Board of Directors

Anthony Isidore Smart graduated from the University of Toronto, Canada with a Bachelor of Arts Degree (General), majoring in Economics. He is an Attorney-at-Law who has been in private practice for 48 years, for 30 of which he led the law firm of Gittens, Smart & Company. He was an elected member of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago from December 1986 to November 1991. At various times between January 1987 and February 1989 he was the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Minister in the Office of the Attorney General, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, and Chief Whip in the House of Representatives. He was Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago from March 1989 to November 1991. Mr. Smart was a tutor in Family Law at the Hugh Wooding Law School in the 1970s and was personally responsible for drafting the Code of Ethics for Ministers and Members of Parliament which was laid in the House of Representatives in 1988.

Mr. Smart was appointed as Chairman of the Board of First Citizens Bank Limited on June 17, 2014 and subsequently as Chairman of First Citizens Investment Services Limited, First Citizens Bank (Barbados) Limited, First Citizens Costa Rica S.A., First Citizens Holdings Limited and First Citizens Portfolio and Investment Management Services Limited. He also served as Executive Chairman of First Citizens Bank Limited from December 4, 2014 to April 7, 2015. He was inducted into the Fatima College Hall of Achievement for Public Service in 2015.

Courtenay Williams is an Attorney-at-Law who has been in practice for 33 years, most of which have been spent at the private bar, specializing in banking, privatization, commercial, intellectual property, project financing, capital market and debt restructuring transactions. Mr. Williams graduated from The University of the West Indies with a Bachelor of Laws Degree (Honours). He also obtained a Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School in 1987. Mr. Williams is a tutor at the Hugh Wooding Law School in the Law of Remedies and has previously also tutored in areas such as Landlord and Tenant, Conveyancing and Registration of Title, Ethics Rights and Obligations of the Legal Profession and Succession. He was appointed to the Board of First Citizens Bank Limited on June 17, 2014 and subsequently as Deputy Chairman of First Citizens Bank Limited, Chairman of the Boards of First Citizens Depository Services Limited and First Citizens Financial Services (St. Lucia) Limited and a Director on the Boards of First Citizens Holdings Limited and First Citizens Trustee Services Limited. Mr. Williams, a certified mediator, is currently a Senior Ordinary Member of the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago and a member of the Disciplinary Committee of the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago. He is also a Commissioner of the Public Services Commission. Mr. Williams is a past President of the Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago and Deputy Chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company Limited and Chairman of the Legislative Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago. He currently sits on the Boards of the Bocas Literary Festival, Trincity College Limited and Electrical Industries Group Limited, and is a Consultant with Lex Caribbean, Attorneys-at law and Notaries Public.

Franka Costelloe holds an MSc in Building and Construction Management (with distinction), an (MBOS) Associate Degree in Project Management and BSc in Business Administration with a Major in Human Resources and a Certificate in Corporate Governance from the Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute. Ms. Costelloe is a Director of Lifetime Roofing Limited, a manufacturer, distributor and contractor specialized in metal and flat roof waterproofing. She has experience in various departments including: Human Resources, Project Management, Contracts, Budget Planning and Administration, Sales and Marketing. She sits as the Chairman of First Citizens Trustee Services Limited and is a Director on the Boards of First Citizens Bank Limited and First Citizens Bank (Barbados) Limited. Ms. Costelloe currently also sits on the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association Board and is the President.

Troy Garcia holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Stetson University, Florida, USA. With over 24 years of experience and success in the fields of business and entrepreneurship, he is the Chief Executive Officer of Parts World Limited and Managing Director of High Performance Coatings and Honorary Consul General of Finland for Trinidad and Tobago.
Mr. Garcia was appointed to the Board of First Citizens Bank Limited on June 16, 2016 and subsequently to the Boards of First Citizens Investment Services Limited and First Citizens Depository Services Limited.

Ingrid Melville is an Attorney-at-Law who has been in practice for 25 years, leading the law firm Ingrid Melville & Company since 2012. She graduated from The University of the West Indies with a Bachelor of Laws Degree in 1993 and obtained a Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School in 1995. Ms. Melville is also the Managing Director of Caribbean People Centred Development Institute and SAFA Holdings (PTY) Ltd., Botswana. A true pioneer of human rights issues, Ms. Melville has presented at several key seminars in Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Egypt, and has published research papers and other publications on topics such as human dignity, volunteerism and HIV in the workplace. Ms. Melville has made many meaningful collaborations with respect to human rights and youth issues from early on in her life (being a member of the Tobago Youth Council from 1985 to 1990) and has been actively involved in youth development and human rights issues ever
since. Ms. Melville was appointed as a Director on the Board of First Citizens Bank Limited on February 16, 2017 and subsequently as a Director of First Citizens Trustee Services Limited and First.

Jayselle McFarlane is a member of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA), holds an MBA and has experience in various sectors such as financial services, construction, hospitality and manufacturing. Her career as a Consultant emanated from over 23 years of diverse experience; with her functioning in leading roles at various international/multinational companies. As a Chartered Accountant, she was able to hold the offices of Finance Analyst, Financial Controller and Corporate Secretary in these international/ multinational companies. Ms. McFarlane is currently pursuing the Forensic Certified Public Accountant Qualification at Caribbean Institute of Forensic Accounting [CFA]. She was appointed to the Board of First Citizens Bank Limited as a Director on June 16, 2016 and subsequently as Deputy Chairman on the Board of First Citizens Depository Services Limited and as a Director on the Boards of First Citizens Holdings Limited and First Citizens Investment Services Limited.

Idrees Omardeen became a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in 2004, five years after which, his expertise in the field granted him Fellow Membership status within the Association. With a keen eye for management, Mr. Omardeen operates the Omardeen School of Accountancy Limited, a family-owned business. At the school, Mr. Omardeen lectured all levels of accounting–from entry level to professional level. He also works in his family’s accounting practice and manages the property rentals as well as events and the family’s auditorium. Mr. Omardeen has recently started a new venture, or as he puts it – adventure, in the making of the finest blends of coffee for export and local consumption. Mr. Omardeen was appointed as a Director of First Citizens Bank Limited on June 17, 2016 and subsequently as a Director on the Boards of First Citizens Investment Services Limited, First Citizens Depository Services Limited and First Citizens Brokerage and Advisory Services Limited.

Ryan Proudfoot holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree (with Honours) in Accounting from the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK and a Masters of Business Administration in International Management from the University of Exeter, UK. Mr. Proudfoot is the majority shareholder of Total Office, a Trinidad & Tobago headquartered group that helps Architects, Designers and Corporate Clients create great spaces throughout the English-speaking Caribbean. From Jamaica in the north to Guyana in the south and another ten countries in between, the Total Office Group serves a population of six and a half million people. Prior to this, Mr. Proudfoot had a highly successful career in banking, holding the positions of General Manager, BNB Finance & Trust Corporation and General Manager, BNB Treasury with Barbados National Bank Inc. (renamed Republic Bank (Barbados) Limited; and a subsidiary of Republic Bank Limited). Mr. Proudfoot joined BNB after serving as Business Head and Vice President, Citicorp Merchant Bank Limited (Barbados Branch) where he was responsible for the re-establishment of Citibank in Barbados. Mr. Proudfoot started his career at Citibank Trinidad as a Relationship Manager in Corporate Banking where he served for five years before moving to Barbados. He was appointed to the Board of First Citizens Bank Limited on July 3, 2014 and subsequently as Chairman of the Board of First Citizens Investment Services (Barbados) Limited and First Citizens Brokerage and Advisory Services Limited, and a Director on the Boards of First Citizens Investment Services Limited, First Citizens Bank (Barbados) Limited and First Citizens Portfolio and Investment Management Services Limited.

Mr Devindra Ramnarine is a digital transformation consultant and senior engineer with post-graduate qualifications in Telecommunications and Engineering. Over the last 30 years, he has worked as an international public officer, a CIO, a corporate executive in state enterprises/private sector, a full-time digital technology consultant in Government, and a part-time university lecturer in ICT at the BSc/MSc/MBA levels. He was a Partner/Associate Partner with two consulting firms focusing on digital government and ICT-enabled transformation across the Caribbean and the World. He has led teams which developed the National ICT/Digital Strategic Plans for several countries and has managed complex high-risk ICT projects in the public sector.

Mr Ramnarine has won competitive academic scholarships, namely the British Commonwealth Scholarship for his post-graduate engineering degrees, a UWI Open Scholarship for his first degree, and a T&T National Scholarship in Mathematics (based on A’levels). He is the holder of a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education from the University of Greenwich, an MPhil Degree in Electrical Engineering Science from the University of Essex, an MSc in Telecommunications Systems (Distinction) from the University of Essex, and a BSc in Electrical Engineering from The University of the West Indies (First Class Honours). He is also a Certified Scrum Product Owner and has successfully completed a Harvard Leadership Programme from Harvard Business Publishing. He is a Member of The Institute of Engineering and Technology, United Kingdom.

Mr Ramnarine is currently the Digital Transformation Adviser (Innovation and Implementation) at the Ministry of Digital Transformation, Trinidad and Tobago. As part of its Senior Advisory Council, he provides strategic advice, technical architectural support, and project management services to this Ministry. He is the lead digital advisor to the Ministry and a core negotiator with international agencies on their support and funding. He is also leading the development of several foundational and high-risk national digital transformation programmes including the National e-ID Programme, the Interoperability Programme, and the proposed Tier IV Data Centre at Phoenix Park.

He was responsible for developing the Developer’s Hub as one of the Ministry of Digital Transformation’s initiatives that is driven by the Ministry of Finance’s directive to increase the contribution of the ICT sector to national GDP. The programme is intended to develop and build the local software developer community which will eventually lead to the creation of a revenue earning software development export capability. This programme was the proud recipient of the IDB’s 2023 Pr.A.I.S.E. Award for Innovation in the Public Service, and is a recently awarded WSIS Prizes 2024 Champion Project, which is a testimony to its originality and performance to date.

Savitree Seepersad FCCA is a Member of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA). Mrs. Seepersad is currently the Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance. She entered into the Public Service 36 years ago where she served in various positions in the Ministry of Finance including Treasury Accountant, Senior Treasury Accountant, Treasury Director and Comptroller of Accounts. She is a member of the National Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism Committee (NAMLC) and Co-Chair of the Human Resource Committee of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF). She is a member of the Permanent Double Taxation Treaty team of Trinidad and Tobago and is also responsible for coordinating all activities with respect to Trinidad and Tobago’s tax transparency obligations to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Global Forum and Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Inclusive Framework (BEPSIF) and the European Union. She also serves as a member on other Committees as a Ministry of Finance representative. Mrs. Seepersad was appointed to the Board of First Citizens Bank as a Director on April 14, 2016.

Colin Wharfe is a retired professional accountant; a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and a Certified Information Systems Auditor. He is the holder of a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of London. 

The majority of his career was spent at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), where he was admitted to the Firm’s Partnership in 1997. He held various senior, client facing and functional roles at PWC, including Lead Assurance Partner, Lead Technical (Audit and Financial Reporting) Partner, Lead Human Capital Partner. He was also responsible for the Firm’s Energy Sector practice during the period of the sector’s aggressive growth. His experience as Lead Engagement Partner and/or Relationship Partner included a wide variety of large audit and advisory engagements, including listed entities, financial services, manufacturing, as well as major multinational and public sector clients. His areas of expertise include Accounting and Financial Reporting, Governance and Compliance.

He was the firm’s Territory Senior Partner, and served as a member of the Executive Leadership Team for the eight member firms in the Caribbean region. He retired in June 2016, after serving PwC for more than thirty years. 

He sits on the Council of the University of the West Indies as well as on its Audit Committee. He is a Board Member and Audit Committee Chair of United Way Trinidad and Tobago. He is also a member of the Board, Group Audit and Group Digital and IT Committees of the Victoria Mutual Building Society in Jamaica.

Mr. Wharfe was appointed as a Director of First Citizens Group Financial Holdings Limited on September 28, 2022.