Directors
Christine Sauzier
Chairperson of the Board of Directors
Christine Sauzier is the Group General Counsel of CIEL Group. She advises companies within the CIEL Group on compliance, deal structuring and shareholder matters, while also liaising with international and local lawyers in drafting, reviewing and negotiating commercial contracts and other legal documents. She has also been instrumental in dealings with the regulators like Bank of Mauritius, Financial Services Commission and with the Stock Exchange of Mauritius. Christine has been involved in various Mergers & Acquisitions transactions for the CIEL Group with exposure to diverse industries like Banking, Hotels, Property, Healthcare, Private Equity, Textile, Agro Business and Fiduciary. She has also been involved in cross border deals in various countries notably in Sub-Saharan Africa,Indian Ocean and Asia.She acts as Director on various companies of the CIEL Group and also for the following listed companies: C-Care (Mauritius) Ltd (formerly known as The Medical and Surgical Centre Ltd), IPRO Growth Fund Ltd and IPRO Funds Ltd (IPRO African Market Leaders Fund - Class (I2) Institutional Class).Christine is an Attorney-at-Law and holds an LLB (Hons) from the University of Mauritius and a Licence en droit privé from the Faculté des Sciences Juridiques, Université de Rennes, France. She is a fellow of the MIoD.
Danny Balluck
Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Directors
Danny Balluck is the Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Mauritius. As CFO and member of the board, he actively contributes in the creation and delivery of sustainable shareholder value. Strategy, performance, capital, liquidity, governance, culture and values are the areas which are embedded in his day to day responsibilities. He travels regularly to other units of Standard Chartered Bank and work closely with the network, mainly UK, Singapore, Dubai, India and South Africa.Danny is also a Director of Standard Chartered Private Equity companies Mauritius and Chairman of the Financial Reporting Monitoring Panel of the
Financial Reporting Council. He is also an alternate Director at the Mauritius Bankers Association.Danny is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountant UK, member of the Mauritius Institute of Professional Accountants and also a member of the Mauritius Institute of Directors. He has more than 22 years of experience in Finance, Auditing, Banking and Investment. Danny has been working in different key sectors of the economy, mainly Textile, Hospitality, Auditing and Financial services.
Sheila Ujoodha
Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director and Chairperson of the Audit & Risk Committee
Sheila Ujoodha has been been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Mauritius Institute if Directors. With 20 years of hands-on experience in internal audit, risk management, corporate governance and process improvement on both the local and international market, Sheila was previously the Managing Director of SmarTree Consulting Ltd. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Accounting. As a fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Certified Accountants and the Mauritius Institute of Directors (MIoD), Sheila’s membership extends to the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors in UK, the Mauritius Institute of Professional Accountants and the Women Directors Forum, a platform established by the MIoD to target solutions regarding gender diversity on boards in Mauritius. Sheila’s participation extends to the Audit Committee Forum (ACF) established by the MIoD and KPMG to help Audit Committees in Mauritius improve their effectiveness, where she is presently the Chairperson. Sheila was awarded the CMO Africa Woman Leadership Award in 2017 for her contribution as a business leader alluring her best in the professional field. In 2019, she was conferred the Africa Impact Leadership Award at the SADC Women Forum and was induced into the SADC Women Leaders Hall of Fame. She joined British American Tobacco (Mauritius) as the Internal Audit Manager in 2001. In March 2005, she was employed as General Manager of the Risk & Audit Department of Rogers Group and was subsequently appointed as Chief Risk & Audit Executive in 2007. Sheila joined the Cim Group in the same capacity in October 2012 to February 2018.
Guillaume Hugnin
Independent Non-Executive Director
Guillaume Hugnin studied at the University of Cape Town in South Africa where he graduated with Honours in Economics. He completed his studies in 1997 by obtaining an MBA from the University of Surrey, United Kingdom.Guillaume worked in South Africa and
Australia for several years before joining the Eclosia Group of Companies in 1993. He has developed the export activities of the Group in Africa, Asia and the Gulf. He has participated in the creation and/or the development of many of Eclosia’s companies. He is very experienced in international trade and logistic. He participated in many trade negotiating forums at SADC, and COMESA. Based at the Group’s Corporate Office, he heads the Eclosia Group Export Division. Guillaume has directorships in the FMCG sector, the hotel industry and is the past Chairman of the Mauritius Exporters Association (MEXA). He has also acted as Council member of the Joint Economic Council (JEC). He is a Board Member of Phoenix Beverages Co Ltd since 2011 and is a member of its Corporate Governance
Committee. He is a fellow of the MIoD. He was elected on the Council of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry of which he is the Vice Chairman.
Gyaneshwarnath (Gary) Gowrea
Independent Non-Executive Director, Chairperson of the Corporate Governance, Membership and Nominations Committee
Gyaneshwarnath Gowrea, also known as Gary, is the Managing Director of Tax and (Mauritius) Ltd. Gary has more than twenty years’ experience in international taxation and advises on tax structures set up by multinational corporations, fund managers and high net-worth individuals. He has served as the Managing Director of CIM Tax Services subsidiary of CIM Financial
Services Limited. He is a speaker at several local and international conferences. He completed his secondary education at John Kennedy College in Mauritius and holds various professional qualifications, including being a fellow of the Chartered Association & Certified Accountants, United Kingdom and a Fellow of the Mauritius Institute of Directors. He is a Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (UK) and the International Fiscal Association. He holds a Diploma in International Taxation from Chartered Institute of Taxation (UK). He holds an MSc in Accounting from De Monfort University in Leicester, UK.
Dr Linda Mamet
Non-Executive Director
Dr Linda Mamet holds a BSc (first class) degree in Biology and Applied Psychology from the University of Aston, UK and an MPhil and a PhD in Plant Genetics from the University of Cambridge, UK. Her doctoral thesis has led to changes in the way new varieties of sugar cane are developed at the Mauritius Sugarcane Industry Research Institute where she worked from 1986-1999. In 1999 she joined the Regional Training Centre (RTC) and she became the Director in 2005. The RTC is a centre of international excellence for sustainable development, whose core business is the provision of training for the sugarcane industries of the region. She has carried out several consultancies and has authored/co-authored/edited numerous reports and papers. She is a Fellow of the Mauritius Academy of Science and Technology and a Fellow of the Mauritius Institute of Directors. She is currently the Treasurer of the Société de Technologie Agricole et Sucrière de Maurice (STASM). She was formerly a member of the Council of the University of Mauritius (UOM), and has served on the University‘s Staff, Recruitment and Audit Committees. She has served as Council member of the Human Resources Development Council (HRDC) and was Chair of the Agro-industry Committee of HRDC, and a Member of the Audit Committee. She was Vice-Chair of the Industrial and Vocational Training Board (IVTB), and was previously Chair of the
Industry Advisory Committee for Agroindustry of the Mauritius Qualifications Authority. She has also chaired the National Committee of Mauritius for the United World Colleges (UWC).
Mohamed Baboo
Independent Non-Executive Director
Mahomed Baboo is the owner and Director of Mabco Consulting Ltd, a professional firm of business development consultants providing Corporate and Business Consulting Services to companies in various sectors of the economy. He is a Fellow of The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK), Member of The Mauritius Institute of Professional Accountants and a Licensed Auditor with nearly 40 years of experience in Accounting, Finance and Management Consultancy. Adding value and development of human capital are his guiding principles in his professional life. Mamed is a Past District Governor of Rotary International who also served as Regional Coordinator for Africa and is now a Member of Leadership Development and Training Committee of Rotary International.
Kevin Teeroovengadum
Independent Non-Executive Director
Kevin Teeroovengadum has a BSc in Economics, MBA and MSc in Finance from Leicester University, UK. He worked for KPMG, Deloitte, Ernst & Young in corporate finance and strategic consultancy before moving to Loita Capital Partners Group based in South Africa. He joined Actis in 2007, the leading Emerging Market Private Equity Firm, as a Director as part of their Africa real estate team where he led a number of transactions and exits. He was the co-founder and CEO of AttAfrica in 2013 which became the premier investor of shopping malls in Africa. He is a frequent writer and speaker at conferences globally and currently serves on numerous boards of companies in Mauritius and also advises a number of companies in Africa leveraging his 20 years of experience in Africa in financial services, real estate/hospitality sector. He is also the co-founder of ProptechAfrica.
Kevin Ramkaloan
Independent Non-Executive Director
Kevin Ramkaloan is the CEO of Business Mauritius, the apex organization of the business community on public-private sector dialogue and industrial relations. He was the former Director of the MTPA, the national tourism promotion agency of Mauritius and Director of New Business Development at the Board of Investment, the national investment promotion agency. Kevin has over 20 years of executive experience in Mauritius and internationally, spanning diverse sectors including public policy, business consulting, hospitality, financial services and the ocean economy among others. Awarded both the State Scholarship of Mauritius and a US Fulbright, he holds post-graduate degrees in economics and policy from Cambridge University, UK and University of Maine, US respectively.
Mark Watkinson
Independent Non-Executive Director
Mark Watkinson is the Chief Executive Officer of Bank One since April 2020. He has been a career banker with the HSBC Group for 33 years, during which time he held senior leadership roles in 10 countries in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In particular, Mark was CEO and Main Board Director for HSBC Bank Bermuda Limited (2015-2018), CEO and Main Board Director for HSBC Bank Malta Ltd (2011-2015), Executive Vice President Commercial Banking Canada and North America (2010-2011), President and CEO for HSBC Bank Philippines (2006-2010), Senior Vice President Commercial Banking HSBC Bank USA (2004-2006) and Senior Manager Commercial Banking HSBC Bank United Arab Emirates (2001-2004).
Mark holds a law degree and is a Barrister at Law in the United Kingdom, he is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, holds a MBA (with Distinctions) from the University of Warwick and is also a qualified Chartered Director from the Institute of Directors, United Kingdom.
Virginie Corneillet
Independent Non-Executive Director
Virginie Corneillet is the Group Head of Governance and Legal Affairs at ENL. She oversees the legal, internal audit as well as risk and governance functions within ENL Corporate Services. She provides expert guidance to the group's leadership team with regards to mergers and acquisitions, corporate transactions and corporate governance matters.
Virginie holds a Maitrise Droit des Affaires and serves as director for companies engaged in various sectors namely: property, global business, financial services and hospitality. She previously worked at Groupe Mon Loisir (now IBL) where she was mainly responsible for the legal aspects of mergers and acquisitions within the Group. She started her career at Soulier & Associés, a French law firm based in Paris and Lyon, France.