Gebe signs contracts with new management team
GREAT BAY – Last Friday the contract for the company’s new chief executives were signed. The appointment come weeks after the Supervisory Board’s proposal to appoint the three to the Executive Managing Board.
“Kenrick Chittick the new Chief Executive Officer is a widely respected leader who has built a positive track record while serving as the Head of Power Plant earlier this year,” Gebe stated in a press release. “His background will enable him to play a key role in driving the company’s strategy and reinforcing Gebe’s position as a leading utility company in the Caribbean, while continuing to build strong relationships regionally and internationally.”
Chittick has been part of Gebe for the past nineteen years. He has worked his way up through the ranks of the electricity services. His role models are both former Managing Directors the late Julius Lambert and William Brooks. “His extensive experience as an engineer and manager will certainly be a great asset to Gebe. As the company looks forward to commissioning its new Diesel Generator (engine 20) in mid-December talks of engine 21 have already surfaced.”
Iris Arrindell is the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). “She brings a wealth of experience with her, after having worked for the company in various functions within the Finance Department for some 26 years. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and has taken many courses in Management, Leadership and Strategic Planning,” the company stated.
Arrindell sat on the Social Economic Council of the former Netherlands Antilles (SEC) and she is a former board member of the Pension Fund for many years. “Her most recent success was her appointment as Commercial Manager in July 2015 which has seen remarkable growth. In her first few months her main objective was to narrow the gap between Gebe and its customers at a time when the company was experiencing an exorbitant amount of load shedding. Ms. Arrindell took the bull by the horn and faced a frustrated public. “
Veronica Jansen-Webster a born St. Maartener is no stranger to the energy sector. “She was a part of the energy policy committee, the electricity ordinance committee, the electricity concession workgroup, the Waste to Energy committee, the committee for the division of shares of Gebe, the streetlight policy committee and travelled to numerous energy conferences and utility conferences from 2009 through 2015. She developed a genuine interest in renewable and alternative energy and innovations in utilities and tried to share that knowledge with everyone on St. Maarten,” the company stated.
In 2014, she was appointed to the supervisory board of Gebe where she served first as vice president and later as technical liaison between the supervisory board, the technical committee and the management board. “The appointment of Mrs. Jansen as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) is in keeping with the company’s commitment to strengthen Gebe, so that the organization can play an even more pivotal role as a partner in the country’s’ development. Mrs. Jansen brings to the organization extensive industry knowledge, strong business strategy and operations experience, which will be an added benefit to all stakeholders.“
Photo caption: From left Vromi-Minister Angel Meyers, CEO Kenrick Chittick, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs Silveria Jacobs, Prime Minister William Marlin, CFO Iris Arrindell, COO Veronica Jansen-Webster and Minister of Finance Richard Gibson. Photo contributed
