A Step into the Future – Jamaica National Group Canada Announces Emile Spence as the New Chief Representing Officer

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“The Jamaica National Bank’s mandate continues to be to provide products and services, which empower and instill confidence in the lives of our members.”

Emile Spence (Chief Representative Officer, Jamaica National Bank)
With a new year, comes change and innovation, and this has been the case for The Jamaica National Group, a diverse group with a suite of financial products and services aimed at expanding business and forging stronger relationships with their stakeholders in Canada. The Jamaica National Canada Office serves more than 20,000 members, who maintain savings with the Jamaica National Bank in Jamaica.

The changes in this company have occurred on the management level with the departure of Jerrold Johnson, the well-loved and respected former Chief Representative Officer, and the introduction of Emile Spence, a longtime senior executive to the company. Effective as of February 20^th, 2019, Curtis Martin, the current Managing Director enthusiastically welcomed Emile Spence, and immediately credited him on his experience and knowledge of Jamaica National operations.

“Mr. Spence’s breadth of experience and track record perfectly suit our needs, as we continue our growth as a diverse financial group with businesses in savings, mortgages, wealth management, pension fund management, and money transfer services,” (Curtis Martin)

The Financial Giant Emile Spence
An avid sportsman, Emile passionately involves himself in many sporting and community organizations; he holds current positions including: Vice President of The Kingston Cricket Club, Director of the Institute of Sports, Director of Sabina Park Holdings Ltd, Chairman of the Board Of Trustees for Institute of Sports Pension Plan, Member of the Board of Trustees of the NHF Pension Fund, Member of the JSIF Projects Committee, and Immediate Past President of the Colbeck Water Users Association. He is also former Director of the National insurance Fund, Nutrition Products Ltd, National Irrigation Commission, Sports Development Foundation, Factories Corporation, El Greco Resorts Ltd, Beaches Resorts Ltd, and the Jamaica Mortgage Bank.

Emile Spence began his financial career after he graduated with a degree in Economics from The University of the West Indies.  For more than 30 years he worked with the former Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) in several strategic capacities, ranging from branch manager to senior executive responsible for marketing, distribution and representative offices. As an economist and marketer, Emile has also served as the Jamaica National Group Executive for Business, Development & Research, conceptualizing and implementing products and services, at the corporate and commercial levels.

“I have been able to use my knowledge of local and overseas financial markets to capitalize on cutting-edge technologies and products to enhance the JN Group’s new business initiatives.”

During his interim capacity at the Jamaica National Bank Canada Representative Office, Emile’s main objective is to work on building stronger relations with members of the Jamaican Diaspora and to empower members of the community to make sound financial decisions, as they strive to build their wealth. Under his leadership, Jamaica National has achieved significant growth in its overseas portfolio, particularly in the establishment of JNBS representative offices in the: United Kingdom, United States of America and Canada, and the expansion of its remittance service JN International Money Transfer.

Future Aspirations
“Our team remains committed to the Canadian Diaspora and will continue to support Jamaicans in Canada as we have done throughout the years. The initiatives we will be supporting include Camp Jumoke, an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of children living with Sickle Cell Disease; the Wolmers’ Past Students’ Association, and the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf.”

2019 promises to be a great year; a year with many plans and projects in the works for the Jamaica National Group. Their ambitions surround providing members and customers with access to financial products and educational services aimed at improving financial literacy. They want to make available an expanded range of options to finance home and property purchases. Most importantly, they want to stay committed to their promise to significantly reduce the time it normally takes to receive mortgage financing. This will mean continuing to facilitate the financing of mortgage solutions, as a key component for economic growth; it will also mean increasing the level of financial literacy in the Canadian market through increased mortgage conversations, annual community fora, members’ meetings, and the Jamaica Diaspora Conference, which this year will take place in Jamaica in the month of June.

Sometimes change can be difficult, and many are resistant to change for this reason; it is not until it is realized that space is being created for something new to emerge, does acceptance truly occur. We at the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper congratulate Emile Spence and wish him the very best in his future.

Interview conducted by Alyssa Mahadeo, Written and Revised by Simone Jennifer Smith