Mr. Kenneth Cyril Valley

Executive Chairman

 

 

Mr. Kenneth Valley is the former Minister of Trade and Industry(MTI), Minister in the Ministry of Finance and Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives (2001 -Nov, 2007). He has more than 30 years senior management experience in Finance, Business and Insurance.

 

 

 

Prior to his last ministerial tenure, he served as the Minister with responsibility for Trade, Industry and Investments in the Government of Trinidad & Tobago, during the 1991-1995 administration. In that capacity, he held oversight for the following initiatives, among others:

 

• The implementation of the State Enterprises Policy, which resulted in the reduction of the State's direct involvement in commercial enterprises, from eighty-seven (87 in 1992, to fifty (50) at the end of 1995 Positioning of Trinidad & Tobago as the Gateway to South America and the Business and Financial Capital of the Caribbean.
• The pursuit of Market Access Agreements with larger markets around Trinidad & Tobago, namely Colombia and Venezuela.
• The liberalization of the economy through the removal of the Negative List and other quantitative restrictions on trade, and the reduction of Tariffs - all with a view to making the Trinidad & Tobago economy more competitive.
• The facilitation of investment growth in exports and industrial promotion through the forging of strategic trade alliances with major countries in Latin America, North America and Europe, and providing the appropriate financial legislative framework.
• During the period 2001 - 2007, Mr Valley led the Ministry of Trade and industry (MTI) in vigorous pursuit of its mandate to diversify the local economy away from its dependence on oil and gas.

 

 

 

During this period the MTI's efforts were directed towards the growth of the non-energy manufacturing and services sectors. In pursuit of this broad objective, the focus of the Ministry was on the following:

• Developing targeted industries;
• Expanding trading opportunities;
• Attracting investment for business growth and development; and
• Creating an enabling environment that protects and promotes effective competition for trade, business and investment to grow and thrive.

 

In particular, Mr. Valley led the implementation of the major medium term policy initiative of integrating Trinidad and Tobago's economy into Latin America as a platform for deeper engagement in the global economy.

 

Mr. Valley graduated from the University of the West Indies (UWI) in 1971 with a BSc Economics Degree, with a major in Accounting, and is a Graduate of the MBA Programme at Mc Masters University of Hamilton, Canada.