Alternative Finance outfit, Sygnus Credit Investments Limited (SCI) has announced the impending departure of Clement Wain Iton, as chairman of the Board.

Iton, who departed Sygnus Real Estate Finance Limited, the real estate investment arm of SCI days ago, will resign from SCI’s board of directors effective October 31, following a successful tenure with the board for over four years. Since 2017, Iton has been at the helm of the SCI Board and has provided valuable insight and strategic leadership in increasing the company’s assets and expanding the footprint of the company across the region.

Under Iton’s stewardship, SCI grew its private credit portfolio from US$16 million to US$85 million, declared over US$6.5 million in dividends to shareholders and grew net profits to a record US$5 million. He has also served as a member of the Audit and Governance Committee since the company’s initial public offering in April 2018.

The SCI Board has appointed Linval Freeman as the chairman of the Board effective November 1. Freeman is the current chair of the Audit and Governance Committee, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica (FCA) and Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA).

He has also served as director and Assurance Partner at Ernst & Young Caribbean, Jamaica Office between 2003 and 2018.

During his tenure, Freeman was instrumental in the establishment of the Advisory Service Line and the growth and development of the Assurance Service Line. He retired from the partnership on July 31, 2018.

SCI welcoming its incoming Chairman

In a press release from the company, Iton remarked: “It has been an honour to work with the Board of SCI and the investment management team of Sygnus Capital Limited. The company has made remarkable strides in the region and in the alternative investment industry and as the company continues on its growth path, the time demands on the board and chairman will also be more expansive, and it is with this in mind that I think it is worthwhile to pass on the baton to a new chairman.”

He added: “The Board has nominated Linval as its chairman and it is a decision that I wholeheartedly support. Linval possesses the necessary skills and insight to lead the Board and SCI to the next level, and I support him on this journey.”

Iton went on to say: “I want to thank my fellow directors, the executives of the Sygnus Group, the whole Sygnus team and wish the company nothing but continued success.”

For his part SCI Chief Executive Officer, Berisford Grey shared: “We want to express unmatched gratitude to Wain for his exemplary leadership, service and longstanding commitment to SCI. We also want to acknowledge him for working closely with the Sygnus Group founders, other directors, board members and the executive team to eschew the vision of Sygnus over the last four years.”

Grey added that Iton has been with SCI through the company’s growth cycle, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, where he provided exemplary guidance and we want to wish him success in his future endeavours. In welcoming the new chairman to the Board, Grey said: “We would like to welcome Linval, as the chairman of the SCI Board. Linval has a wealth of experience in accounting and finance, and possess very strong regulatory and governance skills, which are of utmost importance in the way we manage SCI and our other businesses.”

Grey stated that Freeman’s contribution to the Board will be invaluable as SCI continues to expand and seeks to provide customised credit solutions to medium-sized businesses across the region.

Freeman thanked his fellow board members for the vote of confidence and promised to provide good governance and leadership to the Board.