Business Briefs
Published:Wednesday | February 3, 2021 | 12:17 AM
Breese McNab jumps from JMEA to PSOJ
The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, PSOJ, hired Imega Breese McNab as executive director, ending her run at the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association, JMEA, after 15 years in a similar position.
The switch occurred on January 18.
Breese McNab was educated at the University of the West Indies, where she earned a first degree in political science and economics and a master’s degree in governance and public policy.
PSOJ said in a statement that its new executive director has “specific expertise in environmental and quality management systems, capacity building for business support organisations, small business development, as well as market intelligence and access”.
JMEA is the amalgam of two trade associations – the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association and the Jamaica Exporters' Association – which merged three years ago for greater clout in shaping public policy and other impacts beneficial to business in general and its membership in particular.
Breese McNab, who served as executive director for the manufacturers group, transitioned to JMEA in the same role after the combination. As the primary lobbying arm for corporate Jamaica, PSOJ is an even bigger assignment for the new executive director. Both organisations have members in common.
“I look forward to this new journey and embrace the confidence placed in me to lead,” Breese McNab said.
Robinhood raises US$3.4b from investors
Popular online trading platform Robinhood says it has lined up US$3.4 billion to help meet its funding requirements amid a spike in trading on Wall Street fuelled by small investors driving up shares in GameStop and other stocks.
The funds are being provided by Ribbit Capital and several other venture capital firms, including Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures and ICONIQ Capital.
Robinhood needed to secure funding in order to meet deposit thresholds required by organisations that handle the trading orders placed by investors on its platform. These firms, known as clearinghouses, execute the trades placed on stock brokerages like Robinhood.
New manager for iCreate
iCreate Limited has hired Shanan Smart as general manager, effective January 20, filling the vacancy left by the departure of Sophia Harris, whose tenure was short-lived.
Smart has been promoted from within, having worked with iCreate for two years.
Harris departed in March of 2020 amid upheavals at the digital marketing institute, whose business prospects were further derailed by the pandemic after a bad 2019. A number of directors also departed, and were replaced with new board assignments, while iCreate reorganised the business. Those departures continued to the end of last year, with the December resignations of Natasha Dixon and Devon Lawrence. One vacancy has since been filled by Dainya-Joy Wint, whose background is said to be in audit, accounting and taxation.
The training institute had bigger third-quarter losses in the 2020 period than in 2019, but over nine months, iCreate’s bottom line was much improved. It still sustained a loss, but the bleed was just $2.2 million, compared to $12.5 million in the year-prior period.