CORPORATE SPOTLIGHT
GILLIAN Hyde has been the general manager for arguably Jamaica’s number one small business and micro-financing company,
JN Small Business Loans, for over six years. It’s perhaps the role that she is most known for, and she is so much more than that!
Hyde is a wife, mother, mentor, and youth development advocate, and then some. Her participation in various committees supports her belief that youth enrichment is a major conduit for building a stronger Jamaica. A member of the JN family since 2003, Hyde has committed to provide avenues for every single Jamaican to create wealth, enrich their families, homes, and communities.
This week we shine the Corporate Spotlight on Gillian Hyde.
Q: Who are your most valued mentors?
A: There are so many persons who continue to impact and guide me, but I must note God as the single most important mentor that has allowed me to be ME — accepted me with all my flaws, revealed the special gifts He planted in me, and continues to prepare me to live in true PURPOSE.
My professional family, led by Earl Jarrett, has taught me the vision of purpose, the commitment to service first, the commitment to create avenues for every single Jamaican to create wealth, enrich their families, homes and communities. Their mentorship has uniquely unlocked my heart for service.
Q: What are the most valuable lessons life has taught you?
A:the most important life lesson is, “Valleys are important to the mountains we must climb”. I have learned to never see myself as a victim, to get up, brush off and rise higher. The journey of marriage, motherhood, as well as my professional pathway, has allowed me to embrace each challenge as an opportunity to grow on yesterday.
Q: What is the biggest business challenge you have had to overcome?
A: The impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic has brought the biggest challenge for our business. The customers we serve at JN Small Business Loans operate from the MSME space and are largely underserved. They remain vulnerable to external shocks and face significant challenges during the period. This period required us to make critical decisions with regards to extending support for our customers that would ensure they rebound whilst at the same time managing the business and ensuring its continuity for the future
Q: What is your vision for yourself? A: My vision for myself is to live out my purpose, to make an impact on all those I come in contact with, to help people achieve their best. I have always tussled with what that really means and whether it’s a profession in medicine, government, or otherwise. Yet I was planted in the financial sector and learned a whole new perspective of the financial world and what that really means to create opportunities and pathways for persons to achieve. I have learned to trust my single most important mentor, God, that He will open the right doors, close those that may distract me, and to serve where he plants me.
Q: What is your vision for JN Small Business Loans?
A: My outlook for JN Small Business Loans and the JN Group is to see us truly live our mission and vision, creating opportunities and avenues for persons to enrich their own lives, creating employment for others, and building their communities through greater access to financial and other services. We must continue to contribute to national development and the advancement of every Jamaican. It is my vision to bring excellence to the ordinary and disrupt averageness with a difference that has a positive impact on each individual.
Q: What opportunities came out of COVID-19?
A: Certainly, COVID-19 fuelled an environment for growth. Growth on a foundation that will be key to the achievements of the future, both personally and professionally. The psychological and mental struggles have allowed us an experience that has birthed new mindsets, new ways of thinking and operating. We are not being stalled, we are not going back, instead, we are ready for the future.
Q: Tell us about your personal passion (s).
A: To describe my passion in a single word, I would say “service”. I believe we have an obligation to serve people with heart. I do not see service as a successful transaction but an experience that creates joy and satisfaction. I believe service requires us to have a real interest in someone’s well-being.
Q: How do you relax and recoup? A: Oh, definitely a child of water – where there is water there is life. I love to take a break wherever there is sea, sand, or the flowing of a river. I have a great appreciation for the outdoors which allows me a refreshed outlook.