The Virgin Islands Deposit Insurance Corporation has stayed silent for nearly three weeks after a news report suggested that its CEO had resigned, but recent activity on social media suggests a leadership change is indeed in the works.
On June 5 — a week after the VIDIC announced that it took action to wind down Bank of Asia — Guavaberry Media reported that CEO Lisa Violet had tendered her resignation.
Despite multiple requests to the VIDIC and Ms. Violet since then, the Beacon has been unable to confirm the veracity of the report, which Guavaberry attributed to unnamed sources.
But Ms. Violet recently changed her LinkedIn page to show her employment with the VIDIC — which started last June — as ending this month.
VIDIC promises
Meanwhile, the VIDIC has provided no further information despite promises to do so.
On June 10, Ms. Violet responded briefly to a Beacon request for comment but didn’t say whether she had resigned.
“Your request is being referred to our communications officer, [Natalia] Chinnery, who will follow up,” Ms. Violet stated in a message sent from her VIDIC email that carried her signature as CEO. “A follow-up story may be more appropriate given the timeline.”
After a follow-up request, Ms. Chinnery responded on Tuesday of this week.
“An official statement from VIDIC will be forthcoming,” she stated in an email. “We appreciate your patience and understanding in the meantime, and we will ensure that you receive any updates as soon as they are available.”
As of Beacon press time yesterday afternoon, she had not provided further information.
No comment
VIDIC Chairman Ian Smith did not respond to messages on the VIDIC leadership, and the Beacon’s attempts to obtain more information from Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley, government Communications Director Karia Christopher, and the Financial Services Commission were not successful.
Ms. Christopher told the Beacon that the VIDIC “can best answer that question, as they are a separate entity from the government of the Virgin Islands, and this will not be in my purview.”
The FSC told the Beacon that the VIDIC “does not fall under the responsibility of the FSC. The FSC is therefore not able to answer this question.”
