Wendell Mottley

Wendell Mottley won two Olympic medals in the 400 and 4x400 at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He also earned two gold medals in similar events at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, helping Trinidad & Tobago set a world record in the 4x440 yard relay. An economics major at Yale University, this was all a prelude to greater accomplishments. At Yale he was a three-time Heptagonal Champion in the 440 yards.

After graduating from Yale Mottley earned a masters’ degree in economics from Cambridge University. He captained the track team at Cambridge and became lifelong friends with his counterpart at Oxford, Jeffrey Archer, the novelist. Mottley worked in London for several years but then returned to Trinidad in 1969 where he started a business career in housing development.

His work in housing led Mottley to begin a career in government service, becoming Minister of Housing in 1981, serving until 1986. From 1991-96 he was Trinidad & Tobago’s Minister of Finance. In 1996 Mottley joined Credit Suisse bank in New York, as a managing director in investment banking, and overseeing their financing projects in the Caribbean.

Mottley has also served as a board member of the World Wildlife Fund, a member of the Asa Wright Beard Foundation, the leading environmental group in the Caribbean, and sits on the leadership council of the Yale School of Forestry.

Personal Best: 400 – 44.82y (1966).