(CNS): Gilbert McLean is the last former minister to win the presidency of a board of directors as the PACT government continues to appoint members to the various boards of directors of the public authorities. McLean, the new president of the University College of the Cayman Islands, was health minister in the 2001-2005 UDP administration, but lost his seat in Bodden Town in the 2005 election. Ronnie Dunn and Nichelle Scott, two other new faces of the board, were appointed directors, while Jared Awe, an existing member, was appointed vice chairman.
McLean was a Member of Parliament for the Sisters Islands from 1988 to 1996 and represented Bodden Town from 2000 to 2005. After losing his seat, he failed to return to politics despite three attempts.
Before becoming a politician, he worked as a teacher and then in the civil service in various roles, including that of government training officer, deputy secretary at the Ministry of Communications and Works, principal deputy secretary at the Ministry of Planning. , Lands and Natural Resources, and Permanent Secretary (now called Chief Executive Officer) at the Ministry of Tourism, Aviation and Trade.
McLean said he looks forward to meeting the rest of the board and taking a careful and detailed look at what is out there now, building on it and changing things that may need improvement.
Dunn, the current Deputy Managing Director of the Health Services Authority, is a Chartered Accountant with over 20 years of experience. Within the government, he held the positions of financial director, budget and management director and acted as general accountant. He has also served on the boards of the Civil Aviation Authority and the National Roads Authority and was chairman of the Central Government Tenders Committee (now PPC).
Scott is also a CPA and works as Director of Customer Services at CUC and is the CFO of the utility company Datalink subsidiary.
Education Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said she was confident that the collective experience of these new members and the current board would ensure that UCCI is able to continue to provide a accessible and affordable quality education,
O’Connor-Connolly thanked the three outgoing members, Scotland, Matthew Tibbetts and Shomari Scott, for their “exceptional leadership and dedicated service in a time of great uncertainty”.
