[UPDATED] PENNY DROPPED

A week after the board of Trinidad Tourism Ltd met to discuss the firing of its CEO Camille Campbell, Cabinet has fired the chairman and remaining board members.

A media release issued by the Tourism Ministry yesterday said Cabinet decided to “reconstitute” the board, and chairman Janelle "Penny" Commissiong, Neil Mohammed, Heather McIntosh-Simon and Joanna Welch-Gittens were all relieved of their duties.

They were replaced with Howard Chin Lee, former tourism minister, who now chairs the board; Natania Mack, deputy chairman; Avalaughn Huggins, Terrance Bhagwatsingh, Shezrae Nesbitt, Lesley-Ann Assee, Brian Lewis, Devon Seale and Shivana Inalsingh.

The remaining seven members resigned days before the dismissal, in what board sources said was a “race to resign.”

The former board became embroiled in a legal tiff and internal fighting after Campbell was fired.

Campbell, who was sought out by the Commissiong-led board and wooed from TSTT at a reduced salary, was dismissed on July 1, six months after she was hired.

Four days after being dismissed, she sent a pre-action protocol letter threatening to sue for wrongful dismissal and giving the board 21 days to respond, or the matter would be taken to court.

Campbell was fired, Commissiong said, on the basis of a June 28 board decision, after an assessment. Added to that, she said, the board sought and received legal advice from industrial relations consultant Lennox Marcelle.

After the June 28 meeting, which seven members of the 11 board members attended and at which five voted to dismiss Campbell, two members wrote asking for the board to be given a copy of the advice received from Marcelle and the notes from the human resource sub-committee (HRC), who had interviewed Campbell that day.

Both members wrote that the decision was never to fire Campbell, but to refer the matter to Mitchell, having been informed that there should be a freeze on hiring and firing staff.

Head of the HRC Mc Intosh-Simon told the board at last Wednesday's meeting what the advice was, but did not present it or read from it. She said the advice came the day Commissiong wrote the dismissal letter to Campbell, and was only seen by herself and Commissiong. Some time later, Campbell was fired.

Board sources said from what Mc Intosh-Simon relayed, Marcelle’s advice called for the board to follow the necessary protocol and warned that Campbell was never informed she was being considered for firing at her June 28 assessment. The advice also said Campbell needed to be given notice of the board’s decision to dismiss her, which was not done.

The dismissal got the attention of the Prime Minister, who said Government needed to address the issue. The matter was discussed at Cabinet some time later, but no decision has been taken.

The board has until Friday to respond to Campbell’s pre-action letter, and board sources said Marcelle is drafting the response.

Newsday contacted Campbell about the new board.

She said in a WhatsApp response: "I instructed my attorneys to issue a pre-action protocol letter to TTL through its then chairperson, Ms Commissiong-Chow since 5th July 2019 in respect of my wrongful dismissal, breach of contract and defamation. To this letter there has not yet been any response. I am confident that I have a very good case and I would not like to comment in any way that might affect that.

"All I could add to that is that I am confident in my legal team to seek justice on my behalf."

Chin Lee, asked about his plans for the new board, said he is looking forward to working with Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell and to convene a meeting with stakeholders in the industry “to gauge where we are at and formulate a plan going forward.”

Asked about the impasse between the former board and its CEO, Chin Lee said: “I have to discuss this with the minister and the board to understand the situation and correct and mend all legal and other issues.”

By Monday evening the board had effectively collapsed after seven of the 11 members had resiged, saying as led by Commissiong, the board was odious and abhorrent and had short-sighted leadership. The resignations began two days after the board had a heated ten-hour-long meeting on July 17. At that meeting acting CEO Heidi Alert was appointed.

This story was originally published with the title "Penny dropped, Chin Lee to head new tourism board" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

Cabinet has appointed former tourism minister Howard Chin Lee as the new chairman of Tourism Trinidad Ltd.

In a release today, the Tourism Ministry announced Chin Lee's appointment, as well as eight new board members. The directors will serve for two years.

Chin Lee replaces former Miss Universe Penny Commissiong, whose tenure came under scrutiny after she fired new TTL CEO, Camille Campbell after just six months.

The dismissal allegedly came without warning with claims Campbell did not perform as expected.

The board collapsed when nearly every member of the board resigned over Commissiong's management style.

In the release, Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell thanked the outgoing board for its contribution.

New TTL board members:

Howard Chin Lee, chairman
Natania Mack, deputy chairman
Avalaughn Huggins
Terrance Bhagwatsingh
Shezrae Nesbitt
Lesley-Ann Assee
Brian Lewis
Devon Seale
Shivana Inalsingh

Chin Lee is a prominent businessman and former politician. He was chairman of the Tourism Industrial Development Company from 1982-1995 and the National
Carnival Commission from 2007-2010.
He is also a former senator, serving as National Security Minister from 2002-2003 and Tourism Minister from 2003-2007.