Class News
Wendell Mottley ’64 receives George H. W. Bush ’48 Lifetime of Leadership Award
July 26, 2025
The Yale Athletic Department has announced that Wendell Mottley ’64 will be awarded the George H. W. Bush ’48 Lifetime of Leadership Award at the Blue Leadership Ball on November 21, 2025, the night before The Game.
Named for the 41st President of the United States and Yale alumnus George Herbert Walker Bush '48, the Lifetime of Leadership Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership throughout their lives — in governance, commerce, science and technology, education, public service, and/or the arts and media.
Tony Lavely, ’64 Class Secretary, was a co-nominator of Wendell for this award. We remember that the same honor was bestowed on Chris Getman ’64 in 2011 (see details) and Jim Duderstadt ’64 in 2003 (see details).
The following award citation summarizes Wendell’s lifetime of leadership:
Wendell Mottley captained the Yale men's track and field team his senior season, the same year he set indoor world records in the 400-yard, 500-yard, and 600-yard events. A dominant middle-distance sprinter, Mottley won the Ivy League title in the outdoor 440-yard/400-meter run three times and the indoor 600-yard/500-meter run twice. His personal best of 45.2 seconds still stands as the Ivy League record over the 440-yard/400-meter distance. He also remains Yale's record holder in the 600-yard/500-meter event.
Representing Trinidad and Tobago at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Mottley won a silver medal in the 400 meters and a bronze in the 4x400-meter relay.
After earning his Yale degree in economics, he completed a master's in economics at Cambridge and worked in London before returning home. There, he began a career in housing development and later entered politics. He was elected as a Senator in Trinidad and Tobago's 2nd Republican Parliament (1981–86) and later served in the House of Representatives during the 4th Republican Parliament (1992–95). During his political career, he held several ministerial posts, including Minister of Housing and Resettlement, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Tourism. In 1993, he founded the Civilian Conservation Corps to empower socially marginalized young adults.
In 1996, Mottley became an investment banker at Credit Suisse in New York, where he served as managing director and senior advisor for 15 years. In 2008, he was a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development, where he authored “Trinidad and Tobago — Industrial Policy 1959-2008.” He later served as chairman of the board of the Unit Trust Corporation, the Caribbean's largest mutual fund company, and was a board member of Pan-American Life Insurance Group.
In 2018, he received the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for his outstanding contributions to national development and public service.
Below is a video featuring Wendell as part of a series highlighting “Parliamentary Personalities” of Trinidad and Tobago and their career paths. In the video, Wendell recalls a meeting in the White House with President George H. W. Bush, a “fanatical Yale sportsman,” during which the conversation was all about Yale athletics, foreshadowing Wendell’s winning of this year’s Bush leadership award.