Hall one of three new WIPA board appointees

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Michael Hall is one of three new appointees to the board of directors for the West Indies Players’ Association.

The former chief cricket operations officer of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean joins compatriot Derick Latibeaudiere, the former Governor of Jamaica’s Central Bank, and attorney-at-law Dave Kissoon on the hierarchy of the regional players’ body.

“On behalf of the WIPA executive management team, I welcome the appointment of these three Caribbean statesmen as an opportunity to bolster the association’s capacity in the areas of law, finance, and management,” said WIPA Executive President Dinanath Ramnarine in a media release

“[We] look forward to working with them in service of cricketing excellence in the region.”
The appointments follow a two-day sitting of the WIPA Executive Committee last Thursday and Friday, where the organization’s three-year strategic plan for the period 2011-2013 was also reviewed.

Hall now manages his own restaurant in the Jamaica capital of Kingston, and is respected for his shrewd business acumen.

He served two years between May 2001 and June 2003 in the post of CCOO of the WICB before he resigned in frustration over the way the regional governing body was being managed.

Latibeaudiere was governor of Jamaica’s Central Bank from April 1996 to October 2009, and also served as governor of the Bank of Jamaica.

He also held the post of chairman of the board of governors of the Bank of Jamaica, and was Jamaica’s alternate governor to the International Monetary Fund.

Kissoon is a prominent and internationally respected attorney-at-law. He is a Partner at the American law firm, Cozen O’Connor.

He is currently resident in the firm’s London and New York offices, and heads the firm’s Caribbean practice.

Without specifying, Ramnarine also noted in the media release that existing challenges were addressed and that clear guidance has been provided for WIPA on the resolution and the closure to some lingering matters.

The media release added that the WIPA Board also made some recommendations for initiatives and interventions that will foster improved player performance and which could over time, see West Indies players on the rise again.
“We of the WIPA executive will continue to persevere in the critical role as an indispensable source of player representation in regional cricket,” he said.