Press Release 23 of 2025 - BVI FSC Honours its Founding MD – Dr Robert Mathavious

BVI FSC HONOURS ITS FOUNDING MD - DR ROBERT MATHAVIOUS

Tortola, British Virgin Islands – 10th December 2025 – On 9th December 2025, the BVI Financial Services Commission (the Commission), along with members of the financial services sector, paid tribute to the inaugural Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Dr Robert Anderson Mathavious, OBE, against an elaborate and extraordinary Meet the Regulator backdrop of pomp and circumstance. 

The almost three hundred persons gathered at the Eileene L Parsons Auditorium, HLSCC included Dr Mathavious’ widow Mrs Prudence Mathavious, his extended family, Premier and Minister of Finance, Honourable Dr Natalio D Wheatley, Minister for Health and Social Development, Honourable Vincent Wheatley, Jr Minister for Financial Services and Economic Development, Honourable Lorna G Smith, OBE and Dr Orlando Smith, OBE, current and former members of the FSC Board of Commissioners including Chairman, Mr Gerard Farara, KC, former legislators, senior public servants, Commission staff, and a wide complement of financial services industry representatives. 

The recurrent sentiment after the MTR was that it was very well structured, comprehensive, and brought to light historically in-depth information about the inseparably intertwined legacy of BVI financial services and Dr Mathavious, which many persons were not aware of. 

Chairman of the Board of Commissioners, Mr Farara, during his remarks stated:  “Robert also possessed professional connections and a unique combination of diplomatic, interpersonal, and professional skills, imperative for ensuring the Commission’s success, to building its international reputation and respectability as a regulatory body, and for charting the next main chapter in the growth and sustainability of the financial services industry. These qualities were coupled with a strong and enduring commitment to and love for the Virgin Islands, and a determination to strive to provide and to sustain this major driver of the BVI’s economic success, which success was then, as it is still today, rooted largely in the success of legislation providing for the incorporation and domicile of international business companies.” “…he consistently demonstrated … principles in his leadership and in the way he prepared his team for interactions with the Board and external bodies.  … [His] persona loomed large over the Commission and, indeed, the financial services industry in BVI, so much so that he was dubbed by a fine publication as ‘Midas Mathavious’.”

Managing Director and CEO, Mr Kenneth Baker, also lauded Dr Mathavious’ diplomatic skills and impact in his remarks at the MTR, stating, “Mr Mac had the natural skill of eliciting and encouraging consensus, which is essential in the consultative process.  People accepted his reasoning and respected his guidance, a testament to his ability to distil viewpoints into a clear vision that people could rally around.” … “Each time the government changed, Mr Mac proactively sought an audience to present to the incumbent on the role and importance of the financial services sector.  The consequence of this was invariably a thorough understanding and appreciation for supporting the needs of the Commission as they arose, particularly, where the House was called upon to help modernise and advance the financial services legislative agenda.”  

Elevating the Commission's efforts to honour the legacy of Dr Mathavious, during the MTR, Mr Baker presented Mrs Mathavious with an education grant for her and Dr Mathavious’ daughter Jadyn’s university studies, as well as a Commission cheque, representing a donation to the Robert A Mathavious Memorial Trust. 

Mr Baker also announced the establishment of the BVI Financial Services Commission Robert A Mathavious Scholarship. Annual scholarships, which would be tenable at the Robert Mathavious Institute for Financial Services, HLSCC, and would support tuition costs for three aspiring financial services professionals each year.  Details of how to apply for the scholarships will be published by the Commission in due course.

The packed Programme, which was augmented by archival video clips featuring the late Mr Cornel Baptiste, Mr Lewis Hunte, KC, Honourable Lorna G Smith, and Mr Micheal Riegels, KC, and a rousing rendition of Josh Groban’s version of ‘You Raise Me Up’ by the BVI FSC Corporate Choir, is available HERE on the Commission’s website. 

About Us
The BVI Financial Services Commission is the autonomous regulatory agency responsible for regulating and supervising financial services business conducted in and from within the Territory of the Virgin Islands.

Questions concerning this Press Release may be directed to:

EXTERNAL RELATIONS UNIT
BVI Financial Services Commission
18 Pasea Estate Road, Tortola VG1110
British Virgin Islands
Tel: (284) 494-4190
Email: [email protected]