1. Home
  2. |
  3. Board of Directors

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of the Economic Development Board brings together accomplished industry leaders representing Mauritius’ most prominent sectors and senior officials. Passionate about showcasing Mauritius on the world stage, they embody the best our country has to offer: innovative mindset, entrepreneurial spirit and strategic thinking.

Mr Hemraj Ramnial, CSK
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Mr Issa Mohamad Soormally
Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors
Mr Premode Neerunjun
Mr Visvanaden Soondram
Mr Marday Venketasamy, GOSK
Mr Mathieu Mandeng
Mr Kevin Louis Neil Obeegadoo
Mr Dipak Chummun
rebecca-espitalier
Mrs Rebecca Espitalier Noel
jean-paul-emmanuel-arouff
Mr Jean Paul Emmanuel Arouff
Mr Terence Charles Smith
Mr Ken Poonoosamy
Chief Executive Officer
Ms Maheswaree Madhub

You might be interested in :

Corporate Governance

publications

Publications

Mr. Hemraj Ramnial, CSK
Mr. Hemraj Ramnial, CSK, has over 33 years of professional experience in the Mauritian manufacturing industry. He was previously the Director of Esquel Group of Companies, a world leader for textile and garments based in Hong Kong.Prior to joining the manufacturing sector, Mr. Ramnial worked in the education and the banking sector. He also served as the President of the Mauritius Export Association (MEXA) in 2013 and was Board Member of Enterprise Mauritius from 2013 to 2014.He also served as Senior Advisor, Ministry of Industry & Commerce from 2016 to 2017. Mr. Ramnial was the key representative of private sector in negotiations for the renewal of the AGOA until 2025.He was elevated to the rank of the Commander of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (CSK) in 2014 for outstanding services rendered in the industry sector.
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Lets Connect
linkedin
Mr. Issa Mohamad Soormally
Mr Soormally is a fellow Director of the Mauritius Institute of Directors (MIoD) and has also occupied the post of Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Mauritius. As a seasoned commercial banker and regulator, he has held various positions within local and international organizations. He has a strong proven track record in International banking in various jurisdictions, such as France, Luxembourg, Reunion Island, Kenya, Dubai and South Africa.He was instrumental in assisting the Central Bank of Seychelles for the remediation of BMI Seychelles. Moreover, he set up a full‐fledged branch of Al Salam Bank of Bahrain (ASBB), as CEO, in the Republic of Seychelles. He is a regular participant and speaker, representing Mauritius at various International Finance Conferences and events
Vice - Chairman of the Board of Directors
Lets Connect
linkedin
Mr. Dipak Chummun
Mr. Chummun is currently the Group Chief Finance Officer at IBL Ltd. He has had a 25-year international career span in consulting, investment banking and finance and has held regional and group head roles with Standard Chartered, Barclays, Emirates NBD and Deutsche Bank in London, Hongkong, Dubai, Singapore, and Frankfurt.Before joining IBL in 2015, he was finance director for strategic financial planning at Deutsche Bank global headquarters. Mr Chummun holds directorships with several PIE’s and listed companies in Mauritius, is a director of the Stock Exchange of Mauritius and a former International Advisory Board Member of the ICAEW in UK.
Lets Connect
linkedin
Mr. Terence Charles Smith
Mr. Terence Charles Smith is the Chief Executive Officer of Fundsmith, a fund management company based in Mauritius, which manages £25 billion on behalf of some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated wealth managers and private banks as well as for prominent families, charities and other endowments. Mr. Smith became a stockbroker with W Greenwell & Co in 1984 and was a top-rated bank analyst in London. He was also a best-selling author for his book titled ‘Accounting for Growth’.He has acquired vast experience in his roles as Head of Research at UBS Philips & Drew and Chief Executive Officer at Tullett Prebon. In 2012, he was appointed as Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to New Zealand-UK relations following the success of his campaign to commemorate the New Zealander, Air Marshal Sir Keith Park.
Lets Connect
linkedin
Mrs. R. Espitalier Noel
Mrs. Rebecca Espitalier-Noël is the co-founder and CEO of FoodWise, a Mauritian social enterprise addressing food waste and insecurity. Under her leadership, FoodWise redistributed over 5 million meals in five years and influenced the amendment of the Mauritian law on food date labels.A Forbes 30 Under 30 Africa honoree in 2022, she is an alumna of Stanford Seed, Sciences Po Paris, and the University of St Andrews. Rebecca also serves as a director on the Board of the Rogers Foundation, bringing her expertise in sustainable development and social change.
Lets Connect
linkedin
Mr. Marday Venketasamy, GOSK
Mr. Venketasamy is currently the Managing Partner of Filao Group of Companies, engaged for over 45 years in the manufacture of luxury leather products for exports. He also serves as the President of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) since April 2018 to date, and as Chairman of the national carrier, Air Mauritius Limited, since October 2021.At the international level, he presently serves as the President the COMESA Business Council and is the Honorary Consul for United Republic of Tanzania in Mauritius since 2010. He is also the First Vice President of Union of Indian Ocean Chambers of Commerce and Industries (UCCIOI). He was elevated in Mauritius to the rank of Commander of Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (CSK) in 1996 for outstanding services to industry and recognized in 2011 by France to the rank of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. Mr. Venketasamy was elevated to the rank of Grand Officer of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (GOSK) in 2019 for significant contribution in the field of business..
Lets Connect
linkedin
Mr. Mathieu Mandeng
Mr. Mandeng is the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Mauritius and chairs the board of four Standard Chartered Bank Private Equity Funds investing in Botswana, China, Hong Kong, India, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa and Singapore. He is currently serving as Vice Chairman of the Mauritius Bankers Association. He has over 20 years of experience in the banking and financial services sector with an experience in driving record business performance. He also currently serves as Non-Executive Director of Standard Chartered Cameroon and Cote D’Ivoire.Mr. Mandeng was actively engaged in developing the trade and investment between Singapore and West Africa while he was CEO of Standard Chartered Cameroon, his previous position before being appointed in Mauritius.Prior to the EDB, he was already appointed as the Chairman of the Global Business Committee of the association, a director of Global Finance Mauritius (GFM) and a member of the Economic Committee of Business Mauritius. He was also the chairman of the Corporate Finance Task force and the vice chairman of the Sustainable Finance Committee in the context of the Financial Services Blueprint design and implementation. Prior to his banking experience, he reckoned 10 years’ experience in the mining and metal industry in France.
Lets Connect
linkedin
Mr. Kevin Louis Neil Obeegadoo
Mr. Obeegadoo boasts more than 25 years of consulting experience on business strategy and value creation, helping prominent institutions and individuals, from across the region and around the world, to successfully navigate challenges. He has worked in the City of London and Paris prior to relocating to Mauritius, assisting businesses across diverse sectors including Financial Services, IT, Media, and Real Estate.He continues to motivate vision, innovation, development and growth, for his clients’ businesses and as Member of Boards of unregulated and regulated entities.
Lets Connect
linkedin
Mr. Premode Neerunjun
Mr. Neerunjun is the Secretary to Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service. He was previously the Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office. He has over forty years of experience in the Public Sector, and he is Board Director in a number of statutory bodies/Government owned companies.He holds a Graduate Diploma in Business from Curtin University (Western Australia) and a BSc (Hons) in Economics & Management from University of London. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Mauritius.
Lets Connect
linkedin
Mr. Visvanaden Soondram
Mr Visvanaden Soondram is currently Deputy Financial Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development. Throughout his rich career, he has held several key positions within that same Ministry.He holds a Masters Degree in Finance and is a Fellow of The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.He is also the Chairperson of the SBM Bank (Mauritius) Ltd.
Lets Connect
linkedin
Mr. Jean Paul Emmanuel Arouff
Mr Arouff is currently the Senior Advisor and Director of Strategy at the Ministry of Finance. He has over 20 years of experience in journalism, specialised in reviewing economic and financial markets. He was previously the Editor-in-Chief of Business Magazine, a leading economic news publication in the region, and acted as the country correspondent for the international news agency Reuters on economic and financial matters.In January 2020, he was appointed as Senior Advisor and Director of Communications at the Prime Minister’s Office. Mr. Arouff is a Director of Landscope (Mauritius) Ltd, SBM Holdings Ltd, SBM (Bank) Holdings Ltd, SBM Bank (Mauritius) Ltd and SBM (NFC) Holdings Ltd
Lets Connect
linkedin
Ms. Maheswaree Madhub
Ms Maheswaree Madhub who is presently the Senior Chief Executive of the Ministry of Housing and Land Use Planning holds a BSc Major in Biochemistry and Botany from the Australian National University, a Diploma in Public Administration and Management from the University of Mauritius and a Certificate on “La Bonne Governance et Réforme de l’Etat from Institut Administration Publique/l’Ecole Nationale d’Administration.She started her career in the Public Service in 1988 as Assistant Secretary. She has wide experience in Public Service, having served in the following Ministries namely: Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Office of the President, Cabinet Office, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Prime Minister’s Office (External Communications Division) and Ministry of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives. She has also served as Secretary to the Electoral Supervisory Commission and Electoral Boundaries Commission and has served as Chairperson/Director in a number of Statutory Bodies and Government owned Organisations.
Lets Connect
linkedin
Mr. Ken Poonoosamy
Mr. Ken Poonoosamy is Chief Executive Officer of the Economic Development Board.Mr. Poonoosamy has a solid academic and professional background with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of investment promotion and has implemented targeted promotional campaigns to access emerging markets with a view to spurring FDI inflows in the ICT/BPO, real estate, financial services, biotechnology, logistics, seafood, manufacturing and the Freeport sectors.He is also a much-solicited adviser and speaker at international conferences on Africa‐related investments, good governance for IPAs, ease‐of‐doing‐business practices, shipping, seafood and logistics, amongst others. Moreover, he currently serves on the boards of several important government bodies. Mr. Poonoosamy also served in the Mauritius Freeport after having been in employment at Deloitte and Touche.
Chief Executive Officer
Lets Connect
linkedin
en_GB