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Ms. Cassar is a Fellow Member of Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants; a Member of the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants; a Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners; former Director of The Bahamas Financial Services Board, Director of Friends of the Public Hospital Authority of The Bahamas, former Director of the Association of International Banks and Trust Companies in The Bahamas, and former President of The Bahamas Association of Securities Dealers. She has qualified as a Series 7 Investment Advisor and is an Associate Membership of The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in England. In April 2017 she was appointed as a Justice of the Peace of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Ms. Cassar started her career at Touche Ross (1985), and later joined the New World Trust Group (1988) to launch a 40 years career in international wealth management and private banking, as a fiduciary specialist in trusts, companies, investment funds, foundations and insurance products amongst others. She was the former managing director of Leopold Joseph Bahamas Limited (1996) which she headed up from inception in The Bahamas until its acquisition by Butterfield Bank. She is presently a principal and Chairman of Equity Bank Bahamas Limited and Equity Trust Bahamas Limited; and a Director of Equity Investment Funds Services Ltd; Co-Chairman of Liongate Bahamas Limited and Partner of St Leo Corporate and Financial Services Group. Ms. Cassar attended the College of The Bahamas and Liberty University to study Accounting and graduated Summa Cum Laude honors with a 4.0 GPA (1985). She is an avid contributor to all major charitable foundations and NGOs in The Bahamas. She is a major supporter of internships for college students at EBBL and she is a mentor to numerous young people.
Mr. Dean has held executive roles within the financial services industry since the beginning of his career in 1992, having worked and been trained in Miami, Toronto, Geneva and Nassau. A Certified Public Accountant, he is a former member of the Minnesota State Board of Accountancy, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (TEP). He is the Co-Chairman of Equity Group International Limited, (the parent of Equity Bank Bahamas Limited), and Co-Chairman of Liongate Bahamas Limited. He is the Vice Chairman of Equity Trust Bahamas Limited and is a Principal and the Group Chief Executive Officer of Equity Bank Bahamas Limited. Dean also holds the Personal Financial Planning and Personal Trust Diplomas from the Institute of Canadian Bankers, having graduated from the University of Windsor Ontario, Canada with a B. Comm in Banking & Finance, and has served on the boards on several global licensed financial institutions. He formerly worked to onboard new business at UBS Bahamas Limited, and was a Senior Manager with RBC Global Private Banking, (having successfully completed internal examinations to qualify as a trader and discretionary asset manager for the Group), and more recently was the Executive Director of the Scotia Private Client Group in The Bahamas, whilst also covering the private banking requirements for additional Caribbean States, with a direct reporting line to head office in Toronto. He was a coach and is a sponsor to various local sporting and civic organizations in the Bahamas.
Prior to joining the Equity Group, Dr. Thompson served as President and Director of Offshore Managers Limited, Nassau, Bahamas. She holds a Master of Arts Degree with a concentration in Counseling and a Master of Arts degree in Human Resources Management. She is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (TEP), having successfully passed courses such as International Trust Management, Trust Administration and Accounts, Trust Creation: Law & Practice, Company Law, and Trustee Investment and Financial Appraisal. She successfully defended her dissertation at Nova Southeastern University and obtained her Doctorate degree in Conflict Resolution & Analysis and currently serves as Director & Corporate Secretary, Senior Official II and Head of Office Administration of the Company.
The Venerable James E Palacious is a reputable priest who actively served in Diocese for 42 years after being ordained in 1976. At the time of his retirement, he was the Archdeacon for Administration of the Diocesan Office (Anglican) assisting the Bishop in
administration as well as the #1 Vice President to The Bahamas Christian Council. He presently serves as Business Consultant and the Business Development Manager of the Company, BRONO, owned by his son and engineer, Carlos Palacious. Venerable Palacious is a graduate of Kelham Theological College, University of the West Indies, Princeton Theological Seminary and later Drew University, where he received Bachelor of Arts in Theology, Master of Arts in Christian Education and Master of Philosophy in Religion and Society. Prior to being ordained, he gained experience as a clerk at Deltec, the Banking Corporation. He was also an Assistant Teacher for the Ministry of Education and a part-time lecturer in Social Studies at the College of The Bahamas (now the University of The Bahamas). Some of his civic duties include/included Justice of the Peace, Chairman of the Governor General’s Youth Award Management Council, Former Director of the CBB Board and a member of the Disciplinary Tribunal of The Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Mr. Quant is a seasoned attorney-at-law and was called to The Bahamas Bar in 1988. He has a varied career covering the legal, public service, and banking sector. He was appointed Managing Director at The Bahamas Development Bank for four years and later Alternate Director at Caribbean Development Bank’s Board of Directors. Mr. Quant is a former Registrar General along with having held posts on various government boards including the Securities Commission of The Bahamas and The Bahamas Anti-Doping Commission. Mr. Quant presented credentials as Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the People’s Republic of China in March 2018 when he was appointed as The Bahamas Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China during the period of 2017 through 2021. Mr. Quant has held a Directorship on the Board of the various entities within the Equity Group for the past 17 years.
Mr. Lunn has held various posts over the course of his professional career including, Compliance Officer/Director of Gibraltar Global Securities Inc.; Manager/Director of Compliance for Suisse Security Bank & Trust; and Acting Manager of Bank Supervision at The Central Bank of The Bahamas. At the time of his retirement in August 2022 from EBBL, Mr. Lunn served as Senior Vice President, Risk and Chief Risk Officer for both EBBL and ETBL. He has held various posts within the Equity Group over the 4 years with the Group namely, Vice President of Banking and Senior Vice President, Compliance and Money Laundering Reporting Officer for both EBBL and EIFS. Mr. Lunn holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts Degree both in Economics from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is currently a Lecturer with Omega College where he teaches Economics and Compliance. He has also taught Banking/Finance at Sojourner Douglas College and the University of the West Indies Open Campus and has more than 10-years teaching experience in Economics with the College of St. John/St. Benedicts Extension Program. He also holds numerous professional certificates and accomplishments including past Chairman of the Caribbean Group of Banking Supervisors, former Financial Expert Evaluator for the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, St. Lucia, and a past Representative on the Board of the Inter-American Development Bank.
Vanessa Z. Coleby, TEP, Senior Vice President of Equity Trust Bahamas Limited, is a seasoned trust professional with more than 30 years in the Financial Services Industry, a Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners since 1998, an Associate of the Bahamas Institute of Trust and Financial Services, with Series 6 Designation from the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. She brings an understanding of and appreciation for the need to be client-focused while meeting the growing regulatory requirements. During her career, she has served in in various capacities including Trust Manager, Director, Corporate Secretary, Corporate Services Manager and Deputy General Manager with responsibility for Human Resources.
Christopher Burgos is a result-oriented Finance/Accounting professional, with extensive experience in corporate accounting and finance, periodic budgeting and forecasts. He has extensive experience in Government Report compliance and management reporting, fund accounting and private banking. He obtained the Certified Public Accounting designation in 2007 from the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants and is also a Certified Graphic Designer. Mr. Burgos also received his U.S. Certified Public Accountants license with the State of Montana, U.S.A. in 2023.
Mrs. Quant has over 8 years of experience in the field of Compliance. She graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration and Finance from the College of The Bahamas in December 2014 and later went on to pursue an International Executive MBA from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing China. She completed the Series 7 certification (General Securities Representative), Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS); International Diploma in Anti-Mooney Laundering with Merit; Certified AML FINTECH Compliance Associate (CAFCA); International Diploma in Governance, Risk and Compliance and is a cryptocurrency expert (CCE) having obtained same from Blockchain Council in June 2022. She recently completed the Certified International Risk Manager certification with Merit
An attorney by profession, Mrs. Isaacs has over 20 years’ experience in various disciplines of her career. After graduating from Mount Allison University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a minor in Psycholgy in New Brunswick, Canada in 2003, Mrs. Isaacs then pursued a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of England and Wales and was subsequently called to the Bar of England and Wales as a member of the Honorable Society of Gray’s Inn in July 2013. In September of the same year, she was call to the Bar of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Mrs. Isaacs holds a Diploma in International Trust Management (Distinction); Diploma in Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and a Diploma in Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) with Merit.