of Whistler, British Columbia, the five over 65 year olds on the trip with my family, tried to influence the column's subject and its contents. Long evenings covered wide-ranging matters, and great food and decent grog will do no harm to conversation and imagination. They succeeded in inadvertently becoming my subject, a reflection of their class, ease and grace. Thirty years on I want to be them.

Harry and the Hindu Credit Union- My column- 12 July 2011

Shorn of its religious façade and relieved of its socio-political tie-backs, the HCU complaints are rooted in simple fraud and deception. And like the CLICO matter which runs in parallel, it is not the work of the leadership only. Fraud was configured at the top but featured glib salesmen at the centre. It was fraud advertised and contracted, touted in three and four-colour brochures and peddled by men in suits. And at each stage of the con-job the divine path to financial freedom was buffeted by doses of spirituality and politics, all in equal measure, each one a little more daring.

Cabinet Reshuffle: Waiting and Watching- My column 5th July 2011

Having lit up the sky with a few bright spots from an otherwise dull cabinet reshuffle, the challenges are more obvious. After a series of financial and management experts as the Corporation Sole, a neophyte takes the job and embarks upon a steep climb. Brand new ministers take up major line responsibilities for Petrotrin, National Gas Co, T&TEC, Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) and the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (PATT): are they too brand-new? And UWI economist Dr Patrick Watson, once touted as a Minister in the Ministry of Finance and potential Corporation Sole, exits the Parliament, most likely temporarily. How big is the loss?
The fixing of state enterprises has to happen against that backdrop. The challenge rests on the shoulders of a new Corporation Sole. And to do that the office of Corporation Sole must itself be fixed. Together with this new Corporation Sole, the new Minister of Public Administration and other new ministers will also have significant roles; can they deliver?