New trustees join Pensions Board
New trustees (L-R) Robin Ellison, Sheree Ebanks and Orrett Connor
(CNS Local Life): The Public Service Pensions Board (PSPB) has appointed three new trustees. Orrett Connor, Sheree Ebanks and Robin Ellison are filling two vacant positions as well as the spot held by Kirkland Nixon, who died earlier this year. “Finding new and highly qualified individuals to take on these important roles is always challenging, but the three new appointments clearly show we are bringing in the best representative to join this board,” said PSPB managing director and trustee Jewel Evans Lindsey.
Connor is “a well-known individual with an honoured background in the Cayman Islands”, stated a PSPB press release, which added he has served the community though his many years of public service until his retirement as Cabinet Secretary and Chief Officer of the Cabinet Office in 2013. Connor currently hosts his own show on Radio Cayman One and works to connect and interact directly with residents.
Ebanks is the chief executive officer for the Cayman Islands Society of Professional Accountants, one the largest and longest-established professional societies in the Cayman Islands, said the release. Ebanks, who spent 30 years in the financial services industry in the Cayman Islands, “will bring sound financial oversight” to the board, the release said.
Ellison, a “well-versed pensions and trustee expert from the UK”, is the chairman of Carillion Pension Trustee Limited. His appointment provides an independent assessor which ensures that a non-affiliated trustee is on the board who can provide balance to governance and policy adherence, the release said.
“The Public Service Pensions Board is relied upon by our public and civil servants who want to know they are working towards a secure retirement and I will be working on behalf of and listening to these members to ensure the PSPB continues to be looked upon as the leading pension scheme on Island,” said Connor.
He officially joined the board on 1 August 2018, with Ellison and Ebanks starting 1 March 2018. To ensure the new members are well versed in PSPB-specific legislation and pension schemes, all trustees attended a full-day training and orientation session on 7 August.
The full-day training encompassed learning from supporting advisors to the PSPB which included education from the board’s legal support, plan actuary, investment consultant and the auditor general. Evans Lindsey said of the session, “[I]t’s important to go through this orientation so new and existing members grow together and understand the trustee role and scope and are ready to govern the PSPB for our members.”
The first formal trustee meeting for the PSPB will take place later this month. The new appointments join an existing group of trustees who will spend the year on priority matters such as an increased focus on member service delivery, a review of plan risk management and further assessment of financial controls and investment monitoring, the PSPB said in the press release.
For information on the Public Service Pension Board go to the PSPB website
Category: Civil Service
