WHEN Tameika Grant jokingly told her university lecturer she wanted to intern at Red Stripe because she hoped to get a few party tickets, she had no idea the decision would shape the next two decades of her life.

Twenty years later, Grant leads one of the company’s most demanding manufacturing functions as Red Stripe’s first female packaging manager. But she insists her story is not about being the first woman to hold the role. It is about what happens when someone is willing to learn the business from the ground up, embrace difficult assignments and earn leadership through results.

“I wasn’t just placed into leadership,” Grant said. “I started at the bottom, gradually grew and learned the business of supply chain from the ground up.”

Grant’s career began while she was studying applied chemistry at The University of the West Indies. An internship at Red Stripe introduced her to manufacturing, and to unexpectedly set the direction for her career.

When she later asked why she had been selected, she was told the company had intentionally created the opportunity as part of its efforts to improve gender balance in technical roles.

“There was a deliberate consideration around gender balance and giving opportunities. This was 20 years ago, long before diversity became a corporate priority,” she recalled.

At a time when women were more commonly found in quality functions than in plant leadership, Grant chose not to focus on the barriers. Instead, she focused on becoming indispensable. She worked as a raw materials analyst before progressing through quality systems, HACCP coordination, brand change, new product innovation and consumer value engineering. Each role broadened her technical expertise and deepened her understanding of how decisions in one part of the supply chain affected the whole business. That knowledge would prove invaluable when the defining opportunity of her career arrived.

That opportunity came when Grant decided she wanted to move from technical roles into operations, where production targets, equipment performance and people leadership converge every day. Initially, the answer was no. She lacked direct people-management experience, and decision-makers believed the position required someone with a stronger mechanical background. Rather than treating the setback as a verdict on her potential, she continued preparing herself for the opportunity she wanted.

It finally arrived when Red Stripe’s spirits production operation began facing significant challenges. Management offered her the chance to lead the plant on a trial basis. Although the appointment did not initially come with a promotion or additional pay, she embraced the challenge as an opportunity to prove herself.

“I really just wanted the experience,” she said.

Instead of managing from an office, she worked alongside frontline operators and maintenance technicians, learning the equipment, listening to employees and identifying the obstacles preventing consistent performance. The recovery demanded technical expertise, clearer communication, and, above all, a team that believed improvement was possible.

Over time, the spirits line was transformed from one of the lowest-performing operations in the supply chain into one of its most reliable.

Ask Grant what made the difference, and she does not begin with machinery. She begins with people.

Her approach was straightforward: Be honest about the problems, involve the people closest to the issues in finding solutions and hold everyone accountable for progress, not blame.

“People will care about what you care about,” she said. “If you spend your time pointing fingers, you’ll stay in the problem. The focus should always be on asking, ‘What actions do we need to take to move forward?’”

That philosophy influenced every aspect of the turnaround. Grant invested in developing employees, helping them understand not only what needed to change but why their contribution mattered. She also made a point of celebrating progress, believing that recognising success builds the confidence needed to sustain it.

Becoming Red Stripe’s first female packaging manager is a milestone Grant is proud of, but not one she wants to define her career. She would rather be recognised for solving problems than for making history.

For her, leadership in manufacturing is built through technical competence, curiosity and consistency. Over two decades, she says she has never felt limited because she was a woman, crediting both the company’s culture and her own determination to keep growing wherever opportunities emerged.

Her journey nevertheless sends an important message to young women considering careers in engineering, manufacturing and other technical professions: leadership is earned through capability, not convention.

Twenty years after an internship that began with a joke about party tickets, Grant is still motivated by the same thing that first drew her into manufacturing: solving problems.

Having benefited from an opportunity early in her career, Grant is committed to creating opportunities for others. She encourages the next generation of engineers and manufacturing professionals — particularly young women — to recognise that leadership is earned through competence, resilience and a willingness to keep learning.