DER boss gets CINICO job
(CNS): After being placed on enforced leave from the Department of Employment Relations for ten months Lonny Tibbetts has taken the top job at CINICO government officials have said. Tibbetts was temporarily suspended from his post as director at the DER back in February of this year as a result of an internal staff dispute. However, the education ministry said that matter had been finalized recently and Tibbetts was about to be put back in post before he accepted his new job as Chief Executive Officer with the government’s health insurance company. The post had been vacant for two years before Tibbetts started work on Monday.
The appointment was made by CINICO’s board after an extensive recruitment process. “It was important to find a candidate with the right professional background, academic credentials and management experience. It also had to be someone who has demonstrated commitment to the Cayman Islands and its people. Mr. Tibbetts met all of these important criteria,” said the board chair Scott Cummings. “Of course, we are particularly pleased that we were able to fill the position with a Caymanian candidate.”
Before Tibbetts appointment the Ministry of Education, Training and Employment had confirmed that the matter involving him and that ministry had been finalised with an agreed way forward, government officials said in the statement.
It is understood that Tibbetts was about to be given his job back after the internal investigation which is believed to have revolved around internal staff problems that have plagued the department long before Tibbetts took up the top job. However, the officials from that ministry have not revealed the details of the investigation but said a plan had been worked out for Tibbetts to return.
“Now that Mr. Tibbetts has chosen to move on, I would wish to thank Mr. Tibbetts for his contributions to the challenging and important work of the Department of Employment Relations and wish him all the very best in his future endeavours," said the Chief Officer Mary Rodrigues who had placed Tibbetts on gardening leave.
Tibbetts who holds a master’s degree in business administration from the International College of the Cayman Islands (ICCI) and is about to complete a MSc in human resource management, is also a designated Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS).
Before taking up the post of DER and the ensuing controversy Tibbetts gained first-hand knowledge of the insurance industry through managing a portfolio of captive insurance companies for Marsh Management Cayman Ltd. He later transferred to the public sector where he worked as a senior insurance analyst for the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority in the Insurance Division regulating both Class A and Class B insurance companies.
“These two posts furnished me with a unique perspective of both sides of the table – that of the insurance manager as well as the insurance regulator,” Tibbetts said, making no comment about the issues relating to his former role.
While at the DER however Tibbetts mandated the use of a case management database for the Labour Inspectorate Unit, linked the Immigration Department with the unemployed persons’ database and implemented a number of internal policies and procedures to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the department, officials said.
Health minister Mark Scotland endorsed Tibbetts’ appointment when he said it will be of great benefit to CINICO. “Mr Tibbetts brings a wealth of experience and knowledge,” Scotland added.
Category: Headline News
For once can small ‘minds’ give a man a chance. The ‘Crab in a basket mentality’ is coming out. You can’t hold a man down without staying down with him. B.T. Washington.
This position is not an easy one. The insurance industry in Cayman is very complex and Cinico needs a leader with strong insurance background. Cinico deals with millions of dollars worth of claims each year and if the wrong person is at the helm it could all go terribly wrong very quickly. Hopefully the new CEO is up for the task!
Congaratulations Lonnie,
Very happy for you. It teaches us to stick to our guns. You will do great at your new post. Now maybe Il’l catch some fish. Seriously to those of you who tried to bully Lonnie and bypass his authority in which by the way he was doing a great job and cared for his Caymanians there still might be hope for you. Just be humble and do your job. Great news for a change.
Wow….a small amount of experience can certainly take a man a long way into a top job depending where you were born.
Reading the article at length, he seems to have marginal levels of experience in this field at best, and a real mix of holding positions in non-related fields alongside it. He seems to have bounced around from one career to another.
I would have expected someone with 10+ years experience directly in thisfield to be given the job, combined with relevent degrees and qualifications.
However it seems the only "qualification" needed is: Caymanian.
Congratulations Lonny!!
Am truly proud of you! Reading this article has truly made my day. You are a young man of morals, ethics & have been able to come of this with your integrity, even though some peopletried to see to it that that didn’t happen.
Let your light SHINE from the inside out as you take up this new position. Continue to trust in God to lead & direct you.
May God continue to bless & keep you today and always. All the very best to you & your family this Blessed holiday season.
Did you even notice how government thrives on failure?
We know who all the thumbs down are coming from, those who lost!!!
Get over yourselves people, you went to war without any armory or backup plan which proved that you could never win and would cost this country money trying to discredit a good man.
I am assuming the rest are those who applied and didn’t get it because they couldn’t qualify like the article stated: ‘demonstrated commitment to the Cayman Islands and its people’, and which foreigner is going to do that???.
Heads up, not every business trust hiring foreigner’s in top jobs nowadays, because we all know what happened when we promoted Syed Hassan he robbed the poor school blind and that’s why. Syed set the precedent as we all know who his successor is, if you don’t, it was a Caymanian.
A Caymanian has reached the top, get over yourselves. From what I gather from this story Lonny Tibbetts turned down their reinstatement and good move too, who would want to return to work with that bunch of misfits. Go put that in your pipes and smoke it.
so who is going to grasp the poisened chalice that is the DER? A wasps nest where the tail wags the dog, say some
For such a critical appointment you would employ a person with many years of experience in Health Insurance… which this candidate clearly does not have.
More millions will be lost
But he’sa Caymanian, jobs for the boys. What more do you need? What a strange comment from you.
Clearly ‘jobs for the boys’ is one of the applicants that was not successful at getting the CEO position!
Congratulations Lonny, I believe what you have endured during the last 10 months will only prove to make you stronger!
With TWO master degrees I am sure you will very quickly grasp the knowledge you need of the health insurance business.
I am looking forward to the improved service I know you will implement and which is so badly needed at CINICO’s office.
"With TWO master degrees I am sure you will very quickly grasp the knowledge you need of the health insurance business. "
Maybe, maybe not.
Was the job advertised as being suitable for a trainee? I doubt it, but apparently this is what the company got.
O’Really – Why don’t you at least give him a chance.
We all know that there are lots of positions out there that Caymanians can hold with their many years of experience but despite that we are NEVER given the chance to hold those positions. For donkey years we were told that we need degrees, now that thousands of us have endured years of sacrifice to obtain degrees you all are now saying that we have no experience!
I wonder where you obtained your education and experience in health Insurance? I bet a lot of the experience you claim to have was gotten right here in the good old CI!
Let me tell you something! Lonny Tibbetts happens to be a very smart young Caymanian! And yes he has two master degrees to prove this! What do you have?? A master in being ignorant and a master in saying defamatory things about people?
Instead of trying to run him down, why don’t you take the time to get to know him and talk with him about the new position or about anything for that matter and believe me with a minute of your conversation you will more than realize that he is quite suitable for the position and quite knowledgeable of alot of things for that matter. You just pick a topic and go talk with him!
Don’t worry Lonny, you know this place is filled with HATERS! Who WISH they were in your position right now! I know you will do a great job because you are a smart young man! You know you have the support of your family and friends, so brush them HATERS off!
God bless you my dear and all the very best to you in your new position!
This is history making news headlines. The sister is on the front page of the Compass protesting for work and for unemployed Caymanians, and her brother is making headlines as the new CEO of Cinico. I am proud to be a Cayman Bracker today when I see these headlines. It certainly shows that two strong personalities can express themselves in the headlines all at once and on similar topics with similar passions.
I must congratulate Mr. Tibbetts he has won the fight, and regained his reputation.
I am a friend of his sister’s on facebook, and she has been advocating for him from the beginning and now to end. Her facebook is alive and light up most appropriately like Christmas celebrating his victory.
It’s support like this you don’t see often with siblings, or for Caymanians for each other on a whole, and why I must comment on this story.
This is great Lonny! You have certainly paid your dues now it is time to reap the benefits! CEO you call the shots! Congratulations and all the best in your new position!
This man and his reputation was hounded by the Ministry and chief officer he worked for and now everything is OK? Very strange. One minute he’s about to be dismissed (according to the Marl Road) and the next he gets a big time job. It would seem there was no good reason to hound him in the first place so the Ministry and chief officer should be asked to explain what was going on.
How you like them spinning wheels!!!
Well done Lonny, glad your name is cleared and all is well again in your camp.
If more Caymanians would stand by each other and support each other and stop the tearing apart and holding down we would have a less hostile Cayman Islandsto live and work in today.
Good to see you moved on to much greener pastures, where your true potential can be exercised and all the haters can go and shut up.
Good luck and all the best.
After reading this article in length and gaining the knowledge of Mr. Tibbetts education level and prior work experience He seems to be an appropriate candidate for this position. I wish him the best of luck (because CINICO sure does need some structured management).
My concern is with the fact that Mr. Tibbetts was placed on leave for 10 months and although the ministry stated the matter with DER had been recently resolved I can’t believe it would need to take 10 months to sort out. I understand there may be a need for an investigation but when it is at the level of post Mr. Tibbetts was & earning a large salary the matter should be expedited. When it drags on the employees involved become even more demoralized and that in turn costs government money.
Good luck Mr. Tibbetts.
Congratulations Lonny! A great opportunity to serve your country which I know you are always committed to do. All the best my friend.