WICB CEO Quits, Even Before Starting

Thu, Jan 18, '07

 

In a shocking development that throws the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) into another leadership crisis, Dr Roland Toppin has withdrawn his acceptance of the CEO position.

Toppin, who accepted the chief executive post last November and was scheduled to start on February 1, has now withdrawn for "previously unforeseen" personal reasons.

There are no details available on who will assume the CEO responsibilities while a new search is launched. Chief financial officer Barry Thomas had been filling in as acting CEO since the departure of Roger Brathwaite in March 2006.

The WICB is expected the review the Toppin issue at its next meeting in Barbados on February 12-13, 2007.

Toppin, who left his job as general manager of Duraplast, Inc., a subsidiary of Banks Holdings Ltd., narrowly edged out Trinidad real estate developer Tim Nafziger for the job.

Now that he has decided not to take the post, there's a chance the board could turn to Nafziger but well-placed sources say Nafziger's price tag "will be very high."

"Nafziger was always a strong candidate but he would have cost more than Toppin. That's actually one of the reasons Toppin got the job. It came down to money," one WICB director told CaribbeanCricket.com.