Martin is charged with oversight of all the marketing and communications activities for the Group, reporting directly to the Group Managing Director. As the Bank's conduit of information, her division ensures transparency and timely dissemination of all Bank marketing, public relations and regulatory communications to its internal and external publics in compliance with the Bank's core values and principles.

Prior to her appointment, Mrs. Martin served in the Retail Banking Division as Manager, Customer Service & Marketing (2003) and Manager, Personal Banking (2001). This was bolstered by her tenure as a Management Trainee where she gained invaluable experience in all areas of commercial banking and credit, followed by assignments in various supervisory and management roles.

Before joining the NCB team in 1994, Mrs. Martin worked at PRO Communications Ltd. where she was first exposed to advertising and marketing communication.

She holds an MBA in Banking & Finance (with Distinction), and a BA in Language & Literature from the University of the West Indies.

Mrs. Martin is the CEO of the NCB Foundation. She is also a Director of RISE Life Management Services - a non-profit organization, a Director of the National Crime Prevention Fund "Crime Stop" and Treasurer of the Alpha Academy Alumnae Association.

Interview

Idea generation!! Every day I get to go to work and develop ways to promote the NCB brand, either through how our products and services are presented or through the work of the NCB Foundation, which I also head. That for me is exciting because I’m fortunate to work in an organization where innovation is encouraged; your creativity is constantly engaged and that keeps me motivated and challenged.  I acknowledge that brands in the financial services sector need to be somewhat conservative and so my team and I have to harness our creativity at times, but it is still always about thinking outside the box. I tell my team all the time – “no idea is (necessarily) a bad idea”. We have to constantly look for ways to make our brand relevant, fresh and interesting to its targets and that requires a lot of creativity. Of course, the most fulfilling part is seeing an idea implemented successfully and achieving its objectives.

My job is all about projecting the right image for NCB and seeking to protect that image. While it is my main responsibility, I don’t do it alone though, as the conclusions and perceptions about the NCB image come not just from the type of marketing and corporate philanthropic activities we pursue, but also from every service experience with an employee or through any of our channels. This means that I can’t ignore what else is happening in other areas of the NCB group. Building brand awareness across the group so that all employees recognise and value the importance of our image, is therefore key to making my job a tad less pressuring.

Being upfront and timely in communication is a strategy that I believe works well. I also believe that once a conflict is identified, spending time on the resolution should take far more priority than analyzing the “why”, “when” and “where”. Those details are important, but I am more inclined to spend time thinking “what next?” and “how do we move forward?” to overcome the conflict.

I believe there is a lesson in every experience – good or bad – and it is my aim to always find that lesson; it will either affirm an existing belief I hold or give me a new perspective from which I can learn something different. Because of this, I don’t fear making mistakes but I detest making the same mistake over and over again. It means the lesson has not been learnt.

We had some fish in an aquarium at home or a few years. Does that count?

I absolutely love to read and will use any opportunity to bury my head in a good book or magazine. I usually have two books that I alternate between until I finish both and then choose another two to start reading. One will be a fiction novel and the other a non-fiction. The last fiction novel I read was “The Senator’s Wife” by Sue Miller while the non-fiction, Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth” gave me a great perspective on life recently.

There are so many! But at this point in my life the highlight would perhaps be The Chopra Centre in California. Their training programs in mind-body medicine seem fascinating. It would be a bonus to actually meet Deepak Chopra there.

Education

I went to Alpha Academy where I had a great time. I kept good grades and good friends. I was far from shy but I wasn’t a major student advocate either. Balanced and well-rounded are what I would say describe my high school experience.

Dynamic

Asian!

Still growing in wisdom

That Education be given the priority and resources required to ultimately improve the standard of living for Jamaicans. 

I do appreciate the recognition and hope it can inspire a young Alpha girl (bias acknowledged!) to press ahead and keep moving forward to achieving her goals.