JPS financial chief exits:
CHIEF FINANCIAL officer (CFO) Dan Theoc has resigned from the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) after 16 years in the power utility’s employ.
The company, Jamaica’s sole power distributor, advised of its financial chief’s pending departure on November 3 via the Jamaica Stock Exchange this week.
Winsome Callum, JPS director of corporate communications and customer experience, told the
Financial Gleaner on Wednesday that Theoc was now off on vacation.
Theoc did not respond to emails asking for information on his reasons for resigning and on a new posting in the offing.
The CFO is departing three months into a change of leadership at the utility. American Kelly Tomblin resigned as president and CEO in July and was replaced by Emanuel DaRosa of Canada on August 1. DaRosa was formerly CEO of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation in Canada for six years.
Theoc, with more than 20 years of experience in corporate accounting and finance, had direct oversight over all of the finance, planning and accounting functions at JPS, in addition to being responsible for regulatory tariff filing, as outlined on the JPS website.
The company, which both generates and distributes power in Jamaica, is owned by Japanese and South Korean corporations – Marubeni Corp and Korea East West Power – each with a 40 per cent stake; and the Government of Jamaica as a minority partner with 19.9 per cent ownership.
Jamaica has said that it plans to divest its remaining stake in the utility.
The company has now bounced back from several years of losses, accompanied by high capital expenditure.
JPS ended 2016 with a net profit of US$24.1 million on annual revenues of US$712.5 million. The utility noted in its annual report that revenue was down US$47 million for the year, primarily due to a decrease in fuel costs, leading to a fall in fuel revenue. The company treats its fuel expenses as a pass-through cost to customers.
Prior to his appointment at JPS, Theoc worked at KPMG for approximately 12 years in various positions.
JPS says on its website that the CFO has specialist skills in corporate audits, systems reviews, financial planning and analysis, and mergers and acquisitions. Notably, it said, Theoc was the lead local consultant acting on behalf of the successful purchaser that acquired JPS in 2001, when the utility was privatised by the Jamaican Government. He was seconded to JPS for four months after privatisation and later offered a permanent position as financial consultant.
Theoc is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica and a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants of the United Kingdom for the past 15 years.
Callum said a replacement for the departing CFO is yet to be identified.