~ Recruitment continuing ~
PHILIPSBURG--The Managing Board of utilities company GEBE will remain in office until November 1 of this year, six months after the expiry of the six-month extension it was granted by government late last year.
Government, as shareholder of the water and light company, decided on February 6 that the functions of members of the managing board – Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) – will no longer become vacant on May 1, but instead on November 1, GEBE Supervisory Board Chairman Bienvenido Richardson said in a press release on Tuesday.
In the meantime, the process to recruit candidates to fill the functions of CEO, COO and CFO is continuing. The deadline for applications ended on January 31, and has not been extended.
The recruitment process for “the best suitable candidates” for the CEO, CFO and COO positions is being handled by an international consultant firm as mandated by the shareholder. “This process is very advanced and the deadline to submit applications ended on January 31, 2020 – this, considering the initial expiry date of the service agreement with the current members of the Management Board of NV GEBE as per April 30, 2020,” Richardson said in the release.
“The process is guarded by the appropriate norms of secrecy and confidentiality, ultimately also to safeguard the best interest of all applicants and ultimately to be able to realise that the best possible candidates are found for referenced upcoming vacancies. Logically, this serves NV GEBE and therewith our entire St. Maarten community.”
He said GEBE, being the sole electricity and water provider for St. Maarten, caters to the basic human needs of the public.
“It’s imperative for this company to be manned and directed by the best possible candidates, after a duly concluded recruitment process. The Supervisory Board of Directors has for the longest … time been working tirelessly to ensure that the systems of checks and balances in place by law, the articles of incorporation of NV GEBE and the Corporate Governance Code are adhered to by all organs of NV GEBE and stakeholders.
“This [is – Ed.] to ensure that NV GEBE functions according to best practices, in an honest, professional manner. The proper functioning of NV GEBE is at the end of the day, crucial for the St. Maarten community.”
In giving some background on the recruitment process, Richardson said the Supervisory Board on July 29, 2019, had formally informed the shareholder in writing of its intention to start the recruitment for the functions of the members of the Management Board, as their three-year contracted term was nearing completion on October 31. This was “extensively discussed” with the shareholder before.
“Considering, amongst other [factors], that NV GEBE is the only government-owned company that over the years has not conducted a proper recruitment procedure for the selection of the members of its Management Board, the Supervisory Board of Directors considered it advisable and prudent to carry out a transparent recruitment process as per Article 7.4 of the Articles of Incorporation of NV GEBE. This decision was/is also premised on other valid concerns in the best interest of the organisation.”
The Supervisory Board received permission from the shareholder on October 21, 2019, to immediately start the recruitment process. GEBE then contracted an external independent company to execute the recruitment process. On January 13, 2020, the vacancies were placed in the various news and social media outlets in St. Maarten, the former Netherlands Antilles and in the Netherlands.
Although the sitting managing board will stay on until November, the recruitment procedure has not been extended. “This means that no new applications can be submitted, since the deadline of January 31, 2020, has passed. As soon as the applications received on or before January 31, 2020, have been duly evaluated and the recruitment procedure completed, nominations for the three management board functions will be made to the shareholder of NV GEBE, for consideration in its appointment decision,” Richardson said.
Richardson said the Supervisory Board is requesting the “patience and respect” of media outlets and the public to allow the process to follow its due course.
