Board of Directors

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has appointed the following citizens to be the Board of Directors of NGC:

Dr. Joseph Ishmael Khan – Chairman

Dr. Joseph Ishmael Khan was appointed as Chairman to NGC’s Board in September 2022. He first served as a Director to the Board, initially appointed in February 2022.

Dr. Khan commenced his career as a Mechanical Engineering Technician/Millwright and Mechanical Inspector with several industrial process plants located on the Point Lisas Industrial Estate. Since then, his career path has evolved and he is an international project management practitioner with more than two decades of project management and strategic planning and management consulting, facilitating and lecturing experience.

Presently, Dr. Khan leads and collaborates on development projects in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados, Belize, Bahamas, Grenada, Suriname, Germany, France and Spain for private and public sector organisations and international agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and Organisation of American States (OAS/CICAD) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Germany, among others.

Dr. Khan is also actively involved in the design, implementation and evaluation of renewable energy projects focused on geothermal, solar and wind energy sources. Additionally, he works on projects in various sectors such as water and sanitation, health, climate change mitigation and adaptation, education and digital transformation. His works spans across the Caribbean Region and Latin America.

Dr. Khan is an adjunct faculty with the Project Management Department, Faculty of Engineering and Department of Creative and Festival Arts, Faculty of Humanities and Education, University of the West Indies, and the Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business.

Dr. Khan holds a Doctoral Degree (DBA) in Management with the Australian School of Business, Adelaide, South Australia; a Master of Business Management degree and Post Graduate Diploma from the Henley Management College/University of Reading, UK; Certified Associate Welding Inspector (CAWI) with the American Welding Society; and the Mechanical Engineering Technician’s Diploma from the San Fernando Technical Institute. He is also a 20-year distinguished Project Management Professional® (PMP®), Certified Project Consultant, Certified PROSCI Change Management Practitioner, and an active Certified Agile Scrum Master.

Sandra Fraser – Director

Ms. Sandra Fraser joined NGC’s Board on July 5th 2019, bringing considerable public sector experience to her appointment.

Ms. Fraser holds a BSc in Economics from The University of the West Indies (UWI) and has trained extensively in the Caribbean, South America, the USA and Europe. She began working in the Judiciary Magistracy before taking up a role as an Economist at the Ministry of Works and Transport. Thereafter, she progressed her career at the Ministry of Finance through various positions, and was promoted to Assistant Director (Ag.) of the Economic Management Division.

In 2016, Ms. Fraser was appointed Senior Advisor for Trinidad and Tobago at the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank Group in Washington for a period of two years. Upon her return, she was called to serve as Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries with responsibilities in the areas of energy research, renewable energy, commercial evaluation, procurement, health and safety and local content. She was appointed as a Director on the Board of NGC in July 2019.

Mark Loquan – Director

Mr. Mark Loquan is a Chemical Engineer by profession with over 35 years’ experience in the petrochemical industry. He was appointed President of The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) in September 2016 and was appointed Director on the Board of NGC in July 2019.

Mr. Loquan acquired an MBA in 1992 from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and received training in Executive Leadership and Management from Cornell University and IESE Business School (University of Navarra).

In 1982, he began his career in the energy sector as a Process Engineer at Trinidad Nitrogen Co. Ltd. He moved through various leadership positions before being appointed as the first local President of Hydro Agri Trinidad (now Yara Trinidad Ltd.) in 2002. In 2009, he was appointed President, Upstream Business Development for Angola/Sub-Saharan Africa at Yara International. Mr. Loquan moved to Australia three years later, where he served as CEO of Yara Pilbara involving 2 joint ventures.

Since 2016, at the helm of NGC, Mr. Loquan has led a process of transformation at the state enterprise, expanding the business portfolio across the value chain, streamlining processes with technology, and strengthening the Company’s presence in the value chain and positioning the company, Group and industry for incorporating the focus on the energy transition for the future with sustainability reporting. He has overseen a number of critical gas contract negotiations and was instrumental in brokering partnership agreements with state entities in Venezuela, Grenada, Ghana, Mozambique and China. A proponent of strategic and systems-thinking, Mr. Loquan has advocated for greater collaboration across the local energy sector, on issues such as safety and environment, supply management, gas optimisation and energy efficiency.

Mr. Loquan serves on the Boards of Atlantic LNG (ALNG) and The Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago (ECTT). He is also a member of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GORTT) Standing Committee on Energy, and a member of the GORTT Empowered Negotiation Team (for increased value from resources) in his capacity as a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago.

One of 50 Distinguished UWI Alumni Awardees, Mr. Loquan is a former Director of the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business.

Education

• B.Sc. Chemical Engineering – The University of the West Indies
• MBA – Duke University, Fuqua School of Business, North Carolina

Dan Martineau – Director

Mr. Martineau joined NGC’s Board of Directors in July 2019 . With over 25 years of experience in financial and investment management, he has built a career in commercial credit, investment management, and treasury management. He currently serves as a Commissioner at the Trinidad & Tobago Fair Trading Commission.

Mr. Martineau began his career in the United States where he worked with various trading groups, specialising in commodity derivatives and equities. After returning to Trinidad and Tobago, he held advancing roles at several of the country’s leading financial institutions, honing his expertise in investment management, financial analysis, financial operations, risk management, and distressed asset analysis.

Mr. Martineau holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in International Finance from The University of the West Indies. He is presently furthering his education in Energy Economics.

Howard A.W. Dottin – Director

Howard Dottin was appointed Director on the Board of NGC in February 2020. A distinguished chartered accountant since the 1980s, Mr. Dottin furthered his expertise by completing a Master of Business Administration with specialisations in marketing and finance in the 1990s. With a career spanning over four decades, Mr. Dottin has made significant contributions to both the public and private sectors.

Beginning his professional journey in the private sector, Mr. Dottin worked with the auditing firm Pannell Fitzpatrick (now Ernst & Young), followed by the Inland Revenue Division of the Ministry of Finance. Transitioning to the banking sector, he broke new ground as the first chartered accountant to work on the lending side of financial institutions in Trinidad and Tobago. His expertise in finance led him to a senior lender role in the Corporate Banking Centre of Scotiabank, and he later advanced to lead the finance department of that bank.

Mr. Dottin’s career eventually progressed to assume the role of Group Chief Financial Officer for one of the Caribbean’s largest insurance conglomerates, Guardian Holdings Limited.

Beyond his undertakings in the corporate world, Mr. Dottin has been a dedicated lecturer in accounting and finance, initially educating aspiring accountants and later post-graduate students in their MBA and MSc in Finance at the Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business. Additionally, Mr. Dottin teaches short courses at the Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute and the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Mr. Dottin continues to contribute to the governance of both private and public sector entities, serving as a Director and Audit Chairman on several Boards.

Donnie Videsh Boodlal – Director

Professor Donnie Boodlal was appointed to the Board of NGC in February 2022. He is a Professor in Process Engineering at the University of Trinidad and Tobago where he also serves as Discipline Leader for the BASc/MEng in Process Engineering and MSc in Energy Engineering Programmes.

Professor Boodlal has made significant local, regional and international impact in the field of GHG inventory and mitigation. Locally, in the capacity of GHG inventory expert, he has contributed towards Trinidad and Tobago’s Third National Communication and First Biennial Update Report. In addition, he has worked with and supported many local companies in Trinidad and Tobago with GHG inventories and mitigation plans. Regionally, he worked with Governments in Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda and the Bahamas as a Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Mitigation Consultant through the Caribbean Cooperative Measurement, Reporting and Verification Hub, often aiding towards the development of their mitigation action plans. Internationally, following his nomination by T&T to the Expert of Rosters, Professor Boodlal served on expert review teams and teams of technical experts in the reviewing GHG inventories submissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

As a scholar, he has co-authored over 40 refereed articles in areas related to sustainability, renewable energy, environmental management, cleaner production, GHG inventories and GHG mitigation and he is regarded nationally as being at the forefront of the field of sustainable emissions reductions.

Professor Boodlal holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering, a Postgraduate Diploma in Petroleum Engineering, an MSc in Industrial Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Management and a PhD in Process and Utilities Engineering.

Lawrence J. Arjoon – Director

Mr. Lawrence J. Arjoon was appointed as an NGC Director in February 2023. He is the Chief Executive Officer of the Heroes Foundation, a Caribbean development centre that delivers strengths-based and rights-based, child and youth-friendly interventions for psychosocial development, sustainability education, and mentorship. His leadership has demonstrated a methodical approach to operational optimisation and digital transformation, a keen sensitivity to diversity and inclusion, a fervent focus on safety and safeguarding, and a deep commitment to a sustainable future for all people.

With a history of innovation and creativity through work within media, energy, and non-profit organisations, and global experience in the fields of corporate communications, risk management, stakeholder relations and employee engagement, Mr. Arjoon is also Chairperson of the U Report Trinidad and Tobago Main Steering Committee; NextGen Board Member, Inter-American Development Bank (Trinidad and Tobago); Board Member, Caribbean Gender Alliance and holds membership on other local and international development committees.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) – Communications Studies and Geography – from The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine.

Joel Jack – Director

Former Assemblyman Mr. Joel Jack was the Deputy Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) with responsibility for Finance and the Economy.  He was appointed Secretary of Finance and Enterprise Development in the THA in 2013.  Prior to this, he was also the Programme Coordinator in the Financial Literacy Secretariat, and the Director of Enterprise Development.

Under his leadership, the Division of Finance initiated the adoption of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), and the modernisation of the Assembly’s financial architecture with the introduction of the Integrated Financial Management Information System, as well as the Automated Clearing House System (ACH) payment system.  He also championed the Assembly’s Alternative Financing Modality, which resulted in the Assembly, for the first time in its history, accessing funding on the local capital market of approximately TT$165M. He also championed the Assembly’s Public Private Partnership modality and the Development of the Tobago Infrastructure Investment Strategy. 

The Division of Finance also encompassed responsibility for Enterprise Development, and during that time, he ensured that entrepreneurs and small business owners not only acquired the finances required to open and expand their operations but also ensured they received the training and financial education needed to successfully manage, operate and scale their businesses. Under his direction, the Division implemented a suite of initiatives focused on providing training and financial support targeting females, the elderly, the physically challenged and young entrepreneurs as well as programmes positively impacting the fishing, agricultural, technology and micro-enterprise sectors.  During his tenure, he also introduced the Tobago Export Readiness Programme. 

Mr. Jack was also responsible for the Assembly’s Draft Medium Term Planning Framework, which is guiding and advancing the island’s socio-economic development for the period 2019-2024. He also advanced Tobago’s Intelligent Island Mandate through a Joint Venture with TSTT to construct a Tier III Data Centre and the completion of a comprehensive study. 

A past student of Signal Hill Secondary School, he has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Accounting from St. George’s University, Grenada. Mr. Jack also holds a Certificate in Cost Management Accounting and is an MBA student at Warwick University, UK.  A father of two, he believes in continuous learning and the kaizen approach to doing things and is committed to the development of Tobago and continues to serve the people of Tobago with fervour and excellence.

Solange De Souza – Director

Ms. Solange De Souza was appointed Director to the NGC Board in June 2024. At the start of her career, Ms. De Souza worked as a private attorney practicing family, land and probate law. She eventually progressed to work as a technocrat with the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. From there she worked within the public sector as legal counsel for several units at the Ministry of the Attorney General. Ms. De Souza presently works as a senior level attorney in the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs.

Over the course of her professional endeavours, Ms. De Souza has built a wealth of knowledge in areas of contract law; public policy; legislative and parliamentary processes; and mediation and negotiation skills. She successfully completed the FATF Assessors training in law and enforceable means, AML/CFT, and customer due diligence, among other certification.

Throughout her law career, Ms. De Souza has gained extensive experience in cybercrime, cybersecurity and data protection. She has worked and continues to work with the United Nations (and with specific European legal groups) for matters involving anti-corruption and transnational organised crime and the global impact on cybercrime.

A qualified attorney for the past 16 years, Ms. De Souza holds her LLB (Hons.) from the University of London and her solicitor’s qualifications, the Legal Practice Course (LPC) from the University of Wolverhampton (UK).