Rodinald Soomer
MR RODINALD SOOMER
Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Rodinald Soomer assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer of the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) in September 2015 and is charged with the responsibility to lead the CDF through its Second Funding Cycle, 2015-2020.
He is an Economist, who was previously employed in the Division of Economic Affairs with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat/Commission, from May 2005 to August 2015, where he headed the Economic Development Policy Unit. Soomer’s management responsibilities with the OECS included oversight of regional sector programmes in Agriculture, Tourism, Statistics and E-Government, and a lead role in the preparation of a regional Growth and Development Strategy.
Mr. Soomer started his career with the Government of St. Lucia in the Ministry of Planning, Development and Environment, where he served for 12 years from 1986 to 1998. During that period, he managed many multi-year programmes of development assistance from major donor and technical assistance agencies, including the British Development Division/DFID (now UK AID), the European Union, Kuwait Fund, Commonwealth Secretariat, Organization of American States (OAS), the World Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
In the process, he honed his expertise in programme and project cycle management, spanning many sectors including economic and social infrastructure, tourism and agriculture; and his skills in economic analysis, strategic planning and capital budgeting. In 1998, he transitioned from Government, as Chief Economist in the Ministry of Planning, to the private sector for a six-year stint as Executive Director of the St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA).
During his tenure, the SLHTA forged many productive partnerships with Government, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), international training institutes and development agencies, around key industry priorities including inter-sectoral linkages, visitor safety and security, marketing, public awareness, human resource development and tourism policy advocacy.
Mr. Soomer holds a Bachelors Degree in Economics from the University of the West Indies (UWI) and a Masters Degree in Economics from York University in the UK, with a specialization in Project Analysis, Finance and Investment.
