WHEN 14-year-old Paul Elliott looked up from his latest copy of The Hardy Boys mystery series, which he sat voraciously reading in the shade of a large, bending coconut tree, he glanced around Rusea’s High School’s playground. Snapping out of his self-induced trance, Paul once again became aware of the sights and sounds around him. The typical weekday afternoon on the Hanover schoolyard saw boys his age and older running about, girls sitting together gossiping on a faltering wooden bench, teachers walking hurriedly to and from the cafeteria, all to the symphony of crashing waves – a standout feature at one of the few schools on the island built just feet away from the sea.

Paul folded the page he had just read, closed the book, and glanced up at the cloudless blue sky. As he did often, he spent the next few minutes before the end of lunch replaying the latest scenes from his book and imagined the future when he’d be a high-ranking member of the Jamaica Defence Force, using his mind and can-do spirit to solve real challenges the way the heroes of his storybooks solved near-impossible mysteries.

Fast-forward a couple decades, Elliott looked up from the contents of the grapefruit-coloured file jacket that had captured his attention for the past hour. He clicked his pen, smiled, and spun around in his chair to face the window in his Duke Street, Kingston, office. Glancing up at the sky – the same blue, unending field of dreams he stared at as a boy in Hanover – he realised that while his boyhood ambitions had shifted and evolved over time, he was, without doubt, living his lifelong dream to transform lives.

Elliott is deputy CEO of the iconic VM Building Society and an executive leader of the 144-year-old Jamaica-based organisation that has been making local and global headlines over the past year for its spirited drive for growth and expansion. He stepped into the new role after a successful stint as vice-president – sales and service and, as an executive leader, he is now among the core group of C-suite decision-makers at the fast-growing global group led by president and CEO Courtney Campbell. Elliott is well regarded in local and regional financial spaces for his formidable business acumen and affable personality.

We sat down with him to learn more about his journey from dreamer to deputy CEO.

C&E: Tell us a little about your childhood. Where were you born? What schools did you attend?

PE: I was born into a humble, loving family in Hanover. The community served as my moral crucible from an early age and forged some firm principles – respect, diligence, and humility – which I dearly hold today.

My familial values were augmented by those inculcated at school. I attended Lucea Primary School and later became a proud alumnus of Rusea’s High School – the venerable high school in Western Jamaica that was founded in 1777; it’s one of the country’s oldest high schools, but its focus on producing valuable members of society has never waned.

I developed a love for reading at an early age and have really fond memories of winning the Hanover Parish Library reading competition two years in a row. First prize in the competition was a luncheon with the librarian – maybe the food was the reason behind this indelible memory!

C&E: What were your career aspirations as a student? When did banking/finance become attractive to you?

PE: I had dreams of becoming a soldier and an engineer – to take on and strategically solve problems and be outcome-driven. As a result, my studies were focused on the sciences in high school.

I accidentally stumbled on a career in banking. While awaiting admission to the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) I took a job as a bank teller and was offered full funding for my first degree – all I had to do was pass the courses and all tuition would have been covered. I immediately jumped at the opportunity and, as they say, the rest is history.

Years later I contemplated making the switch back to the army, but admittedly, I was enjoying my time in banking with my increasing duties and responsibilities requiring the need for strategic thinking and focus on performance. I decided to stay.

C&E: What is something you failed at during your career and what did it teach you?

PE: Interesting question! My first job as a supervisor was really tough, and while I wouldn’t classify the experience as one that I failed at, it took me a year before I started to feel comfortable leading a team. Initially, the team was not cohesive, and this created some challenges. What I learnt in that time is that it’s important to be patient with yourself and focus on closing your own competency gaps, set clear goals, communicate the important things often, check in for progress, and that no one person is as good as the team.

Most importantly, give everyone a voice and be prepared to try new things.

C&E: What is your proudest professional achievement so far?

PE: There are many, but being named as a member of the VM Group executive team is high on that list. VM’s tagline is ‘Transform Your Everyday’, reflecting the organisation’s commitment to helping people to transform their lives. This is a significant declaration for a financial institution to make and it’s not one that is taken lightly by us at VM. I’m so proud of being an executive leader of VM because of the values of the organisation and the absolute commitment of the team to achieve the best outcomes for our members. This is purposeful work, and it gives me tremendous satisfaction.

C&E: You have worked outside of Jamaica. What are some of the major differences between the corporate/workforce culture in Jamaica and elsewhere?

PE: I had the pleasure of working with financial services firms in two other countries. In one country there was formal workplace culture, official titles, dress code, etc. The other country had quite the opposite corporate requirements; it was less formal, communication was on a first-name basis, from the janitor to the CEO – there was no diminution of productivity or effectiveness in addressing the serious nature of what we did at work. That said, banking is banking, so, like Jamaica, in both places staff operated within the confines of rules set by regulators, the company’s policies and procedures, and always focused on preserving customer confidence in the firm.

C&E: You recently completed advanced leadership training at Harvard. What was that experience like? How will that training influence your leadership style going forward?

PE: The advanced management programme is a highly structured yet deeply personalised learning experience. Collaborating with the world-renowned Harvard Business School (HBS) faculty, a diverse group of senior executives from around the world, and a professional HBS executive coach, taking a deep-dive into the complex challenges of multinational management and global leadership was truly thrilling and invigorating. The programme is designed to spark self-reflection, innovation, and collaboration. It helps build the executive skills and global perspective to sustain both corporate and competitive advantage.

I walked away from the programme with so much awareness about how to improve a company’s ability to navigate through periods of disruption and change. In general, it’s a great toolkit that I can draw on to provide leadership and add value to the efforts of the great, committed team at VM.

C&E: What do you think is the most important quality for a leader to possess?

PE: Short answer – emotional intelligence. Nothing beats it. Nothing compares to it. Understand people and relating to them in a sincere way and, with a shared commitment, together you will move mountains.

C&E: When and why did you choose to join VM?

PE: I was at an inflection point in my life. At that time of reflection many paths and variables formed part of my deep contemplations. A serendipitous moment – a chance meeting took place with an executive at VM, someone that I worked with but hadn’t seen for 10 years – that was just a catch up. However, after some discussions about VM’s vision, mission, and goals, it was clear that, that direction resonated with the challenges I was seeking – it was an easy decision for me to return to Jamaica. VM lives what it preaches, and I am so proud to be at this organisation at this time in its rich history.

C&E: You have been steadily ascending the leadership ladder at VM. What is your vision for the Mutual, say in the next 10 years?

PE: You are asking me to divulge trade secrets here, but let us say that the ability to go to scale is key to being true to VM’s purpose of transforming lives.

In 10 years I am sure that we would have continued the significant work done over the past six years under the leadership of the current group president and CEO.

We have a well-earned, solid reputation as an integrated financial services group and to the extent that I can continue to contribute to that story and deliver solid results for our stakeholders, I would be quite happy.*