Consultant Business Editor
After nine months and nine days as the group CEO of T&T’s second-largest bank, First Citizens Group Financial Holdings, Jason Julien confirmed last night that he had resigned from the position and will leave the majority state-owned bank at the end of this month.
In accordance with the terms of his employment, his resignation becomes effective on August 31, 2026.
He told Guardian Media, however, that he “definitely was not forced out” of First Citizens and chose to resign because he was “presented with an opportunity to work for a US company listed on the Nasdaq (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations), which provided scope to contribute to a wider Caribbean team.”
The Nasdaq is a stock market in the US that is heavily dominated by technology companies, but also includes thousands of firms from other industries. But Julien said he will be in Trinidad.
He said the company he is heading to is not in the financial sector and is not a competitor of any of the local commercial banks.
He said the forthcoming job presents “an exciting new professional challenge and the beginning of another chapter in my career.”
Julien, who is 50, became the group CEO of First Citizens on October 22, 2025, following the departure of his predecessor, Karen Darbasie, who retired on October 21, 2025.
Julien was promoted to deputy CEO effective February 1, 2015, having served previously as general manager of First Citizens Investment Services (FCIS) for five years.
He worked at Guardian Holdings, Citibank and PriceWaterhouseCoopers before heading to First Citizens.
In his resignation letter, which is dated July 31, Julien described the decision to leave as “difficult,” and one that had not been made lightly.
“Having dedicated 16 years of my career to First Citizens, including the past 11 years as a member of the executive leadership team, this institution has become far more than just my place of work. It has shaped my professional journey, challenged me to grow as a leader, and given me the opportunity to work alongside exceptional people in pursuit of a shared purpose,” Julien said in the letter to the bank’s chairman Shankar Bidaisee and its board of directors.
In the letter, he told the bank’s board that while he now looks forward to a new professional chapter, “I do so with immense gratitude for the opportunity to have led this remarkable organisation and to have served alongside an outstanding board of directors whose wisdom, stewardship and unwavering commitment to sound governance have profoundly influenced my own growth and development.”
He expressed his deepest appreciation to Bidaisee and the entire board.
“I have been fortunate to learn from your collective experience, insight and judgement. Your counsel, challenge and encouragement have made me a better executive, a better leader and, indeed, a better person.”
He also expressed his heartfelt appreciation to his colleagues throughout the group.
“It has been an honour to work alongside exceptionally talented, dedicated and values-driven professionals whose commitment to excellence has established First Citizens as one of the Caribbean’s premier financial institutions. Whatever successes we have achieved have always been the product of collective leadership, teamwork and a shared commitment to living our EPIC Values,” Julien said.
He said over the coming weeks, he will remain fully committed to ensuring a seamless and professional transition and that he would work “closely with the board of directors and senior management to provide the necessary support to facilitate continuity and position the organisation for continued success.”
