By NAN Business Editor
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. July 21, 2017: This week, a Caribbean-born businessman officially took up the mantle of Chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI.) Here are 9 things you should know about the new head of this leading regional educational institution.
1: His name is Robert Bermudez and he was born in Trinidad and Tobago.
2: He has been an entrepreneur for over 40 years and has led the growth of his family-owned business, the Bermudez Group of Companies, to a regional business throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.
3: He has also enjoyed a distinguished career in business, serving as either Chairman or Board Director for several other corporate bodies in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean including Neal & Massy Holdings Limited and RBC Financial (Caribbean) Limited.
4: He is only the sixth chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI.) His predecessors include Her Royal Highness Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (1948-1971); Sir Hugh Wooding (1971-1974); Sir Allen Montgomery Lewis (1975-1989); Sir Shridath Ramphal (1989-2003); and Sir George Alleyne (2003-2017).
5: He was officially appointed on April 27, 2017 but only began serving a seven-year term beginning from July 16, 2017.
6: Bermudez’s vision for the University outlines a keen sense of the mission, effectiveness, relevance and interdependence of academia and the economy.
7: The UWI Search Committee said last April that it selected Bermudez as the best candidate to fit into the diversity of roles assigned to this office.
8: The official installation ceremony for Bermudez will be held in September 2017, at the university’s St Augustine Campus in Trinidad and Tobago.
9: The Bermudez Group which the new chancellor led was started by by brothers Jose Rafael and Jose Angel, who voyaged from Venezuela to Trinidad in the 1960’s and launched a company that began producing “salt biscuits.” Four generations later, the Bermudez Group has more than 3000 employees spread across the Americas. The Group is comprised of six manufacturing companies and two distribution companies, including Bermudez Biscuit Co., Holiday Snacks Ltd., Kiss Baking Co., The Jamaica Biscuit Co., The West India Biscuit Co and Alimentos Bermudez.
