ECTEL appoints a new managing director

Mr. David A. Cox is the newly appointed Managing Director of the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL). His appointment took place on 1st February 2024. He takes over as the head of the organisation from
Ms. Cheryl Hector Fontenelle, ECTEL’s Director of Economics and Finance, who served as the Acting Managing Director from July 2021.

Mr. Cox brings over 17 years of experience to the organisation, having spent seven as General Counsel at the Directorate from 2007 to 2013. His responsibilities included drafting telecommunications related legislation and providing legal advice on implementation of the Treaty establishing ECTEL, as well as all aspects of the regulation of telecommunications in the ECTEL Contracting States. During that time, he extensively revised interconnection regulations in ECTEL states, supervised a legislative reform of the entire ECTEL Telecommunications Act and Treaty, and assisted in developing legal approaches to the regulation of sub-regional roaming and implementing number portability in ECTEL markets. Mr. Cox’s regular duties also included advising ECTEL’s Council of Ministers on Treaty matters with special emphasis on regional ICT policy.

He joined Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) in September 2013 where he served as the Head of Regulatory and Government Affairs for the Caribbean. In this role, he managed a team of eight professionals who together ensured compliance with CWC’s regulatory obligations and execution of its regulatory strategy across several Caribbean states. Mr. Cox also served as the Chairman of the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunications Organization (CANTO) from January 2019 until January 2023, providing leadership to the organization during some of its most difficult years.

On his first day, Mr. Cox met with staff and expressed his delight in rejoining the ECTEL team. He informed them that his focus for 2024 would be to promote efficiency, develop a Strategic Plan, and improve staff morale, among other things. He noted that he saw himself as “a servant,” whose role was to “help staff and the organisation achieve their full potential.” He expressed his hope that the team could make ECTEL the premier regulatory organisation in the Caribbean and further underscored that their shared objective was to be the best, most efficient, most robust regulatory body in the region.” Mr. Cox also thanked his predecessor, and commended her for leading the organisation through difficult times, including during the pandemic.

Mr. Cox received his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of London in 1999 (with Honours) and qualified as a Barrister of England and Wales at the Inns of Court School of Law in London, England, in July 2000. He is a member of the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn and became a member of the Utter Bar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court on the 30th of August 2000. In 2004, he obtained his Masters (LLM) degree in International Economic Law with Distinction, from the University of Warwick based in Coventry, England, where he undertook research on the creation and establishment of ECTEL.

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