Making a difference, one boardroom at a time

Women forming parts of the boardrooms that serve to shape the country in which we live has become more and more prevalent.

Leading that more-than-welcome change in this generation is GraceKennedy Foods International Business, Chief Executive Officer, Andrea Coy.

Beginning with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of the West Indies (UWI), Coy slowly worked her way into taking on Corporate Jamaica.

She would acquire a Master’s degree in Accounting from the UWI as well, but wasn’t satisfied with that, also earning qualification as a Chartered Accountant and picking up a certificate in Turnaround Management from the Harvard Business School along the way.

That training has come in handy, as she entered the food distribution business, becoming Financial Controller of Hi-Lo Food Stores, quickly earning promotion to General Manager.

Hi-Lo Food Stores is a supermarket chain that is one of the subsidiaries of GraceKennedy, a fact which would become important to Coy’s career soon enough.

Coy has been credited with reducing the losses of Hi-Lo and improving its profits. Inclusive of that was the re-branding of the organisation through refurbishing of stories and creating more visibility for the chain. Those changes were necessary in the face of ever-increasing competition in the food distribution industry.

A little over a decade ago, Coy took on the role of Manager of World Brands Services, interestingly, another subsidiary of GraceKennedy.

Rinse and repeat.

Again, Coy was a hit, reducing losses and improving profits. No good deed goes unpunished and there was more work on the horizon for Coy, who, within 18 months of beginning her role as Manager of World Brands Services, she was thrust into the role of Chief Executive Officer of Hardware and Lumber Ltd.

Rinse and repeat.

Coy was the picture of consistency, providing the same turnaround for the GraceKennedy-owned Hardware and Lumber Ltd., as she had for her previous two charges.

Success breeds success, and Coy would soon be on the move again, this time, as CEO of GraceKennedy Foods Domestic operations.

Coy is a director on a number of the GraceKennedy Group’s boards and also sits on the Executive Committee of the Group.

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