Avia Collinder, Outlook Writer

Jennifer Foreman. - Collin Reid/Freelance Photographer

Jennifer Foreman enjoys drama and there is nothing so beguiling as a good romantic comedy - when she has the time to relax. These days, there is hardly a moment to spare for the woman who was recently appointed talent director for Latin America and the Caribbean in the Diageo group of companies - the British Food and drink company which acquired Red Stripe four years ago.

Currently the human resources (HR) director for Red Stripe in Jamaica, she will relocate to Miami with her family in the summer as she takes on the full weight of her new role.

The HR specialist, who joined Red Stripe 11 years ago and has performed several roles, has been HR director for the last six years, during which time she has copped every premier award in her field..

Most recently, she collected the Human Resources Management Association of Jamaica Golden Flagship award for 2008. In 2007, she collected the Jamaica Employers' Federation Employer of Choice Award. She was also the recent recipient of her company's Best of Chamber award, which includes measurement of HR management.

Human Resources Award

In her new job, Jennifer Foreman will be expected to drive the talent development agenda.

In 2006 and 2007, as well, Jennifer Foreman collected the Bureau of Standards Human Resources Award. In its advisory on her appointment, the Diageo group declared, "Jennifer's knowledge of the region, strong functional experience and leadership will be a great help in delivering."

The new talent director role in Diageo will be expected to drive the talent development agenda, and by extension, business performance and growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Jennifer explains, "Talent in general refers to the sum of a person's abilities, such as his or her skills, knowledge, experience, intelligence, attitude and character. This role focuses mainly on leadership talent, so it focuses on the leadership standard that we demand in all our leaders."

Some key activities of driving the talent development agenda include ensuring that development plans for key individuals are implemented according to the company's diversity and inclusion strategy, and ensuring that "the required blend of diverse talent is in place to fill leadership positions, coordinating succession planning within the region", the multi-talented HR manager explains.

Foreman points out that the Latin American and Caribbean region is considered very important, representing about 10 per cent of Diageo's global business, and is a key growth driver for the group.

The region, she notes, has been enjoying tremendous growth for the last four to five years, and the plan is for this trend to continue.

Born in Barbados but growing up and being educated in Trinidad, Jennifer Foreman moved to Jamaica to do her post-graduate studies in management, and has been living here for the last 12 years.

Before going to Red Stripe 11 years ago, she was employed as a management consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Foreman, who possesses a BSc in economics, an MSc in development studies and a certificate in advanced human resource management, says that the main difference between management consulting role and HR was "simply the difference between sharing best practice and theory with clients and actually having to implement and resolve issues live".

Going over to HR, she states, "was not a hard transition. I believe I had a good foundation in the theory, it was now about solving issues myself on a day to day basis. I had gained some of the experience from the HR consulting that I did. I later added a human resource special course of learning plus many leadership training courses to my basic education."

Biggest challenges

At Red Stripe, she says, one of the biggest challenges was how to attract, retain and develop key talent.

"In terms of reaching our goals, we all work with management to tackle these issues. One example of how we develop talent is to seek and provide development opportunities elsewhere in the Diageo group. It is a key part of the talent strategy of any multinational company. We also place emphasis on attracting the unique skills which the company needs."

Human resources management, she notes, also requires demonstrable consultancy and coaching, skills/experience, and a proven track record of relationship building, plus understanding of the linkages between organisation effectiveness, talent development and reward processes.

It took her 11 years, she states, to develop these these skills. She was made director in her last six years at Red Stripe, and in the final two, she was incorporated in the regional HR leadership team of Diageo.

The awards recently received, Foreman notes, represent the collective effort of her department. They were given on the basis of the company's best-practice human resources policies and practices, and "the right environment for employees to feel valued and perform".

Commitment to results

In her new role - the most challenging yet - she will be HR director for the employees based in Miami, as well as regional director of talent. She brings to the new post core abilities which should again help her to excel, these including a commitment to results, attention to detail and rigour, and her trademark determination and perseverance.

To those who would follow in her footsteps, the career professional notes that networking both internally and externally is another critical career skill.

Jennifer Foreman says, "If one studies the concept of emotional intelligence, it is said that successful leaders are not necessarily those who are the brightest, but rather those who are able to get the job done with, and through, people. I believe I have been able to network at the various levels in the organisation as well as with external stakeholders in order to achieve the company's goals."

Foreman expresses complete satisfaction with her career direction, commenting, "I am very happy with HR. It's one of the areas of any business that I believe make the biggest difference in terms of performance of the organisation."

In three years, she states, "I hope to have had three successful years in this new role and (to be) looking to expand my horizons even more in the HR field. There are many opportunities in Diageo."

Foreman, who is married to Andrew Foreman (a Jamaican and the real reason, she says, why she came back to Jamaica), is mother to two sons - Justin who will be 12 in September, and Jonathan who will be seven this month.

Family and work

She reflects that her husband was the first to hear about her promotion, especially because it involved relocation to Florida and "we had to be certain that this was the right move for my family".

She notes, "I have tried very hard to manage both a career and family life and I believe I'm doing OK in that area. I must admit it's a hard a balance to get. As a global company, there is some amount of international travel and that is the hardest part. But, it is possible when you have as great and supportive a husband as I do."

Foreman notes that her husband will continue his business - Foreman, Chung & Sykes Civil Engineering Consulting, remotely, from the family's new home in Miami. "After all, it's a global village," Jennifer quips.

Currently, most of her time is spent at work, as she commutes between Jamaica and regional offices in preparation for the transition. However, she still finds time to attend church at Stella Maris in St Andrew, indulge in her favourite exercises of walking in her neighbourhood and view television drama with her family around her.