Staff at the NCB Financial Group subsidiaries, especially NCB Jamaica and NCB Capital Markets, are on edge in the wake of major changes made to the senior management of the companies in a move one staff said is aimed at “flushing the system” to change the culture of the organisation from the top.

Michael Lee-Chin, chairman of the NCB Financial Group in a hastily arranged press briefing on Wednesday, announced that Septimus “Bob” Blake will be stepping down as CEO of NCB Jamaica on September 30 after five years at the helm. The timeline coincides with the end of the company’s financial year.

“Bruce Bowen will become chief executive officer of NCBJ effective October 1, 2023,” a release to the Jamaica Stock Exchange said. Bowen, who is a former president and CEO of Scotia Group Jamaica from 2008 to 2013, was appointed to the board of NCBJ on Tuesday ahead of taking up his new role, which Lee-Chin clarified will be an interim appointment until a permanent replacement is found. The company said it will be casting the net across the globe to find a permanent replacement, but added that there are “strong internal candidates” for the post as well.

“I can unequivocally say there is no disquiet between Bob and I,” Lee-Chin said in response to media queries about the reason behind Blake leaving the entity ‘out of the blue’. There was an expectation in previous years that Blake would have been promoted to take over as CEO of the NCB Financial Group but with changes made at that level with Patrick Hylton, the former NCB Financial Group CEO and his deputy Dennis Cohen being separated from the company, the expectations change.

“[Tuesday] the chairman and I had a conversation and I said to the chairman that I have been here for 21 years and 7 months…and after such a period of time, I think the time is right for me to step aside and give the chairman room to totally reset the organisation. I was convinced that it was the right time for me to step aside now,” Blake told the Jamaica Observer in an effort to dispel speculation that he was ‘pushed’ from the company.

“There are changes in the organisation and I felt that there is an opportunity for them to totally reset, and I felt that the organisation deserves and demand an opportunity to move on,” he continued. The changes which he referenced were set in motion with the separation of Hylton and Cohen in late July, and a refocusing of the group to become more efficient, having improved governance and better customer service – which is the base of the so-called EGC (E for efficiency, G for governance and C for customer experience) mandate the NCB Financial Group is now operating under.

Still, even as Lee-Chin made the announcement flanked by Blake, the interim CEO of the NCB Financial Group Robert Almeida and the new interim CEO for NCB Jamaica, Bruce Bowen, news was emerging that Blake would not be the only executive to demit the company Friday.

Pressed for details Wednesday, Lee-Chin and his managers, while acknowledging that more would go, stayed away from any specifics even when names were thrown at them.

“What we are going through is a delayering, meaning we are taking out one tier of the organisation to get closer to the customers,” Lee-Chin told the Caribbean Business Report in a short interview following the press briefing. At that time, he said he would not confirm names or the number of managers to go because “the announcement has not yet been made.”

But he said the ‘delayering’ will affect only senior managers at the operating company level. The Caribbean Business Report was informed that the managers to be separated were informed of the pending changes in a meeting with Almeida on Tuesday.

Thursday morning, a note to staff from Bowen, the incoming interim CEO of NCB Jamaica, laid the rumours to rest. It named Gabrielle Banbury-Kelly, vice-president in the group transformation office; Steven Gooden, CEO of NCB Capital Markets Limited; Vernon James, CEO of The Future of Business (TFOB (2021) Limited (Lynk)) and Nadeen Matthews Blair, vice-president for group marketing, communications, analytics, and digital and CEO NCB Foundation as the managers to be ‘delayered’ immediately. Some staff say they believe more could go.

“It’s an operational change. It’s a change in management philosophy and the principle is, we want to get as close to our clients as possible so we can serve them better. It comes back to EGC [efficiency, governance and customer experience]. That’s the process we are going through,” Lee-Chin told the Caribbean Business Report.

With the ‘delayering’ the company also announced Thursday that the following changes will be made to the internal operations:

1) Tanya Watson-Francis, currently senior vice-president in the treasury & correspondent banking division, will now assume the position of executive vice-president, treasury & capital management, meaning she will also oversee NCB Capital Markets.

2) Sheree Martin, currently serving as senior vice-president of retail banking & customer experience, will transition into the role of executive vice-president, retail banking division. Included in her role is enhancing the bank’s customers’ experience.

3) Dave Garcia, the current general counsel with responsibilities also in NCB Financial Group, will take on the role of executive vice-president, legal and corporate services, for NCB Jamaica and its parent company, NCB Financial Group.

On the other hand, Malcolm Sadler, who was appointed as interim chief financial officer (CFO) for NCB Financial Group in August, will assume the role permanently. At the same time, Jacqueline DeLisser, who was tapped to temporarily take over Saddler’s previous role as CFO for NCB Jamaica, has been given the role on a permanent basis as well.

Efforts to reach out to James and Matthews Blair about their separation proved futile. Gooden, in a short conversation, said he was leaving with “mixed emotions” but added that he is “excited to embark on new ventures that will continue to drive innovation and transformation within the financial industry.” He didn’t expand on the opportunity but said that it “will contribute to the growth and development of our region”.

But the changes have shocked staff and the markets. NCB Financial Group traded down on Thursday after initially rising in early trading. It eventually closed at $65.60 per share, down 1.72 per cent. NCB Financial Group is down 18 per cent since the start of the year with half of the losses coming in September alone.

One staff said it was “too much too fast”. Lee-Chin said as the changes filter through “[the staff] will settle down over time.”

“The objective is to get back to being “brilliant at the basics,” Lee Chin added.

Some of the settling down work in the bank will have to come from Bowen.

“I committed to the chairman and the board that at least for the next 12 months, I will leverage my experience in the banking sector in Jamaica and around the region to help NCB in whatever way. In this instance, given this situation, I think where I can add the greatest value is to come in and ensure there is a strong leadership team [to take the business] through the next, whatever period. I don’t think any of us can tell you how long that will be, but just to make sure the organisation is aligned around the EGC priorities,” Bowen said of his expected time at NCBJ.

It is not clear how his new role will affect his telecoms business Rock Mobile. Bowen said he has strong managers at the company which frees him up a bit. He will continue in his capacity as a special advisor to the interim group chief executive officer of NCB Financial Group, a role which includes helping to negotiate the separation package for Hylton and Cohen.

“The situation is we have not yet concluded, we are in the process and it is moving along a little bit slowly, we have not yet concluded,” Lee-Chin said about the negotiations underway with the two men. At the heart of the negotiations is the size of the separation package for the two men who served the financial conglomerate for the last two decades, including what value the company should compensate the men for in relation to shares they were asked to surrender in July 2021. Both men were asked to surrender 95.1 million shares valued at $13.8 billion at the time with the understanding that, over time, they would recoup that value. Some were recouped in compensation for both men to the tune of $3.6 billion in the last financial year.

As for the bank itself, Blake said he has no concerns as he leaves.

“NCBJ is strong, well-capitalised, liquid and highly profitable. It has a diversified revenue base and so I feel very confident that NCB will continue to outperform with no issues,” he concluded.

He is to step down from his role as president of the Jamaica Bankers Association while Steven Gooden is expected to demit his role as a director of the Jamaica Stock Exchange and may resign from other boards on which he represents NCB Financial Group’s interest.