The National Roads Authority Board and the Ministry of Finance, District Administration, Works, Lands and Agriculture would like to take this opportunity to advise the public Mr. Edward Howard will be passing on the helm of NRA from 1 January – 30 June 2013 to Mr. Paul Parchment who will be Acting Managing Director; Mr. Howard acted in the post of Managing Director from June – December 2012.

Mr. Howard has enjoyed an illustrious career in Government that includes more than twenty (20) years of educational experience and practical know-how in urban and regional planning, transportation engineering, and management. He began his career in the civil service in 1989, serving as a Planning Assistant in the Planning Department until 1994; he has held other positions such as Traffic Engineer and Acting Deputy Chief Engineer at PWD (1998-2003). Edward is a 1987 graduate of the Cayman Islands High School.

He holds a bachelors degree in Civil Engineering (Howard University); a masters degree in Civil Engineering – Transportation (University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign) and an MBA in Finance from the University of Leicester (pending). His recent studies include focus on corporate finance and transport sector public-private partnerships (PPPs). Mr. Howard has attained a number for continuing education credits in both engineering and management related topics. He has served on a number of governmental and private member committees and has played a major role in all of government’s major road planning and construction initiatives over the past 15 years.

As Acting Deputy Chief Engineer – PWD Roads Division in 2004 Mr. Howard played a pivotal role in the management and transition of the PWD – Roads Division to the National Roads Authority. His career has been largely centered on transportation planning, traffic engineering, traffic impact analysis, highway design and safety, storm-water management and hydraulics, pavement management systems, and strategic roads plan development.

Mr. Howard has held the post of Deputy Managing Director of the NRA since 2004, and has frequently taken on the role of Acting MD during the past 8 years; including a 12 month appointment in 2006 and most recently 6 month appointment in 2012.

Edward is a member of internationally recognized organizations including the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), and American Public Works Association (APWA).

Mr. Parchment is a Caymanian who joined the NRA as a Technical Assistant on 9 February 1988 and subsequently progressed through the ranks until he was appointed to his current acting position on 1 January 2013.

Born in West Bay, Grand Cayman in 1969, to Mrs. Rachel Parchment and the Late Charles William Parchment, Paul was educated in the Government Primary and Secondary Schools and subsequently attended Florida A&M University in the United States and the University of Birmingham in the UK where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering and Master’s Degree in Roads Management & Engineering respectively.

In his role as the Deputy Managing Director of the NRA’s Engineering & Operations division Mr. Parchment personally supervised much of the improved roads infrastructure projects that Cayman enjoys today. He is directly responsible for all aspects of Engineering Design, Construction and Project Costing for both recurrent maintenance activities as well as large scale capital expenditure.

“After 25 years of service to my Country, I can still vividly recall my first days of hard surveying work in the hot sun in East End. They say retrospection is often a futile activity, but to personally reflect on my humble beginnings in the then PWD Roads Division, and now to clearly realize exactly what the NRA has achieved in its short life gives me great hope for the future of the Authority. From initiating the Esterley Tibbetts Highway, to rebuilding much of roads after the passage of hurricane Ivan, and commencing the East West Arterial, I would like to believe that we have played a major role in the development of our Country by maintaining and improving the conditions of our local roads infrastructure and adding Major Arterials to it when required. I remain focused on my lasting ambition of furthering the development of the NRA to the point where the service we provide is second to none in the entire region.”

The Ministry and Board of Directors would like to thank Mr. Howard for his contributions he made during his acting period and look forward to working with Mr. Parchment over the next 6 months.