Our Leadership
L-R: Keith Spencer, Marlon Allsop, Giselle Holder, Sue Ann Cyril, Tony Keane (IFMA President), Josanne Marcano , Aykean Matthews, Jennie Alleyne, Vaughn Halliday and Rouven Wagner.
Our Executive Team
Aykean Matthews MBA, FMP - President
Aykean Matthews is the mother of three children, who along with her family bring tremendous support and joy to her life. Her passions flow beyond the plight of the aging building to the emotional needs and welfare of our nation’s children. To satisfy her passion for the care of children, she became the Founder/Director of Fun Memories Foundation, a non-profit organisation. Additionally, she is a member of the Building and Event Committees at Divine Destiny Worship Centre. Her professional career spans from her introduction to the world of work in 1995, at The Maritime Financial Group where she held the position of Human Resource Coordinator.
In 2000 she had the esteemed privilege of being the first employee of PriceSmart Trinidad Limited who worked closely with the foreign Directorship to establish the first membership shopping experience in Trinidad &Tobago. Her job included many aspects of start-up operations including the hiring of over 250 managerial and non-managerial employees, contributing to the establishment of Human Resource Department its policies and procedures, assisting with start-up operations for PriceSmart Aruba. She became Front End & Administrative Manager overseeing entire store operations including 50 direct employees.
In 2002, Aykean was hired as Human Resource Consultant and assisted with start-up operations (HR, Maintenance, Vault and Food Service) for Movietowne. Later she joined the Chief Designer of The Falls of Westmall as a Consultant to assist with administration and project management for the expansion and upgrade of West Mall. In 2005, she was hired as Operations Manager for The International School of Port of Spain where she currently holds the position of Facilities Director in charge of all aspects of facilities operations.
Aykean Matthews, graduated in 2014 with a Masters in Executive Business Administration, distinction from the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business (UWI), earned a Facilities Management Professional Certification from International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) and a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Andrews University, Michigan.
Aykean Matthews has been a member of The International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) since April 2007, and in 2014 she held the position Professional Development Chair until she was appointed to the position of President of the Trinidad & Tobago Chapter of IFMA in July 2015. In this position her main goal is to increase the value and level of awareness placed in Facility Management in Trinidad & Tobago.
Giselle Holder - Immediate Past President
past.president.tntifma@gmail.com
Giselle Holder has operated as a Project Engineer/Facility Manager for the past seven years at Acuitas Caribbean Ltd., and has proven to be a critical member of the Acuitas team. She is a dynamic, competent, assertive engineer, who values client satisfaction. Giselle is an integral part of the Acuitas facility management team through which Acuitas partners with the US-based FM Consultant firm, Facilities Engineering Associates (FEA). Having successfully completed the IFMA Train the Trainer course at the IFMA World Workplace event in Denver 2015, Giselle has worked with other certified IFMA instructors to teach the IFMA Facility Management Professional (FMP) credential and soon the IFMA Essentials of Facility Management locally.
As a member of the International Facility Management Association, Giselle has served two terms as the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Chapter of IFMA (TTIFMA). She has also been very instrumental in the planning and development of both the 3rd, 4th and 5th Caribbean FM Conference and Expo hosted in Trinidad by the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce between July 2011 and June 2015. She graduated in May 2015 from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) with her Master of Science (MSc.) in Facility Management. Giselle co-presented at the IFMA World Workplace Conference and Expo in 2013 held in Philadelphia, PA with Acuitas Director, Geoffrey Abdulah. She is also the District Rotaract Representative for the Rotaract District 7030 which spans the Caribbean from Guadeloupe to French Guiana.
Vaughn Halliday - Vice President
vice.president.tntifma@gmail.com
Mr Vaughn Halliday is considered to be a dynamic and team-spirited Facilities Management and Project Management Professional. With over 15 years’ experience, his career has spanned both the operational and strategic management aspects of a diverse range of facilities within the Caribbean. He currently holds the post of Manager of Support Services – Facilities, at the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago.
Fuelled by a deep passion for the advancement of the FM industry, Vaughn has actively contributed to the development of Trinidad and Tobago Chapter of the International Facility Management Association, of which he was a founding member. He has held several leadership positions on the executive and currently serves as the Chapter’s Vice President. Vaughn has lectured frequently in Project Management and Facilities Management, is an IFMA certified trainer for the Essentials of FM Programme, a co-teacher for the Facility Management Professional (FMP) Programme and has served as a subject matter expert during IFMA’s 2015-16 Global Job Task Analysis
Vaughn holds a Bachelors Degree in Management, a Masters in Project Management, and the Facility Management Professional (FMP), the Sustainability Facility Professional (SFP), the Project Management Professional (PMP), and the Change Management (Prosci Methodology) certifications. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Business Administration focusing specifically on Performance Management in Facility Management with the goal that his research will further add to the development of the regional FM industry.
Josanne Marcano - Treasurer
Josanne Marcano has been with the chapter since 2014. Currently she is serving her second term as Treasurer for TTIFMA.
Josanne has been instrumental in organizing the chapter’s financial affairs in a very thorough manner and ensuring best practices are complied with and adhered to in this respective role. She has led the chapter into two audits thus far and ensures that budget practices and guidelines are outlined and adhered to, so as to ensure that the chapters ’deliverables and milestones are met.
As a functional workplace health and safety practitioner, Josanne has been certified in areas such as NEBOSH Health and Safety, Internal Auditing, Emergency Medical Technician, Computer Maintenance Management Systems, Computer Aided Facility Management and most recently was a scholarship recipient of the chapter’s first Essentials of Facility Management training session held last March 2016 in Trinidad.
As she aspires to specialize in the area of Human Factors which is one of IFMA’s core competencies, Josanne comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field of Facility Management as she has worked her way up through the ranks from receptionist to maintenance scheduler and planner.
In addition to that Josanne was also one of the presenters at the launch of IFMA Tobago last November 2015. With a passion for people and the workplace, being solution oriented and a huge risk taker even in the midst of challenges, Josanne is looking forward to the future aspirations of the chapter and is very much committed to changing the perception of FM in the Caribbean Region.
Sue Ann Cyril - Secretary
Sue Ann Cyril, an employee of the Maritime Financial Group since 2002, joined the Property Management Unit in 2008 and her passion for Facilities Management has grown over those years. She has since developed and now holds the portfolio of the Operations Coordinator for the Team of twenty-eight (28) persons.
Her commitment to deliver exceptional service to her Clients significantly contributed to her being named 2015 Team Member of the Year Property/Leasing Unit of the The Maritime Financial Group.
Sue Ann recently completed the Essentials of Facility Management Workshop and will soon be pursuing her Facilities Management Professional designate.
Apart from her core duties, she’s also a member of the Group’s Health & Safety Committee and is a very active member of the Parent Teacher’s Association. She enjoys cooking and event planning.
Our Committee Member Teams
Edward Kacal - Communications Committee Chair
communications.tntifma@gmail.com
Edward Kacal BSc, MBA, PMP, holds a BSc in Industrial Engineering from the University of the West Indies and an MBA from the Edinburgh School of Business. He is pursuing his Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) at the Arthur Lok Jack School of Business in Trinidad and Tobago, specializing in business model innovation, with special focus in improving the efficiency and competitiveness of Caribbean organizations.
He also holds the following professional certifications:
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Project Management Professional (PMP) certificate of the Project Management Institute.
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Facility Management Professional (FMP) certificate by the International Facility Management Association.
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LEED Green Associate (LEED GA) certificate by the Green Building Certification Institute.
Edward’s career of over 25 years has centred on utilizing his Industrial Engineering, Project Management and Business Management expertise to improve business processes: building efficiency and productivity across disciplines within the business, and developing strategic growth opportunities.
He has been a key team member or team leader of several company acquisition and merger projects, where business models have been improved as a result of the merging process. His experience includes several capital intensive projects in the manufacturing sector, the development of a Project Management Office to oversee multiple building related projects across several portfolios, and several Organizational transformation projects including the implementation of company-wide computerized systems.
Edward is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Servus Limited, a Facilities and Project Management Company operating in Trinidad and Tobago. He also lectures part time at the University of the West Indies in Project Management at the Masters’ (MSc) level for two programmes and in Strategic Planning for two programmes. Consulting and training experience includes management training at Kaleidescope Paints Limited, and project management training at Kimberly Clark and NIBTT.
Marlon Allsop - Events Committee Chair
Marlon Allsop is presently the Facility/HSSE Manager of The Maritime Financial Group. He is NEBOSH certified and has over fifteen (15) years experience in HSE and twelve (12) years in Facility Management and pursued and attained his FMP designate in 2011. Marlon serves on several professional Committees, including AmCham’s Safety & Security and the South Chapter of PMI.
Marlon completed his diploma in BTEC HND Construction and the Built Environment at the School of Business and Computer Science and is presently awaiting his results. Marlon would be pursuing his degree aligned to this course in October .
Apart from his professional life and his passion for Facilities Management, he is quite involved in his community and is the incumbent Vice President of the Community Council, President of GIFTED Youth Group and an Executive of Real Dimension Women’s Football Team.
A member of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), Marlon has served as VP of the Trinidad and Tobago Chapter of IFMA and wishes to continue serving the chapter in whatever capacity, if given another opportunity.
Vicki Fernandes - Membership Committee Chair
Vicki Fernandes is a driven Building Services Engineering and Construction Professional. With over 10 years’ experience in the field of Architecture and Design, she has immersed herself into the Construction Sector and all its aspects. As a result, she has a strong desire for an integrated building sector and the use of Sustainability in Construction. She is the founder of Eslenesaki Ltd which offers CAD/BIM Design and Project Coordination Services.
Since 2014, she has energetically dedicated her time as a volunteer on the Communications Committee of the Trinidad and Tobago Chapter of the International Facility Management Association (TTIFMA). As a proud member, she now holds the position of Chair of the Membership Committee. She is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Builders (CIOB) and the Trinidad and Tobago Green Building Council (TTGBC).
Vicki holds a Higher National Diploma in Building Services Engineering – Construction & the Built Environment (Distinction). She is poised to embark upon her BSc (Hons) Engineering Management (Construction) with a special interest in the Integration of Predictive, Preventative and Sustainable Facility Management Practices within the early stages of Building Design. She hopes to bring light the value that the interconnection of FM into design will add to the development of the Construction Industry within Trinidad and Tobago and throughout the region.
Derwin Celestin - Research & Benchmarking Committee Chair
Derwin Celestin is the Managing Director of Alpha and Omega Consulting Company Limited, An Engineering/ Facilities Management company offering services in Building Systems Planning and design, Building Commissioning and Facility Audits. With over twenty (20) years post graduate experience, ten (10) of which has been in the local FM sector, Mr. Celestin has straddled the local Energy and Construction Sectors, having worked for BPTT, Petrotrin, and Genivar in roles ranging from Drilling Engineer to Manager of Mechanical Engineering and Facilities Management.
Mr. Celestin is one of the founding members of the Trinidad and Tobago Chapter of the International Facility Management Association (TTIFMA), and currently holds the position of Research and Benchmarking Chair. He holds a Bachelors of Engineering Degree in Mechanical Engineering, a Masters of Business Administration and the Facility Management Professional (FMP) designation. Mr. Celestin is a Registered Engineer with the Board of Engineering of Trinidad and Tobago, (BOETT) a member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago (APETT) and a member of the Building Commissioning Association (BCA).
Other Committee Teams include:
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Education Comittee
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Sponsorship Committee
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Special Events Committee
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Newsletter Committee
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Website Committee