CEOs Aisha Campbell and Luwanna Williams are at the top of the game
Aisha Campbell and Luwanna Williams can be simply grouped as titans of industry. Both serving in the C-Suite, Campbell as chief executive officer (CEO) of PROVEN Properties and Williams, CEO of PROVEN Wealth, the women are among an elite class of professionals that stand not only as beacons of inclusiveness in the workplace but are a testament to allowing skill to lead.
For Williams, the decision to delve into the world of finance was always a foregone conclusion.
“From a very early age I decided that I wanted to enter the field of finance so I ensured that academically that was the path that I pursued,” she explained.
“During my summer months off, I would look for opportunities to intern at financial institutions. One of those institutions was actually the Central Bank, so my last internship before graduation was at the Bank of Jamaica and then fortunately for me I performed well enough that I was able to secure a permanent position at the bank.”
It was this ceaseless spirit that led to Williams becoming the CEO of one of the largest investment banking schemes in the country.
Similar to that pull felt by Williams, the call for engineering was like a siren song to Campbell.
“What drew me to the field of engineering is really the technical aspect and for civil engineering, also the creative aspect. I always had a love for physics, math, the technical subjects and then in exploring a little bit more about what civil engineers do, what I really loved was the fact that we could take things from concept to reality, so you get to use that creative side which I think I have both sides, so that profession overall really spoke to me and I’m loving it.”
Falling in love with the duality that the profession offered, Campbell spent 20 years honing her abilities before ascending to the coveted role at PROVEN Properties.
Understandably, she says making that transition held a lot of anxiety for her.
“I was definitely stepping into my discomfort zone for a number of reasons,” she began.
“The fact that I was heading into a more financial sector versus only technical and engineering and honestly, I had a lot of doubts.”
‘Sometimes I don’t even think about the fact that I am woman. I am Luwanna. I am an individual and I am strong. I am technically competent and I know what it is that I want to achieve. So I don’t let the fact that there happens to be a lot of men in the field of finance stop me from achieving the goals that I want to achieve.’
Likewise, Williams was nervous about making this career transition. After five years as a regulator, she knew that her next big move lay just outside of her comfort zone.
Recalling the then difficult decision she explained, “I was a risk manager for many years, never had to interact, do business development, I was pretty much in the office [and] very insulated. But there was still an interest in investment banking and I had the opportunity to cross over into that field and when I crossed over it was so different. I had to demonstrate a different level of confidence, I had to use skill sets that I’ve never had to use before.”
“At times I really wanted [to] retreat and go back to the back office, wherever, where it’s safe but I really pushed through and I am so happy that I did that because I believe that that change really changed the trajectory of my career to where I am today.”
Now the shoe-loving mogul spends her time building the financial portfolio of both individuals and corporations.
Explaining that while there is always more opportunity for a woman’s touch in the boardroom, she was always encouraged by the sheer number of women in leadership roles around her.
“I believe one of the good things about working in Jamaica is that we have a lot of women in the C-Suite. It was that motivating me. At my first job, I had a strong female team-lead there and I think that set the tone. It showed me that ‘Luwanna, you can go places, you can sit at any table that you want to sit at’. Throughout my career, I have been blessed with a lot of strong female leaders [who] mentored me or I observed them and I knew that just because there are men there, there are also women there at that table.”
She continued, “Sometimes I don’t even think about the fact that I am woman. I am Luwanna. I am an individual and I am strong. I am technically competent and I know what it is that I want to achieve. So I don’t let the fact that there happens to be a lot of men in the field of finance stop me from achieving the goals that I want to achieve.”
With similar agility, Campbell, expertly manoeuvring both the boardroom and the construction site, always maintaining her boundaries.
Surrounded by primarily men on a daily basis, she said, “As a female you have to first of all project a certain energy that commands respect. The important thing for me and how I’ve had to deal with that is to establish that there are certain lines that cannot be crossed and I will not tolerate to be crossed. As well as to establish that I am a subject matter expert. So you do come across the ones that want to ‘mansplain’ to you. You are [a] subject matter expert and you deserve to be here and you know what you’re doing so in dealing with some of those challenges really, it caused me to step into who I am, what I am as a professional and stand up courageously when I am being challenged and I know that I have the technical knowledge to defend whatever is at hand.”
Toggling between her work boots and her high heels, Campbell shared her hope that more women would take up space in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.
“I hope to see more women in my field,” she said with a hopeful gleam in her eye. “Even at the high school level you see females shying away from the more technical subjects, hopefully, that’s going to shift over time.”
‘As a female you have to first of all project a certain energy that commands respect. The important thing for me and how I’ve had to deal with that is to establish that there are certain lines that cannot be crossed and I will not tolerate to be crossed.’
For the women already showing up in the industry, she went on, “I want them to understand the impact that they are having as engineers whether it’s civil, electrical, mechanical, whatever field of engineering that they are in and to stand in their power. Speak up when there are issues because as engineers we tend to stand a little bit behind the seats because we’re a little bit more technical.”
Both showing an affinity for mentoring the next generation of ‘She-EOs’, Williams and Campbell are two PROVEN examples of accelerating progress when you invest in women.
Featured Image: Chief executive officers Aisha Campbell (left) of PROVEN Properties and Luwanna Williams of PROVEN Wealth. PHOTOS BY ANTOINE LODGE
