Invest St. Lucia – Timothy Greene, A Long Tenure of Administrative Leadership

In the world of Foreign Direct Investment, there is no such thing as an ordinary day. In the context of Saint Lucia, every 24 hours brings with it the ubiquitous challenges of running an organization focused on drawing attention to the myriad advantages of this small 238 square mile island.  Starting with the potential investor looking for a place where it is easier to do business, coupled with a dream place to live, challenge of encouraging the private sector to invest and related issues of vested lands, management of 7 industrial parks comprising 28 factory shells and of critical importance, the foresight and skill of hedging funds to keep the organization financially viable. Additionally there is the overall responsibility for various investment properties such as the Duty Free Pointe Seraphine Shopping Complex. Tough job!

All this is achieved from the office with an enviable view of the island's harbor at the National Development Corporation (NDC); trading as Invest Saint Lucia.

Aided by its high ranking amongst Caribbean locations on the coveted scale of 'Ease of Doing Business', Saint Lucia as it turns out is the ideal investors' paradise. However, even ideals must have guiding principles and the man currently behind the desk in the Office of General Manager charged with guiding the investment thrust on the island is Timothy Greene. He has moved up the ranks having served as Finance / Accounts Manager and Corporate Services Manager. 

Greene is practical, with a penchant for getting directly to the point. This allows him the opportunity to establish and implement procedures and controls with a view of limiting the bureaucracy inherent in many parastatal organizations.   That move has assisted Invest Saint Lucia in reducing the amount of time it takes an investor to make an enquiry, get a response, and begin the process of business set up and commencing actual operations.  In the sphere of investment, that relatively quick turn-a-round time is important to the success of establishing a business.

In assuming the helm in 2009, Greene embarked on a course of steering the agency, towards delivering excellent professional services to all customers; internally and externally and in areas that would yield maximum benefit from negotiations with all investors - foreign and local. Internally, several key managerial positions were filled with duly qualified and professional staff.  

He believes this level of professionalism is a prerequisite for taking up a post with Invest St. Lucia as, according to him, "Saint Lucia is not competing with its next door neighbor, but the entire world looking to woo investors to their shores. We must differentiate ourselves from everyone else. While we may have all the administrative and other attributes that make us attractive, all of this would be useless without personnel who are partial to excellent service delivery to every client, at all times." In that vein, high on his agenda is the revision and implementation of the After Care Policy which includes a System of Customer Relationship Management to complement existing services. This is aimed at nurturing both new and existing business to add value to and build relationships that would foster growth.

Greene's journey of capacity building within Invest Saint Lucia is guided by his vision -- to ensure the sustainability of the local economy through the facilitation of financially viable business investments, locally and internationally, in keeping with both the national developmental and organizational mandates. Parallel to this mission is his keen focus on good corporate governance.

Recently, he began the process of transitioning the image of the organization to a seamless investment-marketing organ trading as Invest Saint Lucia. "There has to be consistency of Invest Saint Lucia's image across our marketing and promotional platforms. This affords a more professional outlook to the organization, coupled with the ease of functionality of accessing necessary information, which all investors need at a moment's notice. This is in keeping with my philosophy that we have to be available to potential clients with the right answers, at all times." This process is ongoing as Greene is exacting and wants to ensure that execution is right the first time, with periodic adjustments as clients demand improved or alternate services.

His vision for the organization's social mandate is simple: promote economic development by creating employment to empower the disadvantaged. Consequently, rationalizing squatters on vested lands has taken a new purpose. Purchase options are now the norm, providing the opportunity to refinance to secure employment, homes or investments; while simultaneously building new communities.  This is done in keeping with developed land use structures and plans for the respective areas. Revitalizing the creative industries with a view to adding value for export encompasses the entertainment, cultural, arts and film sectors; ranging from policy, plans, support and implementation. Mr. Greene sees augmenting the Information Communication Technology Sector as a niche market to boost employment and economic activity especially for Saint Lucia's technologically savvy youth.

In steering St. Lucian's ship of investment, Greene works in tandem with his management team in effectively and expeditiously implementing policies as laid out by Invest Saint Lucia's Board of Directors. It is a balancing act, as the Office of General Manager operates in a highly sensitive environment, which requires forging strategic relationships with all sectors of the economy as well as the political directorate. Given Greene's character as a staunch believer in working as a unit, his emphasis on bringing all of these variables to bear in the decision-making process has been a critical success factor in driving the work of Invest Saint Lucia forward.

Greene remains pivotal in identifying early signals from the world economy and the thrust of global investors, in positioning Saint Lucia as a gateway to Foreign Direct Investment. Invest Saint Lucia's office of General Manager is the gatekeeper which adds value to the socio-economic development of St. Lucia.