AFTER just over two months of acting in the post, Samanta Saugh has been appointed the chief financial officer for Trinidad and Tobago-based Guardian Holdings.

Saugh, whose permanent appointment to the post took effect on July 19, has been acting in the position since the resignation of her former boss David Maraj in early May.

Maraj resigned reportedly over a difference of opinion on how the publicly traded company in Trinidad and Jamaica should deal with deferred taxes in its first-quarter financials.

At the time of Maraj’s resignation, the insurer’s Chief Executive Officer Ravi Tewari declined to give details of the circumstances that led to the sudden departure from the company.

However on May 5, in a notice posted on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, Guardian Holdings announced that Maraj tendered his resignation with effect the same day.

On that day GHL also released its first-quarter results which declared profit attributable to equity shareholders of $179 million — a 1.70 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year of $176 million.

Guardian Holdings is majority owned by NCB Financial Group, which is headquartered in Jamaica, and NCB CEO Patrick Hylton is its chairman.