Premier and Minister of Finance, the Hon. Andrew A. Fahie, praised the financial services industry for their ever-present resilience and fortitude, and said his Government remains committed to working collaboratively with the industry and with international partners to take the BVI through the next 35 years.
The Premier made the remarks at Thursday night’s black-tie Gala Awards Dinner at Scrub Island Resort in commemoration of the 35th Anniversary of the International Business Company (IBC) Act, 1984.
The gala was part of a week-long series of events held from 23rd - 29th November under “35 Years of Innovation” to commemorate the anniversary and celebrate persons who have played key roles in the industry.
In opening remarks, CEO of BVI Finance Elise Donovan read an excerpt from a speech by the BVI Financial Services Commission Managing Director and CEO Dr. Robert Mathavious, who said that the “IBC Act and its successor the BVI Business Companies (BC) Act, the vehicles which have fueled our financial services journey,” did not happen by chance. “They were the consequence of a long, deliberate strategy by successive BVI governments dating back to the late 1950s and early 1960s. That’s when the seed which would germinate and evolve into today’s financial services was planted,” noted Dr. Mathavious.
A key highlight of the evening’s celebration was the announcement of the winners for the best in financial services awards. Calling them the “people’s choice awards,” the Premier announced that for 13 categories of awards, 47 persons were nominated through an online platform. The 3,672 which votes submitted in the 13 categories resulted in 14 winners.
The nominees and winners from the Financial Services Gala Awards Dinner were:
1. Best Corporate Social Responsibility
Nominees
- Mourant
- Harneys - winner
- Ogier
- Grant Thornton
- BDO
- Deloitte
- Maples
- SHRM
2. Regulator of the Year
Nominee
- BVI Financial Services Commission – winner
3. Tech Savvy Firm of the Year
Nominees
- Harneys - winner
- Fresh Mango
- Ching
- BDO
- JTC Group
4. Bank of the Year
Nominees
- VP Bank
- Banco Popular - winner
- National Bank of the Virgin Islands
- FirstBank
- FirstCaribbean International Bank
- Scotiabank
5. Insurance Agency of the Year
Nominees
- Caribbean Insurers Limited
- Colonial Insurance Limited
- Nagico Insurance - winner
- Alphonso Warner Insurance Agency
- Hyperion Risk
6. Auditor of the Year
Nominees
- KPMG
- Deloitte
- BDO - winner
- Baker Tilly
7. Litigation Practice of the Year
Nominees
- Appleby
- Harneys – winner
- Conyers
- Collas Crill
- Ogier
- O’Neal Webster
- Campbells
8. Accounting Firm of the Year
Nominees
- KPMG
- Ernst & Young
- Deloitte
- BDO - winner
9. Insolvency Practice of the Year
Nominees
- Ernst & Young
- KPMG – winner
- KRyS Global
- FFP
10. Future Leaders Award
Nominees
- Rebecca Jack, Appleby
- Rhonda Brown, Walkers
- Sanchia Thompson, Geneva Management Group
- Anna Silver, Kalo
- Sharon Mungall, Carey Olsen
- Omonike Robinson-Pickering, Walkers
- Philip Graham, Harneys
- Sharon Mungall, Carey Olsen
- Omonike Robinson-Pickering, Walkers
- Ronan Kuczaj, SHRM
- T’sa James-Hodge, Ogier - winner
11. Compliance Officer of the Year
Nominees
- Julia Shamini Chase, Gold Leaf Consulting
- Marlon Marquis, Osiris
- Alphonso Warner, Alphonso Warner Insurance Agency
- Blondell Challenger, Aleman, Cordero, Galindo & Lee
- Casey Gumbs, Portcullis
- Rita Hawkins, Independent Consultant
- Shané Rhymer, Harneys - winner
- T’sa James-Hodge, Ogier – winner
12. Lawyer of the Year
Nominees
- Jonathan Addo, Harneys
- Patrick Thompson, PST Law
- Rhonda Brown, Walkers
- Jude Indra Hodge, Walkers
- Michael Killourhy, Ogier
- Jerry Samuel, Conyers
- Michael Killourhy, Ogier
- Ian Montgomery, Collas Crill
- Philip Graham, Harneys
- Nelson Samuel, N.R. Samuel & Co
- Dr. Benedicta Samuels, SR Corporate Services – winner
13. Corporate Service Provider of the Year
Nominees
- Clermont Corporate Services
- TMF
- CISA Trust
- ILS Fiduciary
- Vistra
- Portcullis
- OMC Group
- ATU
- FFP
- Harneys - winner
- SHRM
- Alfaro Ferrer & Ramirez
- Hamilton Trust & Management (ARIFA)
Presentations were also made to special honorees to the architects of the IBC Act Lewis Hunte, QC of Hunte & Co., who was the Attorney General in 1984, and the Harneys team of Neville Westwood, Michael Riegels and Richard Peters. Premier Fahie also presented the Financial Services Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Robert Mathavious. Lorna Smith, OBE received the Lifetime Defender Award and the Department of Information and Public Relations the Unsung Heroes Award for that office’s continued hard work and support of BVI Finance and the industry.
Barry Goodman of Trident Trust, who served as that company’s Managing Director for 30 years and Harriet Skelton, the founder of the Compliance Association, were also recognized for their contributions.
BVI Finance and the Financial Services Planning Committee congratulate all the nominees, winners and honorees of the evening. We thank the numerous sponsors for making the week’s celebration possible. Sponsors include Trident Trust, Rawlinson and Hunter and OMC Group (Gold Sponsors), Mourant, Aleman, Cordero, Galindo and Lee, Icaza, Deloitte, MMG Trust, Boslil Bank and Bank of Asia (Silver Sponsors) and BVI Association of Compliance Officers, Appleby, TMF and SHRM (Bronze Sponsors).
We are also grateful for specific event sponsorship as follows: 5K Run Walk Event (ARIFA and Harneys), Student Essay (Harneys), Debate Night (Harneys and Association of Registered Agents) and the Awards Night (ARIFA and the FSC).
The gala evening also included performances by vocalist Kendra Penn and 3G’s band.
The week-long series of events were hosted BVI Finance and a group of financial services practitioners.