AGILITY is the ability to move quickly and easily, and in the software world these moves have become products of the project management toolbox.

They are also among the tools drawn on by Nadeen Matthews Blair, the chief digital and marketing officer for National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCB), and CEO of the NCB Foundation.

As the first chief digital officer in Jamaica she launched the first known Agile Lab in the English-speaking Caribbean. In this lab, cross-functional scrum teams work to reimagine and enhance existing customer journeys by leveraging digital technology.

“In working in an agile way, one of the most compelling benefits is the ability to develop solutions more quickly and such solutions to be far more customer friendly, because interacting with customers is built into the agile development process.”

Prior to joining NCB, Matthews Blair worked as senior associate at global consultancy McKinsey & Company in Atlanta, Georgia, and was an assistant vice-president at JPMorgan Chase in New York.

She completed her MBA at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, and graduated cum laude from Binghamton University with a Bachelor of Science in Financial Economics.

As chief digital and marketing officer she is primarily responsible for leading NCB’s digital transformation programme with the objectives of enhancing customer experiences, increasing organisational efficiency and agility, and transforming NCB’s business model for long-term viability.

“Prior to COVID-19, many companies view digital as a nice to do, something which was not urgent. However, Covid has demonstrated that digitising your business is imperative, irrespective of industry.”

In her capacity as CEO of the NCB Foundation she ensures effective execution of NCB’s corporate social responsibility mandate as well as proper governance and stewardship of funding and resources provided by the NCB Group.

Early in the pandemic NCB Foundation launched the Level Up grant programme where unemployed people benefited from grants to take digital courses.

For example, as a virtual assistant, blogging, web design. Many of them are already freelancing with local and international companies and earning US dollars.

“Going digital is not only an imperative for companies but individuals as well. Our children are already learning remotely and the workforce needs to enhance its digital literacy in order to participate in an increasingly global digital economy.”

In 2017 and 2018 Matthews Blair was recognised by Fintech Americas as one of the Top 25 Most Innovative Bankers in Latin America.

In March 2017 she was selected as the sole representative of the English- and Spanishspeaking Caribbean in the World Economic Forum’s cohort of Young Global Leaders for 2017.

Most recently she has been selected to participate in the 2018-2019 IWF Leadership Foundation Fellows Class.

The year-long programme, offered in partnership with Harvard Business School and INSEAD, is an intensive, multidisciplinary training programme for high-potential women leaders from around the world.