Career banker and former chief executive officer of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Ian de Souza has been appointed as the new chairman of the Salaries Review Commission (SRC).

President Christine Kangaloo made the appointment on December 7, during a simple ceremony at the Office of the President.

He replaces Nicole Ferreira-Aaron, who served for three years from November 2021. Ferreira-Aaron is the managing partner and head of the Transactional Department at the law firm of M. Hamel-Smith and Company.

A recent report under Ferreira-Aaron's tenure which recommended higher salaries for politicians and a host of other top state employees has triggered outrage from trade unions prompting protest on December 7.

A post on the Office of the President’s Facebook page said De Souza has a wealth of experience in the finance and banking industry and is the principal advisor at Advice Financial Company Ltd.

It said after achieving a bachelor's in economics in 1982 from the University of the West Indies, he went on to gain a diploma in Management Studies and an executive MBA in 1999.

De Souza also worked for two years as vice president, corporate and commercial banking at Citibank TT Ltd before moving on to various executive positions in the Republic Bank Group, first in the Dominican Republic and later in Barbados, becoming the Group Executive Director in 2016.

Having participated in the advanced management programme at Harvard Business School and having become a chartered professional accountant in 2011, a certified insolvency and restructuring advisor in 2013 and a holder of a graduate certificate in forensic accounting and fraud examination in 2019, De Souza entered the academic world as a professor of practice, banking and finance and executive director & CEO of the Cave Hill School of Business & Management.

The post said after a brief stint as interim CEO of Capita Financial Services Incorporated, De Souza is now the managing director of Ansa Merchant Bank Ltd.

He is also a member of the Board of Ansa Merchant Bank (Barbados) Ltd and the chairman of the audit committee of the Retail Sector Advisory Council of Ansa McAl Ltd.

Outside of professional obligations, De Souza has served as chairman of the board of the Maple Leaf International School and has been a member of the Board of St Dominic’s Children’s Home.

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