how happy she was, seeing the value she could add to the organisation and its functions. With Strachan possessing the “highest levels of integrity” and learning at his feet, Monroe-Ellis has “never” doubted any report produced by her office. “When I send a report to Parliament, the weight of my professional requirement goes with it,” she declared. MENTORSHIP AND COACHING Mentorship and coaching are critical to young people at all levels, she said, adding that what Strachan provided was fundamental to her own development as a young professional. “Mentorship and coaching are so important for leadership. It’s preparation. And I consider myself blessed because of the persons to whom I was exposed and who helped me and prepared me for this role. Clearly my mother and father, and Mr Strachan. He retired in 2008 but he is still in my conscience. He saw in me what I did not see in myself,” Monroe-Ellis told The Sunday Gleaner. She recalled grumbling at Strachan’s regular requirement that she addressed various groups, something she does not like. “I was cussing tomyself that ‘Lord, him can’t find anybody else to go talk. Why every month I have to go and talk?’,” she would mumble and grumble, but comply. FAIR, FEARED, FEARLESS Describing herself as “extremely shy”, Monroe-Ellis recalled being frozen in front of three internal auditors, all men, but who were understanding, in one of her first meetings with them. Strachan told her he identified strong communication skills on her part and it accounted for the regular meetings. “One thing he taught me is to be dispassionate. Approach my work fairly, because at all times, keep in mind that persons can be affected by that report and it can cause irreversible damage to reputation. Not only that, but to recognise how that report will be used, as it may not be used in the way you want it to. But it should be used for the benefit of all, and it does not matter who is on what side, the response is going to be the same,” she stated. As a result, “I am mindful that I don’t send that report to Parliament thinking that I have friends. But I send the report being dispassionate, recognising my responsibility under the Constitution of Jamaica and also to the people of this department. They do the work, they know the standard. They knowwhat is expected.We are not interested in speculations. If an opinion is given, it is an opinion based on facts, because I am required to analyse and give an opinion,” she said. It is on that authority and with dignity, diligence and calm that she has led the Auditor General’s Department for 14 years. Monroe-Ellis is undaunted by, accustomed to and prepared for the verbal ammunition fired at her over the years. As she puts it, “The dangers of the outdoors shaped me in character building, being free-spirited and never one to get offended by anything or anyone.” Depending on which side of the aisle her reports hit, many have feared the outcomes. Many have shivered at the announcement that her office is conducting a special audit. Despite the findings, when the petite powerhouse sits before the country’s lawmakers, it is with an impossible calm. “When a report is going to Parliament, my team members will tell you that I don’t’ know who the persons are because I don’t ask. And reports come to me after they go through the various exchanges with the entity, because when they come to me, I see the report, along with the entity’s response. The first defence the entity has is actually me, because if the report is not matching up, and I don’t see the evidence, I have to take out what’s there,” she said unequivocally. Integrity has defined her decades in the profession and more so since she has been Auditor General. “People may believe that I lead everything. No. My leadership is of a different style. Leadership is to empower the officers through training and continuous capacity building, and exposure to the standards and for them to understand what is required of them as auditors, how they are expected to approach their audits with our core values of independence, integrity, professionalism, transparency, objectivity and credibility,” she said. Pamela Monroe-Ellis has built a strong reputation of impartiality and professionalism, displaying calm and respect even when challenged. She heads an office that continues to do the thankless job of overseeing the effective management of the Government of Jamaica’s financial management systems, making sure they are accountable and compliant with financial management policies. The petite powerhouse is one of Jamaica’s formidable women and packs power in every report with her signature. erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com THE SUNDAY GLEANER, MARCH 6, 2022 | NEWS A10 Essential and Emergency Services & Partners Co-operative Credit Union Ltd. NOTICE OF SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING Notice is hereby given that a Special General Meeting of the Essential and Emergency Services & Partners Co-operative Credit Union Limited will be held as a hybrid format meeting on Saturday, March 19, 2022, commencing at 10 a.m. The purpose of the meeting is to consider, and if thought fit, pass the Resolution for Amendment to the Essential and Emergency Services & Partners Co-operative Credit Union Rules to incorporate that “meetings of members of the Society can be conducted by attendance at a physical location, or virtual-only or by hybrid format meeting. A copy of the full Resolution is available at the Credit Union’s offices and on our website at www.eespccul.com. In order to comply with the measures which entails in the Disaster Risk Management Orders issued by the Government, the guidelines for the Department of Co-operative and Friendly Societies (DCFS) and the Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League (JCCUL), the Special General Meeting will be held as a hybrid format meeting. However, ONLY staff and volunteers will be allowed to attend physically at the Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League, Sullivan Hall, 2A Manhattan Road, Kingston 5. Members will be able to join the meeting live via Zoom Conference. All participation virtually regarding voting, will be conducted electronically. All participants attending the meeting physically at Sullivan Hall will vote by way of physical ballots. The resolution can be found on the Credit Union’s website at www.eespccul.com or via the link https://eespccul.com/sgm/resolution To participate in the meeting, members are required to pre-register in branch at the Head Office (28 Union Square, Cross Roads, Kingston 5), or at the Credit Union’s Outpost (Spanish Town Prison Oval, Burke Road, Spanish Town, St. Catherine), or via our website at www.eespccul.com via the link https://eespccul.com/sgm/. Further information regarding participating and voting can also be accessed on said website. Registration will close on Tuesday March 15, 2022. Upon registration and verification, Members will receive the link to the Special General Meeting. For further queries and concerns, please send an email to info@eespccul.com or call 876-929-0994 / 876-926-4830. 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In 1990 when she finished her first year, she opted to work part-time and studied full time. A serious illness and recovery helped to put things into perspective. Audrey was now fully focused on her career and she credits a nurturing environment and excellent female supervisors for that growth. The now seasoned banker examines industry changes over the decades. “I have personally seen a shift. I think Jamaica still stands out on the world’s stage as a country that has the most women at the management level. Most of my supervisors were women and there were a few managers. But once you got to that C-suite, it was all me. Nowwhat you are seeing is a shift where you go all the way up to middle management level, and it is still largely dominated by women, but now you are also seeing a better shift in the C-suite where we now have women as well. So Jamaica is in a very unique place today where about half of the deposit-taking institutions are run by women,” Tugwell-Henry told The Sunday Gleaner, adding that about half of the institutions supervised by the central bank have a significant number of women in chief executive positions. A decade ago this was not so, and today she knows it is a remarkable place for Jamaica to occupy. While there have been positive changes for women’s role in the banking industry, the shift is not yet happening in the boardroomwhere women are neither chair nor directors. That balance will come eventually, she said, even as she encourages young women to enter the industry. SUPPORT OF WOMEN Tugwell-Henry said the support of other women in the banking industry was critical to her success, even though she did not tick all the boxes of requirements. The industry, she said, benefits from the diversity of thought women bring. She encouraged them to take a leap of faith and be bold. Leadership, too, she said, is very important for growth and she pledges a commitment to provide the same nurturing environment afforded to her. “You are not expected to succeed as a single individual. You succeed with a team of persons, and so if you bring certain attributes to the table, you can work with your team to achieve great success. And so I encourage women to step forward and be bold, and take their careers to the highest level that they want personally for themselves,” Tugwell-Henry told The Sunday Gleaner. WHAT DRIVES HER As the first child of her parents’ five children to attend university, she saw the change it brought to the trajectory of her entire family. Education, she said, is the best tool to develop human beings. Now Tugwell-Henry’s nephews and children have received tertiary education, which is “so important in driving poverty alleviation and advancing the development of poor people”. Professionally, she is driven by her ability to influence change in not just her family but others. Acutely aware of her role as a large employer of labour, she believes in continuing to create value for her internal and external public so that they can create their own value for their immediate and extended circle. “We create value for businesses, so they can create value for the economy and when it comes together as a direct value creation as a sector, that gives me a lot of satisfaction,” she said. “Even though I am head of the bank, I still interact with customers. I see first hand the impact of COVID-19, both at the individual and business, at an aggregate level, and see the value we have created in the Jamaican economy, something we have been doing for 132 years.” Scotiabank is the only financial institution in Jamaica that has remained in the same hands and retained the same name in 132 years of operation.With riskmanagement as one of the bank’s core competencies, it was testament to its integrity and longevity that is has prevailed despite earthquakes, hurricanes and local and global financial crises, she said. Tugwell-Henry said she is excited to be leading the operations at this time and is very pleased with the level of rigour from the central bank headed by Richard Byles. Banking operations around the world have changed dramatically, including in Jamaica, where 97 per cent of retail business operates digitally or on an electronic platform. Further changes are coming, too, she said, as accepting digital as a way of doing business is very much here. Opening an account, an exercise which normally took weeks, now happens in five minutes using the bank’s app. Credit card offers and pre-approved loans are also done digitally. However, while this is the future, there will still be branches and personal bankers to advise customers. LEADING THE WAY Tugwell-Henry is excited to be where she is. “It is a fabulous time and I am very excited. I am also excited about what it holds for women, having watched the industry over three decades and seen that shift. Inmy early days all my supervisors were women, but once I got very senior, all became me. Now for the first time my supervisor is a woman, who heads the Caribbean, Central America, Uruguay region,” she said. That woman is another Jamaican, Anya Schnoor, who also grew with the bank up to the global level. “Jamaicans will never be left off the world stage. The shift is happening, but I would love to see greater opportunities for women to support some of the challenges they face. For example, child care, which sometimes keeps them out of the workplace because they are caregivers. This is an opportunity I believe for the State to look at affordable child care options to allow women to work, knowing their children are safe, especially in the formative years,” she said. Tugwell-Henry is especially proud of the special women’s financial initiative, the Scotiabank’s Women Initiative – a multibillion-dollar programme that lends support to women and women-led businesses to drive greater financial and economic stability among them. “In doing that, we know we are lifting up families and supporting communities,” she said of the programme which is a global initiative and first launched in Jamaica. Audrey Tugwell-Henry – family woman, mother, wife of Peter Henry, executive, professional – continues to lead the way in banking in Jamaica and the region. With high levels of admiration for the role of the central bank, she may just be the first woman to become Bank of Jamaica governor. erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com BANKING CONTINUED FROM A2 FEARLESS CONTINUED FROM A2
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