BUSINESSUITE Magazine’s  ranking of Jamaica’s leading businesswomen provides a unique opportunity to secure an insight into the professional lives and activity of some of the most interesting and inspiring women in Jamaica’s private sector today.

How we pick the Power 50

What qualities can adequately describe a woman of power and influence on a national level? She is often described as ambitious, driven, determined, creative, a confident leader and a risk-taker. She allows her passions to order her steps, her gifts and her talents to become her own personal calling card.

Powerful and influential women are thriving in their business lives across Jamaica and so the move by the BUSINESSUITE editorial team to select, based on the format created by FORTUNE magazine editors, the 50 most powerful and influential women was truly a daunting task.

As stated, the selection process for the BUSINESSUITE list of the ’50 Most Powerful and Influential Business Women’ is based on a general format created and used by the editorial team of FORTUNE Magazine. This includes:

1. The general size (Revenue, Profitability and Human Resource) and importance of the woman’s company in the Jamaican economy;
2. The health and direction of the company;
3. The arc of the woman’s career and;
4. Societal and cultural influence of the business as informed by key industry insiders and published information

It must however be noted that since BUSINESSUITE Magazine is not privy to the financial statements of some of the companies mentioned, this was not heavily factored into our final listing and placements. Readers are therefore invited to debate and discuss the names and placement of individuals.

They aren’t just successful executives, entrepreneurs, or administrators who are admired and respected within their own organisations, they are the voices that are heard across the industries in which their companies operate, even across corporate Jamaica as a whole.

The Presentation Event – October 2022
The awards will be given to 50 women business leaders who have achieved strong results in their respective fields. This will be the 1st edition of Businessuite Magazine’s Most Powerful Women Awards, to be held in October 2022. Details to come.

The awards are aimed at honouring remarkable Jamaican women who have made outstanding contributions to their organisations and set new standards of administration and performance across corporate Jamaica and the economy.

We will also be seeking to recognise and identifying Rising Stars and Women Abroad.

The Special Edition – October 2022
The event felicitates the most powerful women in Jamaican business and salutes the spirit of successful business women with a special issue of Businessuite Magazine ‘Most Powerful Women in Business” Jamaica Edition. Details to come

See also

The Top 40 Most Powerful and Influential Women in Jamaican Business for 2016.

Businessuite Power 50 Women in Jamaican Business for 2013

Businessuite Power 50 Women in Jamaican Business for 2012

Businessuite Magazine December 2014 Digital Edition

BUSINESSUITE Magazine October 2012 Digital Issue

The Annual Businessuite Skin Index seeks to measure and gauge the extent to which Businessuite Caribbean Top 50 CEO’s who run Businessuite Top 50 & 100 Companies use their own money to buy stock in the company they are running and if they are managed by like-minded individuals who share a stake in the company.

Skin In The Game is a term coined by renowned investor Warren Buffett referring to a situation in which high-ranking executives and insiders uses their own money to buy stock in the company they are running.

“We like to see the people who run businesses showing confidence in them by committing their own capital. And directors are well aware their trading is closely watched by investors, so they often buy stock when they’re allowed to.”

The 2022 Index is based on the following:
Main Stock Exchange Last trading price for 2021
Central Bank US$ selling price as at 30/12/2021
Jamaica shareholdings based on December 2021 quarterly financials
Trinidad and Barbados shareholdings were not included this year as the changes in holdings are not as dynamic as Jamaica and have largely remained unchanged.
Where noted connected party holdings are included (more…)

NCB Financial Group Limited (“NCBFG”) is the financial holding company of the Group, incorporated in April 2016. NCBFG has roots that trace as far back
as 1837 and remains the largest and most profitable financial services provider in Jamaica. The Group comprises of National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCBJ) and its subsidiaries, Clarien Group Limited (Clarien) and its subsidiaries and NCB Global Holdings Limited- majority owner of Guardian Holdings Limited (GHL) and its subsidiaries. NCBFG is proud to be a regional entity with presence in 21 territories in the English and Dutch Caribbean as well as in the United Kingdom.

We are accelerating our
transformation to ensure we
are well positioned for the future…”

This financial year, we, along with the rest of the world, were forced to contend with the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to be unprecedented in its global reach and impact.

I am extremely proud of the commendable financial performance recorded by the Group, and how as an organisation we have demonstrated resilience, particularly with the acceleration of digital initiatives and delivery of new solutions to meet the changing needs of our customers.

I remain extremely optimistic about the future of the NCB Financial Group. Optimism is a deliberate choice and mindset, and a fundamental source of fuel for anyone navigating a personal or professional challenge. Helen Keller also noted the importance of optimism, saying, “optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”

The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of adaptation, innovation, change and transformation.

These principles have always been a part of our organisation as we evolved into a leading financial services Group in the Caribbean. As I contemplate the challenges that we face in the region, I am reminded that life is not linear; you have ups and downs. It’s how you deal with the troughs that defines you. That said, there is not a period in history in which I would prefer to be alive. Like Albert Einstein, I embrace the present with the knowledge that, “in the middle of difficulty, there is opportunity. The bigger the difficulty, the bigger the opportunity.” Opportunities allow us to overcome challenges, resulting in growth, resilience and strength.

I am encouraged by the opportunities that have been unearthed so far, some of which include:
• Young entrepreneurs have been taking advantage of digital technology to conduct e-commerce using mobile devices
• The acceleration of remote work produced a global marketplace for talent, allowing citizens in the countries that we serve to access jobs around the globe
• Streaming platforms presented an opportunity to expand our creative industry by allowing those with limited resources to produce content for global distribution.
• An increase in the volume of retailers establishing their presence online to be able to expand their reach to local and overseas-based customers.

We have also seen local entrepreneurs pivoting their business models. Local companies have started to produce masks and personal protective equipment, and offer sanitisation and delivery services. Each of these shifts creates an opportunity for us to serve our clients by providing the financial solutions that will enable them to capitalise on opportunities and pursue their dreams. Our role of being in the lives of our customers every step of the way remains unaltered.

I remain optimistic, and encourage you to do the same. This is the first step in building the resilience to withstand the ongoing uncertainty and disruption
worldwide. We are accelerating our transformation to ensure we are well positioned for the future to meet the shifting and growing needs of our customers. We remain committed to becoming a world-class Caribbean financial ecosystem by 2024, and will continue to focus on adding value in all that we do. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve each stakeholder, and we look forward to rising together above the challenges that are masking incredible opportunities.

Financial Performance
Within the context of the pandemic’s devastating impact on the regional and global economies, the Group recorded a solid performance for the financial year. NCB Financial Group Limited reported consolidated net profit of $26.9 billion and net profit attributable to stockholders of the parent of $19.1 billion, a 36% or $10.8 billion decrease when compared to the restated prior year.

It should be noted the 2020 financial performance includes a full year of GHL’s results as opposed to only five months in the 2019 financial year. Additionally, the prior year’s results included one-off gains totalling $8.2 billion, comprising $3.3 billion from the disposal of an associate, $2.3 billion from the revaluation of our interest in GHL and $2.6 billion from the disposal of a subsidiary.

On a normalised basis excluding these one-off gains, the profit attributable to stockholders of the parent would have declined by $2.5 billion or 12% from the prior year. Our asset base increased by 11% or $184.0 billion to $1.8 trillion primarily due to increases in investment securities, net loans and amounts due from banks. However, the growth in the asset base coupled with lower net profits resulted in return on average assets of 1.57% compared to 2.40% in the prior financial year.

Equity attributable to shareholders of the company increased by 6% or $8.5 billion to $156.1 billion with return on average equity of 12.57% (2019:
21.52%).

Extracted from Chairman Report to shareholders

Michael Lee-Chin
Chairman of the Board

NCBFG is listed on both the Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchanges. More details on the Company may be found on the website at www.myncb.com.

More Information
https://www.myncb.com/NCBFinancialGroup/media/NCB-Financial-Group/Reports/NCBFG-Annual-Report-2020_Web__1.pdf?ext=.pdf