The Corporate Governance Struggle of GEBE Part Three ~Daniel in the mix~

During the month of August, the St. Maarten government as a shareholder of NV GEBE decided to appoint Sharine Daniel as the company's statutory director and chief executive officer. Her appointment would be for a year with the possibility of renewal upon an evaluation. Daniel’s appointment came with much controversy due to her resignation as temporary manager and concerns from the Corporate Governance Council (CGC) which expressed reservations about her. It is not the first time that Daniel’s name showed up in controversy regarding GEBE. It dates as far back as six (6) years ago.

Daniel is a seasoned employee who headed the internal audit department. Due to her accounting background, she was also a candidate for SZV director and sat as the chairperson for the organization’s Supervisory Board of Directors (SBOD). Daniel and all the other candidates went through a recruitment and selection process done by Ernst and Young (E&Y). 

Her appointment is now pending a court decision. The current SBOD took the government to court twice to prevent her appointment and the board's dissolution.

 On April 21, 2021, the CGC issued its letter to the government about the candidates for GEBE’s management board. Regarding Daniel, the CGC stated she has “relevant leadership qualities and sufficient confidence” for the position. They continued by saying some points need to be “considered and/or addressed.” Those points are her interpersonal challenges with the current board and possible colleagues which “should be addressed urgently.” Consideration of her strong personality and communication style was mentioned due to GEBE needing “a leader that is able to bring all parties together.”

 The E&Y report concluded with “based on these findings Ms. Daniels would benefit from further development to reach the proper balance between these skills”. The skills they referenced are the leadership and communication style. The CGC strengthened their reservations using the result of her tenure as temporary manager. They questioned whether there were “any structural training and development plans devised for Ms. Daniels to assist her in improving her communication and leadership skills during the interim period.”  

After the termination of the previous management board, Daniel was appointed as temporary manager in November 2020. She later resigned on February 11, 2021 days before the SBOD determined to fire her. Among the reasons for resigning she cited differences between her and the company’s external counsel and she felt like a “puppet of the SBOD”. She questioned the external counsel’s advice to the SBOD “on their alleged competencies to interfere with the day-to-day management of the company”. Jairo Bloem is the external counsel. Daniel added in her press statement, “In my opinion these advices given to the SBoD directly endangered the corporate structure of N.V. GEBE.”

In response to her resignation, the SBOD stated a reason for firing her was the agreement in which Daniel gave SMN News a $1500 contract while the company’s usual fee for such services is $400 to $500. Daniel first stated that the owner of the blog Bibi Hodge Shaw threatened to publish negative news about her if she did not pay Shaw’s $1800 request. Daniel later switched her statement to her being informed via the public that Shaw threatened to negatively report about her. She then added a GEBE employee to contract SMN News’ services. Presently over 60 articles are referencing Daniel on Shaw’s website. Daniel’s domestic partner also contacted a member of the SBOD and the legal counsel to request a settlement. He stated Shaw threatened Daniel with a criminal complaint which is the only reason Daniel contracted Shaw’s media services. 

Daniel’s controversy at GEBE goes back several years. After the public debacle of Daniel’s resignation, she returned to her post as Chief Internal Auditor. On July 21, 2021, GEBE terminated her employment. On August 12, according to SMN News, the Council of Ministers requested GEBE’s SBOD to appoint her as CEO for a year with the possibility for extension upon her evaluation. 

The following article will outline those details, including the 10 years of inconsistencies at GEBE and the public dispute between the former ex-chairman and the current company counsel.