THE PLAYERS
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Considering every move wisely
BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
Colin holds an MSc in Management from Imperial College, London, and a BSc (Hons) in Engineering with Business Studies from Portsmouth Polytechnic. He is the Chairman and CEO of Taylor Smith Investment Ltd, a diversified group of companies operating in marine services, logistics & distribution, cement importation and distribution, manufacturing and property.
Directorship in other companies: CIM Financial Services Ltd
Colin Taylor
Non-Executive Director and Chairman
Gaetan spent the first 6 years of his career working in an audit firm in the UK, before returning to Mauritius in 1992 to join De Chazal Du Mée in an Audit role. He subsequently moved to the Risk and Audit Team of the Rogers Group in 1994, before he became the Finance Manager of the Rogers Group’s Engineering Cluster in 1999. Since 2004, Gaetan has been the Group Finance Director and a member of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Taylor Smith Group. In 2021, Gaetan headed the financial and due diligence aspect of the Group’s acquisition of Lafarge Holcim Indian Ocean, now known as Cementis. Gaetan is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
Directorship in other companies: None
Gaetan Ah Kang
Non-Executive Director
Ann Charlotte holds a BTEC National Diploma in Travel & Tourism from the College for the Distributive Trades in London. Throughout her career, she has held various roles, such as commercial coordinator for Mautourco Ltd, assistant to the manager for L’Ile Aux Images, sales coordinator at Air Mauritius and manager of ACV Ltd.
She is currently the Chairperson and Manager of the Taylor Smith Foundation, an entity created in 2010 through the Taylor Smith Group, and whose aim is to promote education and youth development, the empowerment of women and families, sports and the protection of the environment.
Directorship in other listed companies: None
Ann Charlotte Vallet
Non-Executive Director
Nicolas holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Hospitality Administration from Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, USA, and an MBA from Surrey European Management School, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
In February 2017, Nicolas joined Cim Group as the Managing Director for the Cim Property cluster. He played a significant role in the rebranding and restructuring of the cluster, which led to the listing of Lavastone Ltd on the DEM in December 2018. Following this, Nicolas was appointed as the Managing Director of the entire Lavastone Group.
Prior to his tenure with Cim Group, Nicolas amassed significant experience in real estate. He spent over six years at Ciel Properties Ltd, where he played a pivotal role in the development of Anahita. Thereafter, he spent another six years at PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd, leading the real estate advisory practice.
Directorship in other listed companies: None
Nicolas Vaudin
Executive Director and Managing Director
After obtaining a BSC in Hotel Management at the University of Surrey (England) in 1989 and an MBA in Corporate Finance in 1994 also at the University of Surrey, Philip relocated to Mauritius and assumed a leadership role in the international development division of the Rogers Group. In 2010, Philip established his own business development advisory firm, which undertakes diverse projects including property development, energy, logistics, financial services, hospitality, and tourism.
Currently, Philip is at the helm of an innovative hospitality digital services and travel & tourism intelligence company called www.hospitality-plus. travel. Furthermore, he is a Non-Executive Director on the Board of CIM Financial Services, Lavastone Property, and several other non-listed companies. He serves as a member of the Corporate Governance and Conduct Review Committee of CIM Financial Services Ltd. Philip is also the Honorary Consul of Finland in Mauritius.
Directorship in other listed companies: CIM Financial Services Ltd
Philip Simon Taylor
Non-Executive Director
Jose obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in International Relations. He has held various senior executive positions within the private sector in Mauritius, after which he filled significant governmental roles over a remarkable 23 year period, including a tenure as Minister of Tourism. Jose’s expertise extends beyond his domestic involvement, as he serves as a Director on the Board of two Equity Funds. and has advised governments in Madagascar and Africa. Additionally, he has been elected as a Member of the National Assembly for five consecutive terms.
He is the Economic Adviser of the Rodrigues Regional Assembly and a fellow member of the Mauritius Institute of Directors.
Directorship in other listed companies: None
Jose Arunasalom
Independent Director
Vijaya holds an LLB (Hons) from the University of London and a Diploma in Code Civil Mauricien from Université de La Réunion. She also holds a BA (Hons) degree in Geography and an MSC in Town Planning from the University of Wales.
Vijaya is a Barrister at Law, specialising in private legal practice, with an impressive 16 years of experience at the bar. While this is, in fact, her second career, her first career was in the planning practice, which she started in the United Kingdom following her professional training. Fueled by a desire to serve her country, she returned to Mauritius to pursue her planning career, where she held the esteemed position of Chief Technical Officer at the Ministry of Housing and Land Use Planning in Mauritius.
Vijaya’s professional journey includes serving as a consultant for the European Union’s Decentralised Cooperation Programme and the United Nations Development Programme in Mauritius. Her expertise also extends to the global stage, as she has assumed the role of Lead Author for the Review of Impacts of Climate Change at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) based in Geneva. Her active involvement in various climate change initiatives is a testament to her dedication, which has also led to her being invited, since the 1990s, to speak on the effects of climate change on small island nations.
Vijaya’s latest venture is the recent launch of “44, Rue du Pouce” at Caudan Arts Centre on 16 October 2023, authored under her maiden name Annaruby Soopramanien. The book is a deep dive into the pre-independence era of Port Louis, in particular, the almost arcadian Ward IV region of the capital where she grew up in the 1950s.
Directorship in other listed companies: None
Vijaya Lakshmi Anna (Ruby) Saha
Independent Director
Shyam, Chartered Accountant and former Senior Assurance Partner at PWC (Mauritius), is a financial consultant specialising in the financial and realty sectors. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in Belfast , Northern Ireland, with the local representative of Touche Ross.
Upon his return to Mauritius, he joined Kemp Chatteris as an audit senior, until he was made a partner in January 1985. He managed a varied audit portfolio of companies operating in the banking, sugar, manufacturing and commercial sectors, enabling him to garner deep industry knowledge.
In 1987, Shyam left Kemp Chatteris to form Price Waterhouse, alongside other founder partners. Between 1988 and his retirement as a senior assurance partner, he continued to serve several companies in different sectors of the economy, including acting as a financial advisor to two major textile companies and helping to turn them around. During his tenure at PwC, and also at Kemp Chatteris, he carried out several insolvency assignments.
Since July 2015 , Shyam has been serving as an Independent Director and financial consultant serving the reality and financial sectors.
Directorship in other listed companies: None
Vedanand Singh (Shyam) Mohadeb
Independent Director
PROFILES OF
KEY SENIOR OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVES
Jessica is a qualified HR professional, with 10 years of extensive HR experience spanning the hospitality, manufacturing, services and real estate sectors. She earned her Diploma in Management, with a specialisation in Human Resource Management, from the University of Mauritius in2014, and a Master’s Certification in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, equipping her to effectively manage and guide teams.
Employed by Taylor Smith, Jessica joined Lavastone Properties as the outsourced HR Operations Manager in October 2020. She provides hands-on HR solutions, bringing her problem-solving skills, coaching skills and empathetic nature to create a positive work environment at Lavastone Properties, where employees feel empowered to thrive in their roles.
Jessica Sumputh
HR Manager
François holds a Master’s degree in Engineering Management from Curtin University, Australia, and a Civil Engineering Degree from Université Paul Sabatier in France. He has recently completed an Executive MBA from the Analysis Institute of Management in partnership with Université Paris-Dauphine.
François joined the Taylor Smith Group in 2013, acquiring experience in property and facilities management. In 2017, he was promoted to General Manager of Lochiel Properties (which was integrated into Lavastone Properties in 2019),and once again promoted to Operations Manager of Lavastone Properties in October 2022. In his current role, he leads the property and facilities management activities.
François Audibert
Operations Manager
Alex holds a BA (Hons) in Accounting and Finance from the University of Manchester. He joined Lavastone Properties as a Finance Manager in March 2020 and subsequently became the Financial Controller of the Group in October 2021.Before joining Lavastone Properties, he worked as an Accountant within Medine Limited’s property cluster from May 2017 to March 2020. Prior to that, from August 2013 to April 2017, Alex was a Senior Associate within the assurance department at PwC Mauritius, where he was in charge of external audit assignments in sectors ranging from property and hospitality to textile, life insurance and petroleum.
Alex is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales (ICAEW).
Alex Lan Pak Kee
Financial Controller
GROUP STRUCTURE
AS AT 30 SEPTEMBER 2023
