Scotia Group Jamaica Limited confirmed that no Committee Member has resigned. The company confirmed that the appointed Chair Vernon Douglas is an independent, external director with financial and accounting knowledge. All other appointed members noted below are also independent, external directors: Audit & Conduct Review Committee: Vernon Douglas ­ Chair, Eric Crawford ­ Member, Angela Fowler ­ Member, William David McConnell ­ Member, Evelyn Smith ­ Member.

The profiles of all the committee members are attached hereto for your information and attention. Vernon Douglas is a purpose-driven leader and trusted business partner, who is passionate about transformation at the individual, community and national levels. He has over 20 years of experience in financial leadership, business development, process implementation and improvement in several countries across the Caribbean, Central America, and Europe.

Skilled in tackling a diverse array of business opportunities, Vernon has worked in Telecoms, Energy, Retail and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) sectors. In his current role as CFO at JPS, Jamaica's leading energy company, he has immediate responsibility for Corporate Finance, Corporate Accounting, Logistics & Inventory Management, and Regulatory & Strategy Administration. His career has spanned roles with; the Digicel Group as CFO- Mergers and Acquisitions (Caribbean and Central America).

He also held executive, senior positions with Celebration Brands Ltd, Red Stripe Diageo (Jamaica), and Richer Sounds PLC (UK). He is a chartered accountant (FCCA) with Executive Education from Wharton Business School, and MIT Sloan Institute of Management. Eric Crawford concluded a thirty-five-year career with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Jamaica in June of 2015, twenty-six of which he had partner responsibility for the delivery of Taxation services to the firm's clientele.

His professional career with PricewaterhouseCoopers included a tour of duty with the Toronto office, leadership of the Caribbean Region Taxation practice, and a one-year secondment to act as Chief Financial Officer of Jamaica National Investment Company Limited (now Development Bank of Jamaica). Before joining PricewaterhouseCoopers, he served as Chief Internal Auditor of the National Housing Trust (NHT). He was also a Director and Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Trust between 1996 and 2000.

He is presently a Commissioner and chairs the Audit, Finance and Technology Committee of the Integrity Commission. Eric is a Life Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica (ICAJ), of which he served as President between 1995 and 1997, as well as a member of the UK Chartered Association of Certified Accountants where he was Jamaica's Representative on its International Assembly in 1997/98. Angela Fowler is a practicing Attorney-at-Law since 1975 and formerly the Senior Partner of the law firm, Livingston, Alexander & Levy est.

1911. She practices in the areas of commercial law, estate and corporate tax planning, pensions and employee benefits schemes. Mrs. Fowler is a graduate of the University of the West Indies.

She is a member of the Jamaican Bar Association and the International Pension and Employee Benefits Lawyers' Association. David McConnell is co-managing Director and co-founder of Select Brands Limited a leading Wines and Spirits Company in Jamaica. Prior to the establishment of his business he held the position of Managing Director of Sales and Marketing for J. Wray and Nephew Limited with key responsibility for increasing profitability and developing brand positioning for the company's products both locally and internationally.

Mr. McConnell sits on the Board of the Supreme Ventures Limited, a member of the Jamaica Stock Exchange and Ironrock Insurance Company, a member of the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange. He is also a Governor on the Board of Directors of Hillel Academy. He holds an M.B.A. in Marketing and Finance from the University of Miami and a B.A. in Marketing and International Business from Florida International University.

Evelyn Smith manages the Tensing Pen Hotel in Negril, one of Jamaica's leading character hotels. She serves on the Board of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association (CHTA) and has served on the Boards of Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), Jamaica Vacations (Jamvac), Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), Advisory Council of the Passport Immigration and Citizen Agency (PICA), and Negril Chamber of Commerce. Evelyn has been actively involved in the tourism industry since the late 1980's, and is Past President of Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA).

She was the recipient of the JHTA Hotelier of the Year Award in 2008 and awarded the Prime Minister's Medal of Appreciation for Service to Tourism in 2013. A graduate of the prestigious Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Mrs. Smith holds a Bachelor's degree with majors in French and Spanish, and an MBA with Honours from Nova Southeastern University, USA.