First Caribbean Rebrands to CIBC, Hosts Leadership Conference

By Stuart Wilson

The CIBC Bank (Formerly knowns and First Caribbean)  held its ‘Ignite’ Leadership Conference on June 25 at the Kimpton Seafire Resort in Grand Cayman.

The 3-hour conference was an opportunity for entrepreneurs and participants to learn about successful leadership styles, understand more about development in leadership, as well as e-commerce trends, innovative company models and other topics of interest to the business community.

Speakers included Mr. Robert C. Bodden, who many in Cayman know as Mr. ‘Bobbi’ Bodden.

Mr. Bodden is a founding member of the Cayman Islands Real Estate Brokers Association (CIREBA) and the owner R.C. Bodden Realty, one of the premier Real Estate companies in the Cayman Islands.

During his remarks Mr. Bodden told fellow entrepreneurs about his journey in the world of business and the values that have helped to shape his successful career.

He explained that business and entrepreneurship were essentially a test of values and fortitude and a willingness to follow one’s own intuitive zeal beyond conventional approaches.

Associate Director, Platinum and Business Banking Channels, Mr. Samuel McField also addressed the attendees, telling the audience about the banking facilities offered by CIBC that would compliment their business aspirations.

“As we explore the topic of leadership aspirations and ambitions, it it important to note that what works sometime does not work all of the time and we need to keep up with emerging opportunities,” he said.

Mr. McField added that CIBC would always strive to meet the demands of leaders and that the institution’s banking solutions provide the tools to make progress possible.

“It is critical to stay connected to offer crucial support and our digital banking solutions empower persons to bank on their own terms. We are a relationship bank and that is why this conference is important,” he noted.

Chief Commercial Officer for CIBC Pie van der Burg noted that the bank has the best technological solutions but it can only win through people.

He said challenges in a dynamic market place called for strategic guidance and support to navigate this partnership, built on trust, reliability and mutual success.

“CIBC is the main global bank ready to meet and surpass needs,” he declared, adding that the face of banking has changed in the digital era and explaining that the bank is poised to meet the demands of customers and entrepreneurs in several ways.

These include:

1. Providing the best digital platform in the region, as over 94% of the bank’s transactions are online, which frees up frontline staff to deal with customers.

2. Being faster to market with products, in addition to offering faster onboarding to open accounts, which he said the bank was dedicated to continuing to improve.

3. CIBC has also launched a new corporate onboarding service to streamline account set-up for companies.    

Officials said these efforts reaffirm the bank’s promise of simplifying banking and that the institution’s new identify reflects its strong international brand, whilst maintaining its role as a Caribbean bank for Caribbean clients.

The keynote speaker of Monday’s event was Sarah Kunst, a successful entrepreneur who has worked for Apple, as well as Red Bull and and is known as an innovator and leader in the world of business.

Mrs. Kunst spoke to the audience about leadership and particularly leading “from the bottom up” when things are not necessarily going to plan. She told the audience about the importance of having a plan for challenges and having the forest to future-proof their plans.

In an anecdote from her own life she explained how unexpected challenges can actually be opportunities and when we think about set-backs in empowering ways, we begin to chart our own course and take back our power; changing the narrative.

Representatives of the CIBC Bank noted that the rebrand from First Caribbean back to CIBC was done to give the bank a contemporary image and feel, aligning with their international branding.

FirstCaribbean International Bank Limited announced the re-branding of its business to adopt the name of its parent, CIBC last year.

The announcement was made by the bank’s CEO, Mark St Hill, who broke the news to staff.

At the time, Mr. St Hill noted that the adoption of the CIBC brand is a show of confidence in the bank’s parent bank and a sign of its commitment to the Caribbean region.

“We’ve been on an awesome journey to transform our business over the past three years. We’ve achieved some remarkable things together. We created the type of omni-channel banking experience that allows our clients to bank with us using our award-winning digital services whenever they want to and come into the banking hall when they need to,” St Hill told his team.

Mr. St Hill noted that the regional bank has always had the distinct advantage of being a part of a widely respected and recognised global brand and added that now carrying the CIBC name would benefit CIBC FirstCaribbean even more as the bank continues down a path of growth in the Caribbean.