Board of Directors

Hector ESPITALIER-NOËL

Chairman, Non-Executive Director

Appointed in: April 1997
Qualifications: Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
Committee: Member of the Corporate Governance Committee

Professional Journey:

Hector Espitalier-Noël previously worked with Coopers and Lybrand in London and with De Chazal du Mée in Mauritius. He is the Chief Executive Officer of ENL Limited and the ENL Group since 1990. He is also the Chairman of ENL Limited and Bel Ombre Sugar Estate Ltd and a past chair of Rogers and Company Limited, the Mauritius Chamber of Agriculture, the Mauritius Sugar Producers Association and the Mauritius Sugar Syndicate.

Skills:

Vast experience in the sugar cane industry as well as the property, hospitality and financial services sectors being the Chairman and a board member of various companies evolving in these sectors.

Sunil BANYMANDHUB

Non-Executive Director

Appointed in: March 2000
Qualifications: BSc Honours First Class in Civil Engineering UMIST,UK, Master’s degree in Business Studies (London Business School), Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales
Committee: Member of the Corporate Governance Committee

Professional Journey:

Sunil Banymandhub has occupied senior positions with various major companies in the private sector in Mauritius. He is also the majority shareholder of a transport company. During his career, he has been involved with several private sector organisations and was, amongst other functions, the President of the Mauritius Employers’ Federation, and a Member of the Presidential Commission on Judicial Reform presided over by Lord Mackay of Clashfern, previously UK Lord Chancellor. He currently acts as Chairman or board member of a number of domestic and global entities.

Skills:

Many years’ experience in financial services and senior management.

Herbert COUACAUD

Non-Executive Director

Appointed in: May 1981
Qualifications: BSc in Economics and Mathematics, University of Cape Town
Committee: Member of the Corporate Governance Committee

Professional Journey:

Herbert Couacaud has been the Chief Executive Officer of New Mauritius Hotels Limited from 1974 until his retirement in June 2015.

Skills:

Actively contributed to the development of the tourism industry in Mauritius.

Gilbert ESPITALIER-NOËL

Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director

Appointed in: February 2013
Qualifications: BSc University of Cape Town, BSc (Hons) Louisiana State University and MBA INSEAD.
Committee: Member of the Corporate Governance Committee

Professional Journey:

Gilbert Espitalier-Noël commenced employment with the Food and Allied Group (now Eclosia group) in 1990 and was appointed Group Operations Director in 2000. He joined the ENL Group, where he was Executive Director from February 2007 until June 2015. He is since July 2015 the Chief Executive Officer of New Mauritius Hotels Limited. Gilbert Espitalier-Noël was President of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2001, of the Joint Economic Council in 2002 and 2003 and the Mauritius Sugar Producers Association in 2008 and 2014.

Skills:

Extensive experience in the agro-industrial, property and hospitality sectors.

Jyoti JEETUN

Independent Non-Executive Director

Appointed in: December 2017
Qualifications: PhD in Strategy and Accounting, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, MBA, Warwick Business School and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators
Committee: Member of the Audit & Risk Committee

Professional Journey:

Jyoti Jeetun is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Compagnie de Mont Choisy Limitée since April 2016. She was previously an international consultant in private sector development and financial services as well as an academic in leading UK Business Schools (Warwick Business School, Birmingham Business School, Oxford Brookes Business School and Essex Business School). Jyoti Jeetun has occupied senior management roles with global investment banks in London (BNP Paribas, Barclays Capital, Bank of America Merrill Lynch). She was the Deputy Director of the Centre for the Development of Enterprise, a Brussels based international organisation promoting private sector enterprise development in ACP countries. She was the founding Chief Executive of the Sugar Investment Trust and the founding Chairperson of Mauritius Post and Cooperative Bank (now MauBank). She started her career as a public servant and went on to become the Finance Editor of Business Magazine.

Skills:

Over 25 years of executive management and Boardroom credentials mainly in sugar, banking, financial services, and real estate development sectors.

Jean-Pierre MONTOCCHIO

Non-Executive Director

Appointed in: April 2004
Qualifications: Notary
Committee: Chairman of the Corporate Governance Committee

Professional Journey:

Jean-Pierre Montocchio was appointed Notary Public in Mauritius in 1990. He was a member of the Board of Directors’ Sub-Committee of the National Committee on Corporate Governance.

Skills:

Well versed in corporate governance matters and NED experience across the private and public sectors. Jean-Pierre Montocchio also has significant experience in alliances, ventures and partnerships.

Alain REY

Independent Non-Executive Director

Appointed in: February 2017
Qualifications: Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
Committee: Chairman of the Audit & Risk Committee

Professional Journey:

Alain Rey has worked in the financial services industry at Citibank N.A. (France) and as Regional Corporate Director of Barclays Bank Plc at their Mauritius branch, in the textile industry as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Novel Denim Holdings Ltd, a Nasdaq listed company. He has also been the CEO of Compagnie de Mont Choisy Limitée, a group of Companies involved in agricultural and property development activities.

Skills:

Extensive experience in the formulation and appraisal of risk assessment and management systems in various industries. He has also been Chairman of various Strategic and Investment Committees and possesses banking and financial competence and expertise.

Louis RIVALLAND

Non-Executive Director

Appointed in: March 2002
Resigned on 3rd August 2020
Qualifications: BSc. (Hons) degree in Actuarial Science and Statistics, Postgraduate Diploma in Strategy and Innovation, University of Oxford and Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries (UK)
Committee: Member of the Audit and Risk Committee

Professional Journey:

Louis Rivalland is currently the Group Chief Executive of Swan General Ltd and Swan Life Ltd.
He is a former President of the Joint Economic Council and of the Insurers’ Association of Mauritius. He has played an active role in the development of risk management, investment, insurance and pensions in Mauritius, having chaired or served on various technical committees in these fields.

Skills:

Extensive experience in financial services and risk management.

Pauline SEEYAVE

Executive Director

Appointed in: August 2016
Qualifications: Master of Arts, St Catharine’s College, University of Cambridge and Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales

Professional Journey:

Pauline Seeyave is currently the Group Chief Financial Officer of New Mauritius Hotels Limited. She has 20 years of working experience in UK and Mauritius. She has managed client portfolios in Audit and Business assurance and has occupied senior executive roles in banking, across finance, risk management, credit, project finance and corporate banking. She is a current Non-Executive Director of Innodis Ltd and was a past Director of SBM Bank (Mauritius) Ltd, State Insurance Company of Mauritius Ltd and Club Mediterranee Albion Resorts Ltd.

Skills:

Extensive experience in risk management, corporate finance and financial reporting.

François VENIN

Executive Director

Appointed in: July 2015

Professional Journey:

François Venin is currently the Group Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of New Mauritius Hotels Limited. He is responsible for managing the sales and marketing strategies of the NMH’s Group 8 hotels, all overseas offices worldwide and the three tour operating companies, Beachcomber Tours in France, the UK and South Africa. He also assists in the decision-making process on new projects or ventures and manages communications platforms with optimum use of all available digital channels. François Venin was previously the General Manager of Mauricia Beachcomber Resort & Spa and Canonnier Beachcomber Golf Resort & Spa and had before that managed properties overseas for Club Méditerranée.

Skills:

Strong expertise in sales, communication and marketing strategies. François Venin also has over 41 and 32 years of extensive experience in hospitality and team management respectively.