{"id":859,"date":"2025-03-28T10:53:13","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T10:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/?p=859"},"modified":"2025-08-29T14:28:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T14:28:52","slug":"meet-kathy-smith-the-first-woman-to-lead-gcci-and-her-trailblazing-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/2025\/03\/28\/meet-kathy-smith-the-first-woman-to-lead-gcci-and-her-trailblazing-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Kathy Smith: The first woman to lead GCCI and her trailblazing journey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An OilNOW<\/a> feature by Shikema Dey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kathy Smith, the first woman elected President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), embodies resilience, determination, and a commitment to uplifting others. Her election reflects not only her inspiring journey but also the Chamber\u2019s dedication to inclusivity and empowerment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was elected President on March 21, during the Chamber\u2019s first statutory meeting where the executive management committee election took place. This followed the elections for the Chamber\u2019s 21-member Council for 2025\/2026 held during the Annual General Meeting on March 19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is indeed a privilege for me to be given this opportunity\u2014even more so to be the first woman president of the GCCI,\u201d Smith said in her inaugural remarks, thanking her peers for their confidence in her leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith\u2019s path began with humble beginnings, raised by a hardworking grandmother who ran a small business making cassava bread and cassareep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy grandmother was my first exposure to an entrepreneur. Her industriousness and resilience influenced the assertiveness and confidence I now bring to business and life,\u201d Smith told OilNOW in an exclusive interview following her historic appointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her professional journey started in education as a teacher, where she developed a passion for nurturing others. A calling for the business world soon led her down a different path: completing a Bachelor\u2019s Degree in Business Management at the University of Guyana. Soon, she was toiling away at the Private Sector Commission, where she spent five years honing her skills. It was there she became fascinated with the work of the GCCI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I joined the Chamber in 2022, I was eager to use every opportunity it offered. I joined the Construction and HSSE Committee and was appointed Vice Chairperson,\u201d Smith recalled. Her remarkable journey had just begun.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the ensuing years, her rise within the GCCI was marked by her dedication and advocacy. Elected to the Council in 2023, she became Secretary of the Executive Management Committee and Chairperson of the Human Resource Management and Capacity Building Committee. She then trained her focus on member education and collaboration with government agencies which was pivotal in strengthening the GCCI\u2019s role in supporting businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLast year, as Senior Vice President, I chaired the Petroleum Committee, where we focused on showcasing the country\u2019s growth and fostering confidence in our members to engage in the oil and gas industry.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As GCCI President, Smith has clear priorities, particularly for women entrepreneurs. \u201cMy vision is to establish programmes supporting women in financial literacy, digital marketing, and negotiation. I also want to advocate for incentives like prioritised contracts for women-led businesses with local content certification.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of her flagship initiatives is the establishment of the Women and Micro Business Learning Centre at GCCI. The Centre is anticipated to be completed and operationalized by the second quarter of 2025. \u201cThis Centre will provide training to ensure women\u2019s businesses are sustainable and profitable. Whether it\u2019s a one-woman operation or a small firm, we want them to thrive,\u201d Smith said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond business, the new President is dedicated to helping local companies safeguard themselves from exploitation by foreign firms. \u201cWe need to tackle unethical practices like double-dipping, where foreign companies exploit partnerships with local businesses. This violates the spirit of local content and must end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith\u2019s presidency also reflects GCCI\u2019s commitment to inclusivity. \u201cWhen I looked around the table last year, I saw many women councillors. The percentage of women-led businesses in our membership is almost 50%. GCCI celebrates and respects women, and I\u2019m proud to be part of that,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balancing her professional and personal life, Smith finds fulfillment in her faith, family, and capacity-building work. \u201cI want to see our women equipped with the skills to navigate the business world confidently. Supporting others to elevate themselves is what drives me.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An OilNOW feature by Shikema Dey Kathy Smith, the first woman elected President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), embodies resilience, determination, and a commitment to uplifting others. Her election reflects not only her inspiring journey but also the Chamber\u2019s dedication to inclusivity and empowerment.  She was elected President on March 21, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":28,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[74],"class_list":{"0":"post-859","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-guest-content","8":"tag-guyanese-women-in-business"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=859"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":861,"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859\/revisions\/861"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}