What is everything Tracey?
Well, as l always say I am a marketer by trade, autism advocate by choice, and customer-centric with a Passion!
But who am I really?
Recently, I have been reading “Pivot. The only move that matters is your next move” by Jenny Blake. Quite coincidentally it dawned on me that I have been pivoting in my career for quite some time.
Pivot according to the author is defined as a “change you make of your own volition when you have reached a point in your career when you are ready for increased challenge and impact.”
My first foray into the world of work was done as a reporter/television anchor. I had this vision of being the Caribbean Christiane Amanpour…flying across the Caribbean …righting the wrongs and fighting for justice for all. Somehow working at CBC didn’t quite achieve that for me and soon that hunger I had for true investigative journalism died. In 2000 that’s where my first pivot occurred. I left broadcasting and CBC for a better opportunity in the world of public relations and marketing.
As we ushered in the millennium, my pivot landed me firmly in the financial services sector. I started as a Communications officer at local insurance company Life of Barbados, which was later acquired by the Mutual and subsequently rebranded Sagicor. During my time there, I gained invaluable skills in branding, marketing, communications and public relations. This career also moved my perspective from local to regional and international. After 6 years, I felt it was time for another pivot. This time, I wanted a pivot which would lead me into leadership.
And so, I pivoted out of finance and moved into retail. It would be during my years at Duty Free Caribbean that I got a sincere appreciation of sales and the need for marketing to drive results. A close look at consumer behavior and buying trends would now be my focus. And most importantly, I gained the opportunity to lead an amazing team and do fun and exciting things!
And then it happened, the pivot bug bit me again. But this time I headed back to my roots in insurance. The girl who entered the industry as a Communications Officer would now assume the title, of AVP Marketing. For three years, I spent time building the Sagicor brand in Panama, Aruba, Curaçao, Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Vincent, Antigua, St. Maarten, and Belize.
And then perhaps my biggest career pivot to-date happened, I pivoted into general insurance and assumed the role of Vice President Customer Experience.
Taking on an entire new area of expertise was challenging in itself and doing so in a corporate culture to which I was unaccustomed also proved daunting at times.
And whilst all of this was happening, I really wasn’t pivoting in my private life …it was more like somersaulting! I became the single mother of a very special child, Ade who society defines as autistic and I define as awesomely different! And in raising him, I get to do a daily pivot of my own!
And so that’s the story about my pivot…but something tells me my biggest pivot is yet to come …and guess what I am so ready!