Patricia Hermanns
The National Insurance Board (NIB) has confirmed the appointment of Patricia Hermanns to the post of director of NIB with effect from September 1, 2016. Hermanns' appointment officially fills the top slot at NIB after Rowena Bethel decided not to renew her contract with the board amid serious tensions at the executive level.
National Review revealed that Hermanns had been tapped to take the top spot on July 4, even as Bethel's departure was still being digested. This is the second consecutive leadership transition at NIB that was accompanied by a degree of public commentary. Bethel took over from Algernon Cargill, who was fired from the position.
In a statement issued over the weekend, NIB Chairperson Renae McKay announced the appointment and confirmed that as director, Hermanns is the CEO of NIB and heads the executive management team responsible for the day-to-day operations of the social security organization.
McKay said, "Ms. Hermanns is a former banking and insurance executive with more than 30 years' experience in the financial services sector. She is credited with managing corporate transitions for greater efficiency and effectiveness, and successfully launching new life and health insurance as well as investment products and services."
Bethel's exit highlighted the titanic struggles of the board to implement a $14 million information technology (IT) system. The problems plaguing implementation of that system mean benefits are not being delivered on a consistent and timely basis. In June, Bethel told Guardian Business, "I met Cecile Williams-Bethel and Dr. Raymond Wells as the two leads on the V3 project, and it has remained the case throughout, right up to today."
The issues at NIB have been so serious of late that at one point Bethel, together with McKay, chose to issue a public letter of apology to NIB stakeholders. Although the timeframe within which the system was initially scheduled to be rolled out has passed, the board continues to be plagued with problems.
On June 16, Bethel identified four main challenges the board has had, and which she said it continues to face: the organizational culture, the organizational structure, data and resources.
"There have been pockets where we have experienced strong resistance to change," she said.
"This is a common feature where projects of this nature are undertaken in organizations with a culture that is deeply suspicious of change such as government agencies, since change is equated with uncertainty.
"Consequently, in subtle ways, pockets of efforts are focused on actually fighting the change. Some of this behavior has surfaced in this current transition."
Bethel added that NIB had brought on additional human resources to assist with the transition.
Bethel, who once served as legal advisor to NIB, returned to the board from the Office of the Prime Minister, where she was a policy consultant/advisor on public governance and communications sector regulation. She was a consultant in the Office of the Prime Minister on the electronic communications sector, public governance, communications and financial sectors, and international tax policy.
Hermanns, like Bethel, is a highly respected policy professional. She currently serves as a director of Bahamas Power and Light (BPL), a director of Bahamas Resolve Ltd., a trustee of the Anglican Diocese Pension Fund and a trustee of the Governor General Youth Award.
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