Cindy-Lou Valentine

My name is Cindy-Lou Valentine (nee Phillip). I was born in Trinidad and Tobago in 1968. I left University of the West Indies, Trinidad in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Social Sciences. From there I proceeded to attain qualification in ACCA program (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) which I completed in 1998. Since my first work stint in the payroll department of a government office, I have attained over five year (5+)s experience in Accounting and Audit firms ( then Ernst & Young in Trinidad, and Pricewaterhousecoopers in Jamaica), eight (8) years experience in a Global retail organization (3M Interamerica) as Accountant, Business Analyst and then Financial Supervisor and finally nine (9) years managing a Billing and Collections company within the Maritime sector. I have also done several professional development courses in areas such as Accounts Receivables Management, Port/maritime operations, Alternate Dispute Resolution and Principles of Real Estate.

The position of General Manager of the Billings & Collections company was the most challenging to date as I also had to at least become familiar with Customer Relations management, Human Resource Management, IT management and Public Relations. The position also required me to maintain relations with numerous individuals/ companies operating within the Logistics chain (including Brokerage operators, Truckers, port personnel, customs, shipping agents and shipping lines) as they impacted upon billing operations.

On the personal level, I am a divorced single mother of 2 children ( boy, 19 and girl, 13) One of my long term passions is to help them to explore their potential for both academic and non-academic achievement so I also provide parental support for their school and sports activities. I have been Parent class representative and as well I am a 'Water Polo Mom'. I am also currently interested in Photography, Yoga and Gardening myself.

Previously I have tried running a goat farm; selling animals for meat and producing potting mixes with composted by-products. I employed a farm manager and labour from the area of the farm as I was still full employed myself. It was then I realized the super challenges that faced entrepreneurs who had to multi-task with a day job, family responsibiliites while pursuing their dreams by night and weekends. This is where I got the idea to provide Business Support to Small and Micro Enterprise operators.