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Dr. Robert a Mathavious: Nation Builder

SPECIAL SECTION

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Dr. Robert A. Mathavious: Nation Builder

INTRODUCTION

“Chancellor, in an epoch where the world is firmly in the clutch of globalisation, whilst the vexing and disquieting issues of white collar crime present considerable apprehension for Small Island States in terms of regulation, compliance, and money laundering, Robert A. Mathavious stands tall and tenacious as the legendary and imposing “Rock of Gibraltar” in the British Virgin Islands. To be sure, in light of his endurance, in the battle of good governance, compliance, regulation and transparency, no one could find fault with Robert Mathavious and his dedicated team of “soldiers”- which he has nurtured at the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission since 2002 - if they adopted the motto of Gibraltar itself:

Nulli Expugnabilis Hosti

(“No Enemy Shall Expel Us”)

These were the opening lines read at the University of the West Indies, St Georges, Grenada Open Campus, on 12th October, 2013, the day the University conferred upon Robert A. Mathavious the Degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD).

The Virgin Islands’ Financial Services’ “Rock of Gibraltar” he surely is, but he has also become a father to more children than his only biological child and he is also the warm and caring husband to a wonderful and supportive wife. To understand what makes Robert A. Mathavious tick, we listen to him in his own words:

“I come from a small country, where any person not reaching his or her full potential is a big loss to us. My parents instilled that kind of attitude in all of us. But equally, by faith, I’m a Christian and foolishly, I have this drive that maybe I can help everybody. My thing is to help anybody…try to see people move from where they are to becoming something better.”

That drive of which he spoke to help everybody, was somewhat prophetic and telling as, in many and unobtrusive ways, he helps others as he stands at the helm of the rocky ship that is the financial services industry. Yet, we have seen smoother days of sailing for a small-craft country although the seas are often rough and perilous, still the territory stands on a firm footing to enjoy a comfortable standard of living supported by this very industry.

Speaking to Robert, you will find him to be straightforward and resolute; yet, he can easily and effortlessly insert an anecdote if it would abet his argument.

​Once he was asked what was his biggest accomplishment. He never answered that he had played a fundamental role in drafting the legislation which set up the Commission, by way of the Financial Services Commission Act of 2001 and that, in so doing, he had lifted the territory’s (and, by extension, the region’s) reputation as one of the better-regulated jurisdictions in the world; or that the BVI is not a regular fixture on any negative list, having passed the IMF and other tests with flying colours many times. He didn’t even answer that his biggest accomplishment was receiving the honorary Doctorate degree from the University of the West Indies. His biggest accomplishment was this: 140 employees at the Commission, a number of whom had come fresh out of college and were now regarded as experts in their own respective fields, and internationally acknowledged to boot. All thanks, in large part, to Robert A. Mathavious’s leadership, his guidance, his passion, his coaching, his vision.

He is a man who has risen to his rank over time; he has been tested, tried and has proven repeatedly that he is a stalwart in the territory. But, of course, the territory knew that way back when he served as Deputy Financial Secretary from 1980-1985, as Financial Secretary from 1985-1991, as Director of Financial Services from 1993 to 2001 and when he was honoured with the Rotary Club of Road Town’s Citizen of the Year award 1994-1995.

The territory may not have seen his nine acting appointments as Governor between 2015 and 2017 coming, but, given his unquestioned and unquestionable level of integrity and his demonstrated penchant for probity, no one would have been surprised.

The world has sought after him to speak on his discipline many times and when he is not presenting on the global stage or leading his band of “soldiers” at the Office of the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission, you can find him as a faithful and humble servant of Christ in the Methodist Church, Road Town congregation, as a Congregational Steward or as a member of the Resources and Development Committee. His one other passion is putting to use that God-given bass in the Old Timers, an allmale choral group anchored in the Road Town congregation but comprised of interdenominational membership.

Robert A. Mathavious, appropriately called “the legendary and imposing ‘Rock of Gibraltar’ in the British Virgin Islands,” stood tall and tenacious for just shy of two decades as captain of the ship called The Financial Services Commission. On the journey to that position, he contributed liberally to the ship of state. He now retires after nearly half a century of service to his beloved British Virgin Islands. He will be greatly missed, but he has done his work and has been exemplary. In the words of Longfellow:

“Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime and [retiring] leave behind us footprints on the sands of time.

Business BVI is very pleased to present this Special Section, designed to reflect on Dr. Mathavious contributions to the financial services sector and the wider development of the BVI. It is intended to place centre stage, an initial, but far from exhaustive glimpse into some of those contributions through the eyes of industry leaders from a local and global perspective. The section is filled with insights, ideas and thoughts from key leaders in the financial services space in the jurisdiction and overseas.

It is but a peep into the backstory of how the BVI became a significant facilitator of globalisation and frictionless cross border trade. A role which has aided in lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and into the global middle class, from China to the wider Asia community, to India and many African countries. We hope that it will connect some of the dots on how the transformational International Business Companies Act of 1984 and its successor, the BVI Business Companies Act of 2004, led to the jurisdiction’s transformation from a little sought after, low-tax centre to the thriving leading international finance centre today.

It is almost impossible to fathom what the BVI financial services sector would have been like, had there been no Dr. Robert A. Mathavious. So voluminous, varied and consequential were his contributions. For a wider view, we must train our lens and wonder what the quality of life in these Virgin Islands would be like today without the game changing, direct yearly financial contributions of the sector, to the public purse.

Today, those contributions equate to approximately 60 cents of every dollar in the territory’s annual budget, which approximates some $400M, and given the territory’s current economic challenges resulting from COVID, that percentage is invariably much higher.

At Business BVI, we believe that only a very small handful of persons may, and we stress may, have directly or indirectly contributed more to the economic wellbeing of these islands over the last two plus decades, than Dr. Mathavious. As Robert steps off the global stage, it is not an exaggeration to say that, he takes with him a substantial chunk of the global soft power of the British Virgin Islands. | BB

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