Saint Kitts & Nevis Appoints New CIU-Boss Following Khan’s Departure
Prime Minister Terrance Drew of Saint Kitts & Nevis, who on Monday revealed the details of his plan to pay a citizenship-by-investment dividend of between EC$250 and EC$500 to both citizens and residents of the federation, yesterday introduced the newly appointed CEO of the country’s Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU): Mr. Michael Martin, a Kittitian native.
Martin replaces Les Khan, who resigned from his position as CEO of the Unit last week after nearly seven years in the role.
According to the official press release, Martin’s resume – replete with experience from the world of banking, trusts, insurance, and other lines of work in which compliance plays a critical role – appears to make him well-prepared for the job:
He is a former executive of National Caribbean Insurance Company, National Bank Trust Company, and Sagicor Life Inc. He has also held appointments as a Director of the Insurance Association of the Caribbean, as Honorary Secretary of the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park Society Council of Management, and as a Director of First Federal Cooperative Credit Union.
He has a graduate diploma from the International Compliance Association and Manchester Business School, a certificate in International Trust Management from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, and a certificate in Managing Financial Services from the University of the West Indies.
Planning new investment options, rebranding, and redefining target clients
Thanking the Prime Minister for trusting him with what he characterized as a “very important assignment,” Martin indicated that his first order of business would be to take stock of conditions at the Unit he will now be heading; he said he plans to conduct a situational analysis to assess the Unit with an eye to identifying ways to “maximize efficiency and effectiveness.”
He also implied that his arrival at the Unit would mark the beginning of a period of significant change for the program:
“This is an operation that is very important to the development of the country and to the people of the country,” said Martin. “We will have to rebrand and refocus the program, define our strategic goals, and create some new investment options that would be aligned with those strategic goals.”
According to the press release, the CIP is “expected to undergo a complete evolution [sic].”
Beyond rebranding and introducing new investment options, Martin commented that, under his management, the Unit would be “looking at emerging markets and redefining our target client. There must be some exclusivity to it.”