Country Head of ANSA Mc Al Group of Companies, Ms. Beverley Harper is a Special Person

Nov 06, 2022 News, Special Person

---

A fierce example of woman empowerment in Guyana…

By Rehanna Ramsay

Kaieteur News – Occupying the post of Country Head of ANSA McAL Group of Companies in Guyana, Ms. Beverley Harper is a shining example of woman empowerment. She is a staunch supporter of women’s rights and equality of the sexes.

Her vibrant personality, strong work ethic, and unwavering moral convictions make her role as a feminist even more convincing as she continues to make her mark in corporate Guyana, leaving a blueprint for other women who desire to function in business leadership roles, to follow.

Over the years, the top ANSA McAL Executive earned quite a few coveted titles one of which includes being named amongst the first female Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in corporate Guyana.  As the Country Head of the ANSA McAL Group of Companies in Guyana, she now has oversight for four companies fully functioning— ANSA Mc AL Trading Limited, I Radio, ANSA Motors Guyana, and Guyana Breweries Inc. She is also in charge of a fifth upcoming project, ABS Guyana– ANSA Building Solutions.

Outside of ANSA McAL, she also sits on the Board of GTM insurance groups of companies in Guyana. In addition to her top posts, Ms. Harper is proud that she has helped develop several teams of enthusiastic and talented staffers, which helps make ANSA Mc Al products and services in Guyana, one of the top choices for local consumers.

The ANSA McAL Country Head said that seeing her team serve Guyana with the committed excellence that they do, gives her ultimate satisfaction.

She said, “These last 15 years have been spent working with the best and the brightest talent we have in Guyana…Young ambitious professionals from all walks of life… and the one thing they have in common is their energy, their thirst for knowledge, their creativity and their willingness to work hard.”

In spite of these accomplishments, this week’s Special Person remains fairly modest in her endeavours.  Ms. Harper has quietly served the purpose of many philanthropic efforts as a Rotarian and President of the Rotary Club of Demerara as well as a supporter and advocate on various women’s rights issues.

She told The Waterfalls that though these roles come naturally to her now, her younger self would probably not believe that she would have accomplished all that she has, to date.

She revealed that she occupied various posts along the corporate ladder before finding her niche in life but once she did, she dug her proverbial ‘heels’ in and never looked back. Today, Harper is happy to say that her late parents Herbie and Brenda Harper would have been proud of the woman she is.

EUROPEAN HERITAGE

Harper’s life began in Rinteln, Germany in 1956.  Her parents both served in the British armed services  after World War II. Her father, a Guyanese, left these shores as a young man and joined the Royal Air Force. He later met the love of his life that was in the navy. She was English and mixed relationships were pretty much frowned upon in England, so much so that even her mother’s parents refused to attend their wedding.

Yet, the couple married in 1951 and their forbidden love story produced four children of which Ms. Harper is the third child. Given her father’s work in the Royal Air Force, Harper said the family moved around a lot.

She revealed, “We were stationed all over England, at different bases. He had a stint in Germany, which is where I was born and we were also stationed in Malta, when I was 9.  [Due] to the limited availability of English-speaking schools, my parents sent the three eldest to boarding school for three years. That was an experience in itself.”

The ANSA McAL Country Head continued “… Because we had to move so much, literally two to three years in any one place/base, it ensured that we were able to adapt to new environments quickly, but also made it nearly impossible for us to cement childhood friendships.”
RELOCATING TO GUYANA 

The steady relocation of the family finally ended when her father decided to take early retirement when she was 15 years old. According to Harper, arriving in Guyana for the first time was a bit of a culture shock, but the experience of seeing so many people who looked like her gave her ease.

She counts attending Bishops High School, adapting to warm weather, outdoor experiences, and traveling to the interior (with her father who was working as a radio engineer and putting up radio equipment at airstrips all over the country) among her fondest memories. For the young Harper, Guyana’s interior was a sight to behold; it was as she described it “breathtaking.”

While at school, the young Harper attained good grades, as she admits, “I wasn’t at the top of my class but I did well and passed all my exams’.” Harper did well in English, because she loved to read. She also excelled in Geography because she was always looking at maps just to see where her father was to be stationed next. She explained that while moving around made her adaptable, it affected her academics in an adverse way.

For example, she said, “I was doing Modern Math at the Grammar school in Wiltshire [England] prior to Bishops but when we moved, it switched again to traditional Math. That would have been the 3^rd time I had to switch in five years.”

Nevertheless, Harper admits that the study ethic in Guyana was far superior to the UK and the teachers were awesome. In fact she exclaimed, “My teacher, Miss Dennison was solely responsible for me passing Math period!”

INT’L STUDIES 

By the time she was 18-years-old, Mr. Harper had already planned for his daughter to attend an international college or university in the UK.  But the young Harper didn’t apply to school straight away. She decided to work a little, gaining clerical employment, in an office for Lister Engines while she thought about the career path she really wanted.

She had envisaged taking up roles in journalism and copywriting for an advertising company but was diverted by “some friends who had the crazy idea of becoming an au pair (caregiver) for a while.

Back then, she attempted to learn French and her work took her to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the Center of the European common market. She recalled that it was fun and thankfully safe as she was with a family of four, who was of German and Hungarian descent, and whose Jewish parents had fled the war and went to Brazil.

“The father spoke seven languages, the mother spoke five and the kids spoke three and there was I struggling with French! This only lasted for five months and I returned to England ready for further education and a career,” she disclosed. Passionate about business and marketing, Harper got into a mediocre college in Luton, Bedfordshire, and started her tertiary education.

According to her, “Marketing was not a well-known discipline in those days…but I loved it …In fact, my thesis was how did governments and companies advertise during the post-war period, with shortages that caused substitutions of products that were often not liked by the general populace.”

Armed with a degree, Harper spent a year searching for suitable employment in the UK. She vaguely connected with any work to do with marketing, merchandising, and promotions.

RETURN HOME

After attending dozens of interviews with no success, Harper’s dad sent her a ticket to return to Guyana for a holiday and to help her sister who had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl.

This proved to be the best decision as within two weeks of returning home, Harper had three job offers.  She accepted the one that allowed her to travel and use her marketing skills.

More than 15 years and four companies later, sitting at the helm of ANSA Mc AL, Ms. Harper has never regretted the decision. Ms. Harper’s present duties include mostly oversight, governance, and guidance, a bit of real estate Human Resource assistance, and communications.

She noted that while her recent oversight of the new AMTL Branch and Mini mart in Berbice, has enervated her due to multiple visits to the county, getting closer to the people there, basking in their hospitality and duck curry has brought her some comfort.

“I simply love my work,” she said adding that the Chairman emeritus of the ANSA McAL Group of companies is infamous for saying that ‘if you are passionate about your work you would not have to work another day in your life.’ I bought into that in spades.”

To this end, Harper stated while she has awards for being the most sustained Profit Before Tax (PBT) contributor in the ANSA Group in 2012 – a noteworthy achievement, her most treasured acknowledgment was being credited in the company for having the most engaged, loyal and happy employees for many years.  In fact, Harper said that her focus has shifted over time from developing market strategies to developing people.

OTHER PASSIONS

Outside her work with corporate Guyana, Ms. Harper has played her part through Ansa McAL and on a personal level in several projects initiated by the Rotary club, Help, and Shelter, Mothers in Black, several Cancer Awareness groups, and other valued non-profits.

She revealed “I have been a Rotarian for almost 30 years…I have been privileged to be the President of the Rotary Club of Demerara…We have touched the lives of people in the far corners of this country and although I am not active in my club as much now …”

She continued, “I believe that you have achieved nothing if you don’t give back your time, your energy, your compassion, and your wealth. So whether it is cancer survivors or victims of abuse…flood victims or those who have lost a loved one on our roads…pick your organization or your cause and just get it done.”

Besides her work and charitable efforts, Ms. Harper loves all things sports.

She told Kaieteur News that her daughter has been, is, and will always be her pride and joy. She said, “As a single mother…Chelsea Kalsatos nee Fung who makes me proud every day of her life… My sister, Denise Dias, who is always in my corner, and the wonderful family and friends who are family with different names,”

Ms. Harper says that life has been extremely good to her so she can never forget to pay it forward. Her goal now is to be kinder, to mentor, and to look out for the guy who just can’t catch a break. She advises her fellow entrepreneurs to do the same. She urges entrepreneurs and those in positions who can employ people to give their team a sense of family, recognize exceptional achievement, encourage self-improvement, and value individual and team effort.

She added that, “In this, you have a recipe for continued success for your company and yourself. Success is not possible without a team…and without a team, it isn’t even worth it,”

Her best advice, however, is to the ambitious young female professionals whose desire is to climb to the top. Ms. Harper encourages them as they journey there, “to hold on to your values, your integrity, and your fighting spirit.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

---