CDB’s Monica Le Bennett is 2018 National Awardee
DPI, Guyana, Friday, October 5, 2018
Vice President (Operations) at the Caribbean Development Bank, Barbados is Guyanese National, Monica Le Bennett. She will be receiving a National Award at the 2018 National Awards Investiture Ceremony, taking place at the National Cultural Centre on October 6.
Vice President (Operations) of the Caribbean Development Bank and National Awardee, Monica Le Bennett.
Le Bennett is being awarded for her contribution in the field of finance both at National and Regional levels. Speaking with the Department of Public Information (DPI), the awardee noted that she came from a background of humble beginnings and followed her passion for mathematics and the advice from family members to pursue accounting.
Currently, Le Bennett provides leadership and direction to the Economics and Projects Departments, the Renewable Energy/Energy Efficiency Unit and the Public-Private Partnership Unit at the CDB. In addition, she chairs CDB’s Loans Committee and spearheads the Bank’s engagement with its borrowing members and development partners.
Locally, she kick-started her career in finance by working with the New Building Society, while regionally, she worked her way into corporate planning. Her career has now been diversified as she said it is now far removed from accounting, where she was initially qualified to lend service.
“My career has evolved, I started out as an accountant. Actually, I started off as a bank teller and then I went into auditing then I got into accountancy and from there I sort of evolved into what I call myself a development banker,” the CDB VP explained.
She described her work as a way of fulfilling a desire to play a vital role in the development of countries in the Caribbean. “As a development bank, we are supporting our member countries in addressing some of the challenges they have and they range from; well poverty is a big one for us and across the region, education, things like basic infrastructure, so I find a lot of fulfilment in what I do.”
Her brief advice to young persons pursuing their various careers is that nothing comes easy. “My first thing is that education is important, it’s extremely important and young people should really try to take all the opportunities that are afforded to them and then to be open. Opportunities come your way and you need to seize them and run with them.”
By: Delicia Haynes.
Images: Jameel Mohammed.