Avyann Ferguson-Awai
Mrs. Avyann Ferguson-Awai is an Attorney-at-Law with over 20 years of legal experience and a distinguished track record in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance across the banking and financial services sectors. She is currently the Senior Counsel and Corporate Secretary of CIBC Caribbean Bank (Trinidad and Tobago) Limited.
Prior to this, Mrs. Ferguson-Awai served for a decade as Associate General Counsel and Chief Counsel – AML/CFT and Regulatory Compliance within the Financial Services Line of Business at the Massy Group. In this role, she provided strategic and legal oversight of AML/CFT compliance across multiple regulated entities spanning insurance, remittance, card services, and non-bank financial services. She also led the AML/CFT compliance programme group-wide, overseeing operations in various regulated jurisdictions both locally and regionally.
A Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), Mrs. Ferguson-Awai has a deep understanding of compliance frameworks and has played a leading role in shaping AML/CFT policy, strategy, and governance in financial institutions. She has also contributed to the wider regulatory environment through her service on the Legal Committee of the Bankers Association of Trinidad and Tobago, and as Vice President of the Association of Compliance Professionals of Trinidad and Tobago (ACPTT).
Her board and governance experience includes roles as Director of Massy Finance GFC Ltd, Corporate Secretary and Legal Counsel of JMMB (Trinidad and Tobago) Ltd, Trustee of the Neal and Massy Pension Plan, and as Chairman of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund. She also served on the Board and sub-committees of Eastern Credit Union and its subsidiary EPL Properties, and is a continuing member of the Board of the Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Institute.
Mrs. Ferguson-Awai holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Corporate and Commercial Law from the University of the West Indies with a focus on corporate governance. She also holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) with Honours from UWI Cave Hill and a Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School. She is an Accredited Director, and holds certifications from the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, the Leadership Management Institute, and the US-based Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS).