Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
Douglas would do everything over again, should she get the chance. Avia Collinder, Outlook Writer
Gene Douglas, vice-president of corporate trust at Pan Caribbean Group, is a one-woman institution in her world. She is the individual who knows where all the bodies are buried when things go wrong, and where all the gold is to be mined in terms of good governance.
Although she has held the current position since 1994, she does not believe, she says, that she has hit a glass ceiling.
Her job, richly diverse, has offered unlimited opportunities for personal growth.
The Corporate Trust department at Pan Caribbean provides corporate secretarial services. It also offers services as a registrar and transfer agency and is the unit which serves as trustee and custodian.
The company secretary is the administrative officer on the board who attends all of this body's meetings. As secretary, she is the procedural mistress, the technical adviser when it comes to getting everything done.
Douglas explains that, with her six-man team, "We act as company secretary for a number of companies both internally and externally. We ensure that all their corporate statutory responsibilities and reporting are complied with, pursuant to the Companies Act, BoJ Act and FSC Act.
'You have to like people'
The requirements for the sensitive positions include, "An eye for detail, tolerance, communication skills. You have to like people. You will be interacting with all types at all levels."
Where it relates to financial institutions, the corporate sector and the banks, the job also requires an encyclopaedia like grasp of technical knowledge.
"You often sit in a meeting with directors who know what they want to do, but not necessarily how to get it done. You are responsible for guiding them through the proper processes. Even a simple thing like changing the name of a company requires several specific steps.
"One of the major challenges we have," the technocrat admits, "is the volume of work.
"We act as secretary for five publicly traded companies and their subsidiaries and associated companies, including Pan Caribbean Financial Services Limited and its subsidiaries Pan-Jamaican Investment Trust Limited; First Jamaica Investments Limited; Hardware and Lumber Limited and Desnoes and Geddes Limited."
The functions of the secretarial unit include, but are not limited to, attending board meetings, ensuring that any changes in board directors are filed at the Companies Office of Jamaica in a timely manner, as failure to do so will attract penalty.
The unit also convenes the annual general meetings and ensures that annual returns are filed. Failure to file this document can prevent a company getting a letter of Good Standing, which is necessary for any company conducting business.
As custodian of the Company Seal, they also ensure that any document sealed is recorded in a seal book and signed by persons authorised by the board of directors. Her office has at least 30 seals in its possession.
The VPs office must also see to the preparation of quarterly reports to the Jamaica Stock Exchange, to include 10 shareholders and directors and senior managers shareholding for all the publicly traded companies.
As registrar and transfer agent for four publicly traded companies, Gene Douglas and her hard-working team also maintain shareholders registers, prepare and pay dividends and communicate with shareholders on a regular basis, liaising with all stockbrokers.
They also calculate and make bonus issues when approved, assist in the preparation of annual company reports, and arrange for the timely dispatch of annual report.
Large volume
There is much more that they do, and Douglas points out, "The volume of work is a lot."
It is a fortunate thing, she notes, that her six staff members are workaholics.
In support of her multiple roles, the unit head spent a year in England at the London School of Accountancy, where she did the Chartered Secretary training. Before that she was a trained accountant and had responsibility for personnel.
Her first job was in the Accounting Department of Jamaica Industrial Development Corporation, where she developed a love for figures and detail.
Douglas, who recently completed her MBA in finance, has on her long list of credentials the record of having established the Corporate Trust Department in 1994.
Having been employed by Pan-Jamaican Investment Trust as its Group Corporate Secretary earlier, she was transferred to Pan Caribbean Merchant Bank to establish the department.
The veteran, who will only admit to being 'over 50', enjoys a rewarding social life, which includes close ties to mom, Louise Douglas, who celebrated her 90th birthday in September 2007 in grand style, her 10 siblings and their offspring. She refers to herself as a proud daughter of St. Thomas and Morant Bay High School, to which she still has close connections.
In her spare time, she enjoys surfing the Internet for medical information and also enjoys the world of fashion design.
The VP is also an Optimist inside and outside of the office. Her Optimist Club, she notes, works closely with Jamaica Christian Boys Home and the Elsie Beman Home for Girls in Havendale.
Gene Douglas is satisfied that she has made maximum use of life's opportunities, and advises men and women alike, "You should continue with your education in order to continue learning and managing your life.
"When I retire, I intent to 're-tyre' in terms of starting a brand new life, keep going and doing all the things I want to do.
"You cannot spend all you earn now. When you are no longer working in the future, it is what you have saved which must provide a passive income to keep you going."
A word to the wise is enough.
