Grand Cayman, The Cayman Islands, February 5, 2021 – Despite severe restrictions on travel which prevented the usual gathering in Barbados, CIBC FirstCaribbean reached around the region recently to honour its brightest and best performers for 2020.

Chief Executive Officer Colette Delaney told those gathered for the online Achievers Awards Ceremony that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has caused staff at all levels to work even harder to meet the needs of clients and she praised them for rising to the challenge.

“Difficult times have called for innovative approaches to our work, and I am extremely proud of the way our entire team has risen to the challenge,” Ms. Delaney said.

“You are the embodiment of the fact that one can excel in the most trying of circumstances,” the CEO told the 10 outstanding achievers drawn from the bank’s business units in Antigua, Barbados, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Dominica and Grenada and who were rewarded for outstanding performances in Retail and Business Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking and Enterprise Security & Fraud Management.   

She noted that the bank’s “matrix structure” also positioned it to readjust to the new work from home environment “as we are quite used to multi-national teams working across borders, often by conference calls and our latest toys – WebEx and Microsoft teams, so to say that FirstCaribbean didn’t miss a beat when the pandemic hit would be an understatement!”

Platinum Manager Laveda Burton and Sales Specialist Kerrin White were the awardees for the Cayman Islands.

Laveda is the top performer among all platinum managers across the region and received numerous commendations and rave reviews from clients. Kerrin surpassed her annual targets by mid-year ending the year at 201%. Her results have had a significant impact on the overall success of the Cayman team and she is ranked number one in the regional sales.

Barbadian Lian Richards, Senior Analyst, Fraud Risk Management was presented with an Award of Distinction for her outstanding abilities as a fraud investigator. 

Other awardees were Sales Specialist Michael Roach of Antigua, Senior Officer, Corporate and Investment Banking, Shevette Strachan and Relationship Manager, Nickia McPhee of the Bahamas, Manager, Business Performance and Strategy Implementation, Kevin Hinds and Jeffrey Newton, Head, Credit Underwriting and Portfolio Management of Barbados, Small Business Officer, Caryl Fontaine of Dominica and Manager, Business Banking, Eberna White of Grenada. 

“The excellence you have displayed, that got you nominated for these awards, shows your leadership capability and we are relying on you to go back out there and help us keep up the teamwork and collegial spirit.” Ms. Delaney told the award winners.

Guest speaker Sonia Layne-Gartside, an internationally acclaimed Organizational Change Management (OCM) professional and author of the book “Workplace Anxiety – How to refuel and Reengage”, spoke on the topic: Thriving in Uncertainty: Why 2021 will be even bigger and better for you.

She told the awardees that they were “gems who have shown remarkable resilience in time of uncertainty”. She challenged them to go back to the organization and “sprinkle some of their resilience, ability to be agile and to look pass the challenges of the pandemic and to excel in this extraordinary way”.

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About CIBC FirstCaribbean 

CIBC FirstCaribbean is a relationship bank offering a full range of market leading financial services through our Corporate and Investment Banking, Retail and Business Banking and Wealth Management segments. We are located in sixteen (16) countries around the Caribbean, providing the banking services through approximately 2,900 employees in 64 branches and offices. We are one of the largest regionally listed financial services institutions in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean, with US$12 billion in assets and market capitalization of US$2 billion. We also have a representative office in Hong Kong providing business development, relationship management and fund administration.

CIBC FirstCaribbean is a member of the CIBC Group. CIBC is a leading Canadian-based global financial institution with 11 million personal banking and business clients. Through our three major business units – Retail and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Capital Markets – CIBC offers a full range of products and services through its comprehensive electronic banking network, branches and offices across Canada with offices in the United States and around the world. 

For more information about CIBC FirstCaribbean, visit www.cibcfcib.com , Facebook, Twitter , LinkedIn, Instagram or YouTube.