MARILYN SEALY LIVES by the familiar words of American author John C. Williams: “Change is inevitable”.
She does not frown, fuss or complain when things don’t go as planned or suddenly change in her life.
This 44-year-old has a different approach.
She embraces the change, manages the situation and makes the most of each experience.
“It’s the weirdest thing. I have a way of always getting on board at the beginning of change – whether it is a new organisation, programme, systems, or transformations . . .”
With a career in communications spanning 25 years, the newly appointed director of communications and stakeholder relationships at Flow sat down with EASY magazine recently to speak candidly about her life’s journey, which has been a chain of events leading to satisfaction and success.
The former St James (now Frederick Smith) Secondary student, who was given the option of a transfer to Combermere School after her first year but chose not to make the change, said at the time of writing the test she was what society deemed “a failure at the Common Entrance Exam”.
That did not faze her. In fact, it motivated her to prove society wrong.
And that she did.
In 1990 after gaining an associate degree in mass communication from the Barbados Community College, Marilyn landed her first job at the Barbados Advocate as a news reporter.
Her career was moving in the right direction and she felt the need in 1994 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in journalism at the Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.
After the four-year programme, Marilyn was back in Barbados working as a business reporter at the NATION.
By 2000, the then journalist had worked at three of the major media houses, the Barbados Advocate, the NATION and the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation.
But that accomplishment in journalism was not enough. She still felt the burning desire to work in public relations.
“I understood journalism fully but felt I had a role to play in PR”.
She worked at JER Associates as director of operations client services and at SFA Associates as a public relations consultant.
In 2002 her career took another turn. This time, she moved from the private sector to Government, taking up a new post as public relations/liaison officer for the National HIV/AIDS Commission, which was just getting off the ground.
“We did so much to heighten people’s awareness of the disease. We had jingles and billboards constantly blasting the message of HIV awareness”.
It was during this successful period that Marilyn again set her eyes on education.
This time she pursued her master’s degree in communication for social and behaviour change at the University of the West Indies Mona Campus in Jamaica.
After completing her one-year study, she was later appointed the commission’s behaviour change communication specialist. Her stint with the commission gave her the opportunity to represent Barbados on missions in Brazil, Sri Lanka and Uganda.
Marilyn still serves as deputy chairman of the commission. She is also president-elect of the executive board of the International Association of Business Communicators Barbados Chapter.
After her work at the commission was done she decided to return to the NATION.
“The company was going through a major change. It was transitioning from being locally owned to becoming part of the OCM [One Caribbean Media] Group of Companies. Our work was cut out for us.”
Five years later, there were the 40th anniversary celebrations which Marilyn played a key role planning.
That was an exciting time for her since there was a renewed love for the NATION. It was also the time when the NATION changed its slogan to Your News, Your Time, Your Way. Coincidentally, it was in that same year 2013 that Marilyn won the Key Employee Award.
A week after winning the award, she resigned: “I left on a high and I believed that my work there was done,” she proudly said. In 2014 she took up the position of corporate communications & public relations manager at LIME (now Flow). A different type of challenge came with this change.
“I was going to a company that did not have a good track record with the public. There were service issues and negativity everywhere, especially in the media. I worked closely with my then boss Rachel Pilgrim to manage a lot of the fallout.”
“I think we did very well,” was her assessment.
Then one morning in November 2014, she got up and saw an email which threw a different dynamic into the equation.
“I began to read it and it said, ‘We have acquired Columbus Communications’.”
And as fate would have it, Marilyn was selected to be part of the Integration Team responsible for the communications relating to the merger.
“It meant I was travelling almost every week to Miami. There were meetings in which we were crafting the message we wanted to get out, managing the process of the merger, and of course the communications arm. Communications was important not only for the public but especially for our staff. There was a lot of uncertainty internally.”
Barbados was the first country to launch the new Flow, which comprised a major rebranding exercise that included a new look for the retail stores.
Marilyn described the experience as her “biggest challenge to date”.
What compounded it was that at the time she was focusing on completing her new home. Her son Morgan was now 18 and she was preparing to send him off to college.
“There were so many things happening during this period. And everything was literally happening at the same time. From the time I came here [Flow] I had never experienced so much change so quickly. We would have just rebranded on the LIME legacy side to Upgrade Barbados.”
The Flow launch not only involved the local media but also regional and international Press, making the task even greater.
“It was a mammoth task. The Barbados team was supported by a team of communication professionals from Miami and across the Caribbean who were on island to ensure that the launch of Flow in Barbados was a success.
“We had recorded more than US$1 million in PR coverage spanning Barbados, regionally and internationally.
“We have been the most successful country to launch to date. It was a Herculean task but it is a fantastic achievement,” she said gleefully.
But coming on the heels of a “wonderful launch” that went “well” with the public and stakeholders, the company was then faced with network issues.
“So it would seem that every three months there is a challenge.
“We were merging two networks to one platform. In the process, we encountered a series of technical issues one after the other.”
Marilyn’s current role also requires that she handle stakeholder relationships. This means working closely with Government, the private sector and other key agencies and organisations such as the Fair Trading Commission and the Telecommunications Unit and keeping them apprised of company developments and plans.
“It is crazy for me most days. I am usually at my desk by 7 to get an early handle on things. But so much happens in one day.”
During the interview with EASY her landline and cellphone rang constantly. At times, she was forced to stop and take calls, some of which were from overseas.
“It takes a lot, a lot of effort, a lot of talking. It is communications. My main focus now externally is to work to rekindle the love for our brand. Internally, I am working with our HR team to keep our team members engaged and excited about working at Flow. It has been a very unstable period . . . . We have done quite a bit of streamlining within the company. We keep moving with the tide, but there is so much happening. Only recently we launched C&W Business.”
Days following this interview it was announced that the largest cable company in the world, Liberty Global, was buying Cable & Wireless Communications.
But how does Marilyn clock out and maintain some level of normalcy in her life?
She grounds herself in a deep faith in God. “I believe strongly in God. I pray. If I am in a situation and it is more than I can handle I leave it to God. My dad always said: ‘You’re all children of God’.
“My father who was a [member of the clergy] was always very supportive of me, and days before he died prayed for my success. As everyone knows, my family is very important to me. I have a great support system. My mother, my sisters, my brother are always there to back me up. They are always there to fill in the gap and to help me along.
“I remember the day I called and told them I got the job. I was in Miami at the time. I called my sister first, not knowing everyone was at her house. I said: ‘Yea, Lise. Guess what? I got the job’. She was, like, which job? I then heard screaming and shouting. I wish I was there to witness it. That’s my fan club.”
With a huge smile she said: “I have always been blessed with a few great mentors and good friends throughout the years.
“Alies Jordan, Dr Carol Jacobs, Glyne Murray, Eric Smith and Vivian-Anne – Gittens these are people who will pull you back if you are going down the wrong road. I also have a very small circle of friends I can always depend on. My friends will tell me the truth. If they think I am off track they will set me right. So it has been a balance of family, including my extended family of aunts, uncles and cousins, and my close friends all the way”.
In between her hectic schedule she still finds time for play.
“I hang with friends. I try to get out there and try new and different things. So I have been ticking stuff off my bucket list – diving; and lots of travel to new places, like Paris this year.”
In addition, Marilyn, who has always carried a slim figure, now pays attention to her health.
“I try to get in exercise. I changed my diet earlier this year – took bread out. I am paying more attention to my eating habits.”
Marilyn says she is now at a place in her life where it’s time to give back in a more meaningful way.
“I am at the stage where I believe I have worked hard, I have gotten to this level now and it is time for me to give back – give back by coaching and mentoring people in communications. I really want to share my experiences and help others”.
Regrets?
She has none.
“Everything I have done in life – although challenging – has been a wonderful experience.”
