Dennise Williams, Staff Reporter
"HELL OF a loss. As hated as he was at the National Commercial Bank (NCB) Jamaica and the AIC Group, Kris Astaphan kept the discipline. Without Mr. Astaphan, we may very well get back to the old NCB."
This comment came from one of several financial analysts willing to discuss the sudden departure of Mr. Astaphan, deputy chairman of the NCB Group, AIC Financial Group (Trinidad), chairman of NCB Capital Markets and NCB (Cayman) Limited.
Mr. Astaphan did not have many friends in the financial community, but there are mixed views about the impact of his resignation.
PUBLIC STATEMENT
His resignation, effective from Wednesday, was made public in a statement from the Jamaica Stock Exchange. The terse statement said he had quit all his directorships in the NCB Group. Mr. Astaphan's is an executive vice-president of Canadian fund management company, AIC Limited, which is owned by Michael Lee Chin and is the ultimate parent company of NCB.
Mr. Astaphan, considered Mr. Lee Chin's right hand for the last 11 years, was instrumental in the negotiations for the purchase of 79 per cent of NCB Jamaica by Mr. Lee Chin's AIC (Barbados) from the government financial rescue company, Finsac.
Once the negotiations were completed, Mr. Lee Chin and Mr. Astaphan set out to create a first world organisation. Repeatedly, the duo stated that the NCB Group would be based in Jamaica, spread its reach throughout the wider Caribbean and eventually to other countries with a Caribbean presence.
An in a similar manner of making an omelette, the Lee Chin/Astaphan team set out to break the old culture of NCB, which had contributed to its demise.
Millions were spent on technology, interior and exterior upgrades. But the real shake up occurred in staffing.
One senior executive, having been promoted unexpectedly quipped, "I am shocked. At NCB you don't move up, you move out."
HIGH-PROFILE DEPARTURES
There have been several high-profile departures from NCB, but it was the resignation of managing director Aubyn Hill earlier this year that grabbed the most attention.
Discussing the revolving door to the NCB's executive suite, one commentator said Mr. Astaphan handled the departure of one particular senior executive departure very badly. "He demanded that the executive pay for benefits that the executive thought were part of the exit package. That still has not been resolved."
Another commentator said there have also been concerns about staff turnover at AIC Trinidad.
The Financial Gleaner was unable to get a comment from NCB and efforts to contact Mr. Astaphan were also unsuccessful, as he was said to be off the island. Mr. Astaphan resides in Canada and commutes to Jamaica.
What remains unclear following the NCB resignation is whether Mr. Astaphan has retained his position with AIC.
