The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) on Sunday confirmed the closure of the “internal administrative process” involving Dr. Hyginus ‘Gene’ Leon and confirmed that he “has ceased to hold the office of the President of the Bank”.
In a statement issued by the CDB, it stated that “Per the Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Development Bank, the Vice President (Operations), Isaac Solomon, will continue to exercise the authority and perform the functions of President until a new President is elected.”
The release further stated that the process for the election of a new President has commenced and the Board of Governors has been invited to submit nominations for the position of the President of the Bank by August 26, 2024. It is expected that the election process will conclude in October 2024.
Dr Hyginus ‘Gene’ Leon
“CDB, under the direction of its Board of Governors and Directors, and through the leadership of its management and the efforts of its staff, continues to work fully and effectively together with its Member Countries and development partners to advance CDB’s mission of reducing poverty and transforming lives through sustainable and resilient development initiatives.”
Earlier in the year, Dr. Leon resigned with immediate effect and had threatened to file a lawsuit against the region’s premier financial institution. It was reported that the St. Lucia-based law firm, FOSTERS, had written to the CDB stating that their client Dr. Leon believes that “he will never be treated fairly” after he had been sent on administrative leave in January.
The lawyers had given the regional financial institution until May 4 “to negotiate an amicable separation” indicating also that their correspondence should be viewed “as our client’s pre-action protocol letter” regarding the entire situation.
In January, it was disclosed that Leon, had been sent on administrative leave until April, as “an ongoing administrative process” continued at the region’s premier financial institution.
Leon is the sixth president of the regional development finance institution. He was elected at a special meeting of the CDB Board of Governors held on January 19, 2021, for a five-year term, and assumed office on May 4, 2021.
Leon heads a team of more than 200 employees headquartered in Bridgetown and came to the assignment with 35 years of experience in economics, financial policy development, and executive management, more than 20 of which were spent working with the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF). He had succeeded the Jamaican-born Dr. Warren Smith who retired in 2021 after serving as president for 10 years.
