AMBASSADOR Aloun N’dombet Assamba has retired as chief executive officer (CEO) of COK Sodality Cooperative Credit Union Limited, effective December 31, 2020.

N’dombet Assamba told the Jamaica Observer that while her initial retirement was in June 2020, she was asked by the organisation’s board to extend her contract due to the adjustments caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, and to oversee the implementation of a new banking system.

“It was an exciting period for us because we were changing our core banking system from one that we had for 20 years. The truth is, had we not been speaking about it and its features, many people wouldn’t know that we had actually done that because it was a smooth and seamless transition for our members. They are now able to do a lot more of their business online than they would have been able to do with the former system,” she said.

COK’s Chief Financial Officer Derrick Smith will take over as the new CEO. N’dombet Assamba is however continuing to serve the credit union as a consultant and brand ambassador, effective January 4, 2021.

An attorney-at-law, N’dombet Assamba joined COK in 1988 and served as general manager for nearly 10 years.

Last month she was appointed legal advisor to the People’s National Party. N’dombet Assamba has served as Jamaica’s high commissioner to London; minister of tourism, entertainment, and culture; minister of state in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Technology; and as a Government senator.