Directors at the Ministry of Trade and Industry
Mr. Norris Herbert - Director, Trade
Norris Herbert was previously the Assistant Director, Trade Promotion and Development at MTI, where his portfolio included responsibility for World Trade Organization (WTO), African-Caribbean-Pacific/European Union (ACP-EU) Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Bilateral Trade Agreements.
As the new Director of Trade, he will lead a team responsible for, among other things, development and management of market access for our exporters; conducting trade negotiations; identifying trade opportunities and developing strategies for their exploitation and identifying, managing our obligations under major multilateral and bilateral trade agreements, in particular our relationship with the WTO and communicating with stakeholders.
Mr. Herbert has over 24 years experience in the public service, previously at the Ministry of Works and Transport and later on at MTI. He is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, with a Masters Degree in Management and Implementation of Development Projects from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST).
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Wayne Punnette - Director, Investment
A stalwart of MTI’s senior management corps for many years and highly regarded for his technical competence in business, government and professional circles, Wayne Punnette virtually requires no introduction.
An economist by training, Mr. Punnette is a University of the West Indies (UWI) graduate who has had extensive experience in trade, business development, the development of industry at small and medium levels and macro-policy formulation. He also holds a post graduate diploma from UWI in Management Studies.
Mr. Punnette began his career as an economist with the Industrial Development Corporation, (IDC) in 1977. In 1992 he came to the Ministry of Trade and Industry as a Senior Policy Advisor, advising the Minister on trade and economic matters. After this first stint at MTI, he joined the Small Business Development Company (SBDC) as Deputy CEO. From the SBCD he returned to MTI in 2001 as Assistant Director of Inward Investment and Industrial Development where he was in charge of investment policy, facilitation and promotion and industrial development. Following this, he was promoted to Director of Trade Promotion and Development, and in this post served as Acting PS on a number of occasions. In January 2009, Wayne was appointed Ag. Deputy Permanent Secretary at MTI.
Mr. Punnette currently holds the position of Director, Investment.
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Randall Karim - Director, Policy and Strategy
Randall Karim came to this new post having served as a Trade Specialist at MTI for the last five years. At that time he had primary responsibility for coordinating Trinidad and Tobago’s participation in the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and WTO negotiations. During his tenure he also served on a number of Cabinet appointed committees tasked with developing trade-related policies for Trinidad and Tobago.
Mr. Karim will lead a team whose responsibilities will include significant research, monitoring and evaluation; assessment of trade, business and investment policy performance against measurable outcomes, provision of data for the development of national strategies for export, investment promotion and business development; facilitating the development of a supporting legislative framework; and development of projects in keeping with the Ministry’s strategic objectives.
Mr. Karim holds a Bachelor’s Degree, an Msc in Economics and an MBA from the University of the West Indies. He is also a graduate of the Executive Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA.
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