SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM

RICHARD K. POWELL, President & Chief Executive Officer

 Mr. Richard Powell joined The Victoria Mutual Building Society as President and Chief Executive Officer in July 2005. He is the first leader of the Society to have been appointed from outside of the organisation.

Mr. Powell is a highly qualified and respected executive, whose professional background includes appointments as President and CEO of Life of Jamaica Limited and Blue Cross of Jamaica, as well as a senior management position at the Lascelles deMercado Group of Companies. He also had a successful engineering career in the public sector and has a reputation for executing his responsibilities with unquestioned integrity, dedication and professionalism.

Mr. Powell has initiated a drive to transform The Society and its subsidiaries into an integrated financial services provider. This initiative has included the formulation of new vision and mission statements for the Victoria Mutual Group of Companies to chart the way forward. The new strategic approach is geared, not only towards improving financial and operational efficiency, but also repositioning the Group as a dynamic and customer driven organisation. The ultimate goal is to transform VMBS into a more adaptable, nimble and diversified financial institution that can operate successfully in a liberalized and globalised environment.

Mr. Powell’s academic achievements include an M.B.A (with Distinction) from York University in Canada, a M. Sc. in Highway Engineering from The University of Birmingham in England, and a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Civil Engineering from the University of the West Indies. In 1984, he was the recipient of a Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship, which was tenable at York University. 

NOEL M. HANN, Senior Vice-President, Group Risk and Compliance

Mr. Hann joined the Society in 1976. His area of responsibility has a wide range, including accounting; finance; investments; pension fund administration; foreign currency trading; compliance and risk management and venture capital duties. Based on past employment, he also has experience in manufacturing, construction and hotel operations.

Mr. Hann is a fellow of The Association of International Accountants (UK) and a member of the Chartered Management Institute (UK). In July 2007, he completed an Executive Juris Doctor (EJD) Law Degree at Concord Law School, California, specializing in this technical area with options in Cyberlaw, Patent Litigation, Intellectual Property and Patent Claim Drafting. He has completed several management development programs, including Financial Management at the Graduate School of Savings & Loans, North Western University.

Mr. Hann is a Council Member of the Building Societies Association of Jamaica and serves on the Board of several companies. For the past ten years, he has been the Chairman of the McGrath High School and is also the founder and senior pastor of The New Life Tabernacle Church. He is very involved in the community of Bog Walk, St. Catherine, and has spearheaded many programs geared towards the advancement of young people.

ALLAN LEWIS, Senior Vice-President, Group Strategy

Allan Lewis has had a distinguished career in financial services and strategic planning in Jamaica and the US. His professional career has been underpinned by extensive training and experience in financial risk management. He commenced his career at Life of Jamaica where he attained the designation Associate of the Society of Actuaries.

After obtaining a scholarship from USAID, Mr. Lewis obtained his MBA from Temple University. Most recently, he was Managing Director of Prime Asset Management, a pension fund investment management and administration company where he developed the company's strategic plan and laid the foundation for a doubling of the company's client base in 18 months. He currently serves as a Director of the company. In his current role at VM, Mr. Lewis is head of VM's strategic planning process and is also responsible for the strategic business units excluding the Building Society.

Mr. Lewis is also passionate about primary and secondary education, as well as community service. In 2002, he obtained a Masters in Education from Temple University. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club of North St. Andrew and serves on the advisory board of the Child Development Agency and the Board of the Mona Preparatory School Foundation. Since October 2003, he has provided voluntary service as Chairman of the Jamaica Racing Commission/Betting Gaming and Lotteries Pension Fund.   He has also served the Jamaica Football Federation in various capacities including being a member of the Finance Committee.

JANICE MCKENLEY, Senior Vice-President & Group Chief Financial Officer

Mrs. Janice McKenley joined Victoria Mutual in July, 2007 as Senior Vice-President & Group Chief Financial Officer. She is responsible for Group Shared Services which includes Financial Accounting and Control; Corporate Performance Measurement and Reporting; as well as Information Technology, Treasury Management, Office Services and Information Security for the Victoria Mutual Group.

Prior to joining Victoria Mutual, Mrs. McKenley held the position of General Manager, Financial Control Division at the National Commercial Bank. In that role, she had responsibility for Budget preparation and Regulatory Reporting; reorganization of the Division and improvement in the financial reporting timeframes; as well as coordination of the external audit and financial reporting for the Bank and Group. Mrs. McKenley has a wealth of financial experience including Computerized Information Systems Risk Management (CISRM), which was her specialty during her tenure at McKenley & Associates and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Mrs. McKenley was also instrumental in formulating the corporate direction and goals for the City of Kingston Co-operative Credit Union, while serving as Deputy General Manager, Finance & Corporate Planning.

Mrs. McKenley, a Chartered Accountant by profession, holds an MBA in Finance and a B.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of the West Indies. She is a Fellow of The Chartered Association of Certified Accountants (UK) and The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica of which she is a past Council member and member of the Accounting Standards Committee. 

BEVERLEY STRACHAN, Vice-President, Group Human Resources Administration

Mrs. Beverley Strachan has held the position of Vice President, Human Resources and Administration since 2004 and has over 25 years of experience in Human Resource functionalities. Her areas of responsibility include Training and Development; Career Planning and the creation of Recruitment and Selection polices for the Victoria Mutual Group of Companies.

During her career, Mrs. Strachan has successfully completed some very important tasks. These achievements include the development and maintenance of a corporate database and an accurate and reliable charting system. She has also developed highly effective Quality Management Programmes and has seen to the implementation of Human Resource Programmes in one of the largest insurance companies in Jamaica. She has held strategic positions as Head of Organization Development at Cable and Wireless and from 2000 – 2003 held the title of Vice President of Human Resources and Planning at this company. Mrs. Strachan was also employed to the Jamaica Mutual Life Assurance Society where she held executive management positions with responsibility for the Development of Productivity and other welfare programmes. 

She holds an MBA in Human Resource Development and a Bachelors Degree with honours from the University of the West Indies.

PAULETTE FRANCIS-SMELLIE, Vice-President, Group Legal & Corporate Secretary

An Attorney at Law, Mrs. Francis-Smellie joined the Staff of the Victoria Mutual Building Society in 1993 as Corporate Secretary/Legal Counsel at the level of Assistant Vice President. In 2003, she was promoted to Vice President. Mrs. Smellie provides Corporate Secretarial and legal services to VMBS and to its several Strategic Business Units.

Prior to assuming duties at VMBS, Mrs. Francis- Smellie served as Corporate Secretary and Legal Counsel for the National Investment Bank of Jamaica and Trafalgar Development Bank. For a number of years, she was also engaged in the private practice of law, specializing in Commercial law and Conveyancing.

Mrs. Francis -Smellie is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, where she earned the Degree Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) with upper second-class honours. She later received her professional qualification (the Certificate of Legal Education) from the Norman Manley Law School and was called to the Jamaican Bar. Over the years, Mrs. Francis-Smellie has completed a number of certificate courses including International Contract Negotiation at Georgetown International Law Centre and recently, Euromoney's Advanced Loan Documentation.

VIVIENNE BAYLEY-HAY, Vice-President, Group Marketing & Corporate Affairs

Vivienne Bayley-Hay joined the Society in June, 2008 in the position of Marketing Manager in the Group Marketing & Corporate Affairs Department and was later appointed to act as Head of Group Marketing. During that period, Mrs. Bayley-Hay acquitted herself well and provided solid leadership to the marketing team. In March 2009, Mrs. Bayley-Hay was appointed Vice-President, Group Marketing & Corporate Affairs, with responsibility for the marketing and corporate affairs portfolio of the Victoria Mutual Group.

Mrs. Bayley-Hay's extensive experience in the field of marketing was honed through serving in various capacities prior to joining Victoria Mutual. She served as Marketing Manager of NCB Insurance Company Limited, Assistant Marketing Manager at the COK Cooperative Credit Union and in addition, she has had considerable experience in market research and analysis, having been employed to a leading Marketing Research firm for over five years.

Mrs. Bayley-Hay holds a Bachelor of Science Degree, with Honours, from the University of the West Indies and has attended many short courses locally and overseas in a wide range of subject areas including Project Management, Media Planning, Market Research as well as Sales and Marketing Management.

Rickardo Ebanks, Vice-President, Information Technology

Mr. Rickardo Ebanks rejoins the Victoria Mutual Family in the capacity of Vice-President, Information Technology after thirteen years of service to the Society between 1993 and 2006. Mr. Ebanks previously served as the Assistant Manager, Electronic Data Processing (EDP), where he was responsible for managing all the processes related to budgeting, acquisition, deployment and maintenance of the Society’s computer systems. Prior to rejoining the Victoria Mutual Family, Mr. Ebanks served as the Technical Manager, Systems Department at Jamaica Money Market Brokers. In his new role, Mr. Ebanks will oversee the Information Technology portfolio of the Victoria Mutual Group.

Mr. Ebanks’ education and professional certification includes a Bachelor of Science Degree (Cum Laude) in Computer Science from Florida International University and Certificates in Supervisory Management and Marketing (Distinction) from the University of West Indies. He is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and was awarded the Florida International University Leadership Award for Excellence and Award for Academic Achievement in 2005.

JOAN BROWN, Assistant Vice-President, Risk Management

Ms. Joan Brown joined the Victoria Mutual family  in January 2008. Ms. Brown has extensive professional experience in internal and external auditing, accounting and finance at the senior level in a number of industries.

Ms. Brown, a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountant, holds a Masters Degree in Finance from the Manchester Business School & University of Wales, Bangor and a Diploma in Investigative & Forensic Accounting from the University of Toronto, Mississauga.

Prior to joining the Victoria Mutual Team, Ms. Brown served as Chief Financial Officer for the Dyoll Group, Assistant Vice-President & Chief Internal Auditor at Life of Jamaica (now Sagicor Life of Jamaica) and as an independent consultant to entities both locally and abroad. She has also served as an audit practitioner with the chartered accounting firm Delloite & Touche.

HORACE BRYAN, Vice-President, Centralized Services

Mr. Horace Bryan joined The Victoria Mutual Building Society in 1985 as an Accounting Clerk at the Society’s Chief Office. Subsequent to serving in the Foreign Currency, Payroll and International Departments, he was appointed Senior Assistant Branch Manager, Duke Street, in 1999 overseeing the daily operations of the Branch, ensuring timely preparation of financial reports and managing the Society’s NHT portfolio.

Mr. Bryan played an active role in improving several of the Society’s internal processes including the mortgage loan interview, real time availability of international money transfers and the implementation of the Centralized Operations Unit (COU), where he has served as Manager.

Mr. Bryan holds a Master of Science Degree in Accounting and a B. Sc. (Hons.) in Accounting and Management Studies from the University of the West Indies, Mona. He has also received accreditation as a Certified Accounting Technician from the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants in the United Kingdom. Mr. Bryan is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica and the Kiwanis Club of Liguanea.