Jamaican executives powering through coronavirus overseas

Kingston, Jamaica:

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is steadily reshaping what social support means to Jamaican executives, who are part of the HEINEKEN company overseas. For Moses Williams, commercial manager at South Pacific Brewery in Papua New Guinea, who leads an 86-member team, the pandemic has presented challenges. In addition to being thousands of miles away from family in Jamaica, border closures blocked him and his wife from connecting with their 17-year-old son who attends school in Australia.

“The learning for me is to make sure we have the resilience, a positive mindset and understand the value of time and communication and interaction with those we love. My mother is at home in Jamaica as well, and she’s in the group that the Government has said should stay home. COVID-19 has taught me to strengthen that type of communication even more,” said Williams.

The Campion College alumnus moved to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea’s capital city, in December 2017, having served in senior roles at Red Stripe locally. Williams has been embracing the challenges and opportunities that come with operating in a different market and a country filled with rich cultural diversity.

Regulatory restrictions continue to affect the brewery’s operations, and Williams is currently having to balance the evolving business imperatives of the day while paying keen attention to how team members are coping. He explained, “I have called every individual on my team at all levels, just having one-on-ones with them. Finding out how they’re adjusting to the whole situation. So, it’s really a lot around communication, engaging them for feedback and keeping them focused on the priorities.”

Over in The Netherlands, Yaniece Gentles, business controller at the HEINEKEN Europe Regional Office, is simply grateful that her partner and two daughters are around, especially at this time. “I’m not here struggling through it alone. In times like these you need that kind of support structure around you. You need to have family close. So, we’re here with each other, for each other,” shared Gentles.

TEACHABLE MOMENT

Amsterdam became her second home in September last year, following a highly successful 16-year stint in various financial roles at Red Stripe. While the pandemic has not struck her immediate community, she has had sobering conversations with colleagues in other countries. “I work with colleagues in Italy, with colleagues in Spain, who have had COVID-19 and have recovered, and they can share their experiences at first hand. There are colleagues who will say they are fearful for their lives. That really touches a certain part of you,” she said.

Based on those interactions, she’s hoping that Jamaicans will recognise the severity of the pandemic and act accordingly. “It’s a teachable moment, as we see the numbers escalating in Jamaica. It’s really a wake-up call for us that we need to be disciplined as a nation. We need to take certain things more seriously and do what is right to protect each other.”