NEW YORK – Canadian financial institution Scotiabank announced it is making one of its most productive and useful investments with long term plans to help build the future leadership of the region.
The bank’s manager for the Eastern Caribbean, Stephen Cozier, who was recently honored at the American Foundation for the University of the West Indies (AFUWI) 2008 gala event in New York, made this assurance while highlighting the importance of its partnership with the tertiary institution.
“We really and truly believe that we are a part of the landscape of the Caribbean. We intend to be here for a long time (and) we intend to continue to make the significant contributions economically, socially and culturally that are required to build the leadership of the region,” said Cozier whose company has operated in the Caribbean for more than a century.
Cozier, a UWI alumnus who has spent some 35 years with Scotiabank (becoming the first Barbadian ever to head the Bank’s Barbados operation), said he was honoured to receive one of AFUWI’s “Luminary Awards”. “It represents the things that I hoped to achieve in my life – to be a notable Caribbean person and to have helped to elevate the lives of Caribbean people,” said Cozier, who has served on a number of regional charitable boards throughout his life.
Both Cozier and Scotiabank, supporters of Counterpart International’s Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism (CMEx) series of regional meetings, came in for high praise from Counterpart president Lelei LeLaulu, who commended the bank for investing in education at so many levels.
“Steve and Scotiabank have made one of their most valuable investments – transforming the minds of the region’s young people by supporting educational and empowering programs. This goes way beyond mere corporate social responsibility to corporate social investment in the developing world,” LeLaulu commented.
Stephen Cozier (pictured second from left) with wife Mary, daughter Nicole and son Sean
Other AFUWI honorees included Caribbean-American artiste and activist Harry Belafonte; Digicel founder Denis O’Brien; Black Entertainment Television’s Raymond Goulbourne; Marc Morial of the National Urban League; Roy Hastick of the Caribbean-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Vincent Hosang of Caribbean Food Delights.
The Gala also honored Dr. John Agard, Professor Anthony Chen and Dr. Leonard Nurse, each UWI Faculty members who contributed to the work of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Al Gore; RBTT banker Minna Israel; Dr. Rollin Bertrand of the TCL Group; Barbadian real estate titan Paul Altman; Reginald Canal of HSBC; Noel Hankin of Moët Hennessy; Colbert Narcisse of Merrill Lynch; former AFUWI Board Member Kenneth DeGhetto; and UWI Chief Financial Officer Winston Bayley.
UWI, with three main campuses in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago, is currently celebrating its 60th year.
