“My motivation comes from knowing that my contribution brings benefit to others” – to the company, employees and the country. And similarly, and in an almost symbiotic way, loyalty and passion for the companies that I have been a part of, have been drivers of my professional development.
Photo credit: Luvo Productions Ltd.
Keone Jackman is the General Manager at TATL, and while a new addition to the TOSL team, Keone is no new-comer to the energy sector.
His relationship with the company resulted from the acquisition of ANSA Technologies by TOSL in April 2025. Keone’s journey in the energy sector began quite unintentionally while studying Electrical and Computer Engineering at UWI, where he majored in Telecommunications. During one vacation period, he was hired for a position within NGC’s Communications team, having won a Bursary from NGC; this resulted in him spending 2 summers with the company. In his final year at university, he decided on instrumentation as his elective, having been influenced by his experience at NGC where communication fell within the same department as electrical and instrumentation. Several short, but very useful stints within various companies in the process equipment supply chain helped him amass technical training and experience to advance his career.
Today, with over 20 years of experience in Trinidad and Tobago's energy sector, primarily in electrical, instrumentation, and automation engineering, Keone has had full immersion in various sub-sectors, prior to his current managerial position. From the 14 years at Petrotrin where he was employed when the company was shuttered in 2018, Keone recalls the invaluable experiences which he gained working on major capital projects including C5/C6 Isomerisation Complex (ISOM), Continuous Catalyst Regeneration Platformer Complex (CCR), and the Liquid Fuels Pipeline project. He was fortunate to have had several overseas assignments and for a period of time, lived in South Korea. These experiences quite literally impacted and remained with him. A Korean dynasty influenced the name of his first-born son. Keone’s responsibilities also meant some time in Europe for factory training and project assignments in California and two major international arbitrations in London.
The period immediately following Petrotrin’s closure was a notedly challenging period which he navigated by transitioning to the food and beverage sector. One could say that the energy sector had a strong pull on him and he returned to it not long after, this time with Ansa Technologies in a management role. Having earlier veered from his original plan of settling into the field of telecommunication when he was subconsciously redirected toward instrumentation and oil and gas sector, this re-orientation was likewise successful. Additionally, the benefits of being part of a family of five siblings and also the father of 4, is that you acquire first-hand experience of functioning within and managing team dynamics; when another major curveball emerged, with TOSL’s acquisition of Ansa Technologies, Keone managed to retain all except one, of his 12 team members.
What has guided and shaped his career philosophy? As Keone shared “My professional approach is centred around letting my work speak for itself”. How he accomplishes this is by his careful, almost clinical attention to detail and a fierce loyalty to the companies that he is employed by, both which have been key drivers of his success and professional development.
One of the defining experiences for Keone resulted from the numerous international assignments which he was fortunate to be a part of, and which have shaped his ability to function and manage across and within many cultures. The exposure to different cultures and working styles with team members from Asia, Europe, North America and even neighbouring Latin America allowed him a much broader experience which has been key to the way he manages both people and projects assigned to him.
Of course, he too has been influenced and guided by industry associates whose methodology and personal philosophy have impacted him and there is evident respect and acknowledgement of the advice of Christopher Farquhar and Steve Carvalho. These two industry stalwarts and mentors, were colleagues he met while at Petrotrin and their knowledge and insight have significantly shaped his project management and managerial approach.
Keone has always been motivated by his obligation to his family; when his father passed away just before graduation, he didn’t question the need which arose and led him to find employment. Similarly, there was no room for delay and inaction when Petrotrin closed: family responsibilities required immediate career transition without time for self-pity. With the recent acquisition, his role has transitioned to being even more managerial and so less operational, but the range of his experience in the sector locally and because of his international exposure, remain a critical asset to him and his team. The resulting synergies for TOSL, being one of larger engineering contractors has been substantial, and the acquisition has positioned the company to operate at wider scale in the energy industry. Of course, ‘local market challenges including plant closures and limited activity are a reality but there is hopefully some light at the end of the tunnel’ Keone reflected.
Having garnered all his skills and knowledge within this key sector, Keone’s advice to young professionals is to "let your work speak for you and do everything to the best of your ability. No one can take away quality of the work you contributed to a project”. He also stressed that anyone desirous of learning and growing in any position must be “open to exploring different avenues and receiving feedback; move outside of your discipline rather than focusing narrowly (if you are given that chance). Multidisciplinary involvement enhances career growth”. As Keone has experienced and shared, the resulting reward is the successful project outcomes, “My motivation comes from knowing that my contribution brings benefit to others – to the company, employees and the country. And similarly, and in an almost symbiotic way, loyalty and passion for the companies that I have been a part of, have been drivers of my professional development.