ANN-MARIE Walters is a woman with an intrinsic desire to achieve. This is the desire which has earned her promotion after promotion at Unicomer Jamaica Ltd, the company under which Courts Furniture store operates.

Walters was first employed at Courts Constant Spring branch as a sales representative in 1995 but has steadily stepped up the ladders of success to now hold the coveted title of director of sales.

She said her primary duties as the director of sales, a position she took up in April of last year, is to drive sustainable growth and profitability for the company.

She told Career & Education she was very pleased upon hearing that she would be promoted to the position, while at the same time very conscious of the enormous challenges which lie ahead.

She explained that she has to be engaged in developing strategies to create a customer-centred organisation by developing and implementing sales strategies that will exceed sales targets and ensure a pleasurable store environment.

She said her position also means partnering with the human resources department to ensure development of the store’s human capital, as well as identifying opportunities for new stores and growing market share.

She added that she must also manage the expenses of the stores to ensure sustainable profitability.

“I also ensure that we recruit the right calibre persons for all branch management positions, persons that understand the business imperatives and who complement the team and who are focused,” Walters said.

Despite the enormity of her new responsibilities, Walters said she is very excited.

“Although I have moved up the ranks of Unicomer Jamaica Ltd over the past 15 years of joining the company, no other promotion seems quite as exciting as this one. The job brings not only new but also exciting challenges as the company is on a drive to change its culture and its focus and hence I play a critical role in this new drive,” said Walters, who grew up in Kingston and attended The Queen’s School.

Walters was regional manager for the western region for approximately six years, supervising 10 branches prior to becoming director of sales. She said the new position offers her the scope to transfer the skills, attitudes and approaches that were instrumental to her being top regional manager for four consecutive years, to a wider network.

“This is actually a very new position in the company and while I have indeed engendered thoughts of growing in the company, the other positions were not quite as tempting as this one,” she said.

She was also assistant branch manager at the Cross Roads branch and branch manager at the May Pen branch.

The journey was never easy for Walters, however. She said she attained seven

Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) passes at Queens, but Mathematics was not included.

She said although she hated Mathematics, she recognised she needed to do it in order to succeed and after two attempts, she was able to gain a grade two.

After she started working, she completed two A-level subjects privately. She later attended the Institute of Management and Production (IMP) where she earned a diploma in marketing, then on to the University College of the Caribbean (UCC) to get an Associate’s Degree in Business Administration.

At the Mona School of Business at the University of the West Indies, Walters later earned a Master’s in Business Administration.

She completed all this while maintaining a full-time job.

“I can remember many nights of just studying or working on projects all night and then have enough time to just get home in time, freshen up and get ready for work,” she reminisced.

She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Law degree through the University of London.

Nevertheless, the woman who said she has no regrets, declared that it has been an enjoyable journey characterised by hard work and bouts of tears.

“My approach to work has not been based on getting or working towards promotions. I believe that my focus should be on getting the job done well and right at all times. Hence I am execution-oriented. As such promotions have come based on my track record. I not only talk about what I could or would like to do, I actually execute and get it done. I suppose unwittingly I have been working towards this appointment,” she said.

Walters said she believes those qualities, supported by her academic achievements, have played a significant role in her success. She said she also understands the company and was in tune with the changes that needed to be made to ensure that they remained number one in the industry.

“I would like to use this opportunity to encourage persons inside and outside of my organisation to always set personal goals and work on achieving them. Remain focused, excel at what you do, do not just do it as a job but instead give it your all and be passionate about it,” she advised

Walters, who is in charge of directly supervising nine staff members and a branch network of 500 persons, said she intends to oversee the development of a sales force that is truly customer-centred, execution driven and target focused.

Walters explained that the business of sales and satisfying customers’ needs was always an area of interest for her. This passion, she said, has remained with her over the years and she now has the satisfaction of being part of an organisation that focuses on driving sustainable growth.

Her advice to other persons looking to secure a promotion at their own place of work:

* Create your own goals early in life and keep focused on them.

* Have a positive attitude; embrace positive friendships/relationships that promote your goals.

* Never get comfortable in one place or position; always aspire for growth.

Embrace education as it is the key to your own personal development.

* Be true to yourself and others.

* Learn your job well and always be willing to take on another challenge, even without compensation as this will assist with your own growth and development.