Privy Council Overturns Vybz Kartel’s Murder Conviction Amid Jury Misconduct Concerns

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News Americas, KINGSTON, Jamaica, Thurs. March 14, 2024: The UK-based Privy Council has overturned the murder convictions of dancehall artist Vybz Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, and his co-accused Shawn Campbell (also known as “Shawn Storm”), Kahira Jones, and Andre “Mad Suss” St. John.

Vybz Kartel in New York City, New York, United States in a past photo. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

The group was originally sentenced to life in prison for the 2014 murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams.

The overturning came after the Privy Council reviewed the case, specifically scrutinizing the decision to continue the trial despite revelations of a bribery attempt within the jury. This incident, revealed during the appeal heard on February 14 and 15, raised significant concerns about juror misconduct.

Delivered nearly a decade after the initial guilty verdict, the Privy Council’s judgment highlighted a “material irregularity” in the handling of the jury issue by the trial judge, ultimately leading to the decision to quash the convictions based on this juror misconduct.

The matter has been sent back to the Jamaican Court of Appeal to determine whether a retrial for the murder of Clive Williams is warranted, leaving the future legal proceedings of Vybz Kartel and his co-accused in question.

Oil Giants Face Off In Battle For Oil Supremacy In Guyana

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By David Lewis

News Americas, WASHINGTON, D.C., Fri. Mar. 15, 2024: Not since the 1996 “cola wars” when Coca-Cola secretly purchased Pepsi’s operations in Venezuela from the Cisneros Group have we had U.S. global corporate majors competing head to head in any market in the Americas. That deal of $500 million in 1996 ($983 million in 2023 dollars) is a standard on B-school case studies of M&A business.

Today, it is greatly overshadowed by the $53 billion competition between ExxonMobil and Chevron for the purchase of the Hess Corp. share in the Stabroek Block in Guyana, the world’s new major oil and gas “hot spot.”

Exxon Mobil operates the Stabroek Block and holds 45 percent interest. Hess holds 30 percent interest, and CNOOC from China holds the remaining 25 percent interest. Production capacity at the field is expected to reach more than 1.2 million barrels per day by the end of 2027, according to Exxon’s 2023 end-of-year report.

By industry standards, the development of this project has been remarkably efficient with the current consortium in place – making new discoveries and developing new projects at astonishing rates. That has been good for all involved, including Guyana, both at the government level and in the rapidly growing private sector. The small country notched the world’s highest rate of GDP growth in both 2022 and 2023, according to the IMF.

In October, Chevron announced it was acquiring Hess, including its share in the Stabroek, for $53 billion. But now, ExxonMobil is reaffirming its right of first refusal, which was spelled out in the contract, that could potentially block the sale. Just two weeks ago, Exxon Mobil stated it intends to “preserve our right to realize the significant value we’ve created and are entitled to in the Guyana asset.”

The company is “working closely with the Guyanese government to ensure their rights and privileges” and has moved to push the case to arbitration in order to retain its pre-emption rights.

The outcome of this dispute could have significant implications for the global oil industry, particularly in the emerging basin of Guyana, which is considered vital to the crude markets. The situation underscores the strategic importance of the Stabroek block and the lengths to which companies will go to secure a stake in high-potential oil assets. Chevron has hinted previously that without the Guyana assets, it would not be interested in Hess.

It is fundamentally good business practice for any management team to assess their available options – especially when this kind of money is on the line. It is a simple fiduciary duty to shareholders.

Much of Hess’s financial value is attributable to just how well this project has performed. As the anchor incumbent, ExxonMobil is right to consider its options before changing that balance.

It is curious that Exxon Mobil has taken several months to exercise its first refusal right, but such rights do not expire and are embedded in the original contract.

The potential derailment of Chevron’s ambitious acquisition underscores the intricate dynamics of global oil exploration agreements and the competitive tensions among the world’s oil giants. The resolution of this dispute will not only determine the fate of the Hess acquisition but also set a precedent for how rights of first refusal are interpreted and enforced.

Ultimately, the Chevron deal may still happen. But no company would let such a prize slip away without at least having a closer look.

Now, with ExxonMobil’s filing for arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, the matter will head to the courts. None of us are privy to what these companies are negotiating and on what terms. However, we know that the result will be a plus for Guyana: either two major global oil companies in its market or a larger incumbent investment stake by ExxonMobil. Either way, Guyana wins.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. David E. Lewis is Vice President of Manchester Trade and co-chair of the Caribbean Policy Consortium. He has worked on trade and investment issues in Guyana since 1991, when he led the first U.S. Investment Mission under the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI).

Caribbean Heritage Former Athlete Embraces Major  Corporate Role At Google

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News Americas, New York, NY, Thurs. March 14, 2024: Jamaican-Canadian former professional ice hockey player, Chelsea Ziadie, who retired from the sport in 2020, is embracing the challenge of her major new role with corporate giant Google.

Ziadie, a Harvard graduate and daughter of former Jamaican soccer players Debbie Doyle Ziadie and the late Christopher Ziadie, was recently promoted to the position of Senior Account Manager, Google Customer Solutions.

Former Jamaican Canadian professional athlete and rising star, Chelsea Ziadie is now at Google. (PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTHONY LEGG)

 In her new capacity, Ziadie now works on developing and executing business strategies for nearly 60 small to medium sized Google business accounts.

“I specialize in growth in the retail and commerce sectors,” she says. “And in addition to my core role, I am also a Sales Inclusion Taskforce Ambassador as well as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Pillar Lead- working with my colleagues to ensure that Google continues to prioritize and develop inclusivity and overall wellbeing for its employees across the organization.”

Prior to joining Google in 2021, Ziadie was also employed at Morgan Stanley as a Financial and Wealth Advisor Associate, managing accounts worth several million dollars.

Ziadie in her days as a hockey player ( PHOTO COURTESY OF SYDNEY CLAIRE)

Her latest professional accomplishment is a far cry from her days as a rising star in the fast paced world of women’s ice hockey, in which she was deeply immersed for much of her life until stepping away some four years ago. Yet according to Ziadie, “There’s no doubt in my mind that my ability to transfer many of the skills that I employed in my sport- leadership, tenacity, team building and empathy- assisted me in making the transition from the locker room to the boardroom. In many ways, being part of a professional sports team is the same as being part of a business organization- everyone has a role to play in helping the team to win.”

A career in professional sports- even temporarily- was perhaps always in the cards for Ziadie, considering her unique family background.

She was born in Montreal into a family of athletes. In addition to both her parents having represented Jamaica in soccer at the international level, her uncles Nicholas and Craig Ziadie and her grandfather the late Dennis Ziadie were all national soccer players for Jamaica also. Additionally, her older brother Ryan briefly pursued a pro career in ice hockey as well.

 After spending her early childhood years in Jamaica, she moved with her mother and brother back to Montreal. There, she played  soccer and ice hockey, ultimately going on to the prestigious Hotchkiss School in Connecticut where she represented the institution in both sports as well as in track and field.

As a teenager, Ziadie was a part of Team Quebec and Team Canada Under 18 Women’s Hockey, winning a bronze medal at the Canada Winter Games in 2011. Moving on to Harvard , she was part of the school’s Varsity Ice Hockey team, became an Ivy League Champion and was awarded several accolades during her four year college sojourn, including the 2018  MVP Award- all while pursuing her BA Degree in Sociology and Economics.

It was in 2018 after graduating from Harvard that she signed her first professional ice hockey contract with the Metropolitan Riveters in the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) and Professional Women’s Hockey Player Association (PWHPA).

She would remain with the league for two years, juggling her ice hockey career with her job at Morgan Stanley- a challenging experience but one that provided invaluable lessons in the art of multitasking.

“I would routinely wake up at 4am and leave my Manhattan apartment to travel to New Jersey for my 6:30am practice,” Ziadie recalls,  “And then return to the city to start my full day of work as a financial professional in the corporate world. My ability to balance both professions was due entirely to my  discipline and time management skills, which continue to serve me very well today.”

Ultimately, she elected to retire from the sport after two years in the league when the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID. Having played for over twenty years she decided that amidst the uncertainty, the time had come to hang up her skates. However, she is happy to note the changes that have taken place in the sport in the years since her retirement.

“The sport was -and still is- a growing one for women in North America, and at that time the financial support unfortunately wasn’t available to compensate players sufficiently for us to make it a full time profession. So I chose to step back to focus fully on my business career. But I’m happy to see that as the popularity of the sport has increased, so have the contracts that players can now negotiate.  And I’m hopeful that the trend continues so that ice hockey will become yet another sport that young girls can aspire to actually earn a living from.”

She remains grateful for the role that professional sports has played in enhancing her personal and professional lives, in much the same way it did for her parents.

“My parents have always been my greatest role models and I saw firsthand how they applied the lessons they learnt as sporting professionals to the careers they undertook afterwards.  They were my biggest motivators as I pursued my own athletic endeavors. My mom is still my number one cheerleader and although my dad passed away in late 2022, I still feel his presence encouraging me constantly, urging me to stay focused and to go for my goals.”

For now, her current goal is to apply her lifelong commitment to excellence to her new role at Google.

“Working at Google has been an incredible opportunity to collaborate with truly creative thinkers and growth oriented individuals,” said Ziadie. “One area that I will continue to focus on while here is the blending of my finance background with my new experience in tech, which I hope will ultimately lead to my working on the Google Growth fund.”