(Left to right) – Andrew Reid (Sales Representative), Tom Tyler (CEO)
Andrew Reid, who has worked for Caribbean Producers Jamaica Limited (CPJ) for the past 20 years, considers his time with the food-processing entity a way of gaining new experiences and conquering fresh challenges of creativity.
“It is always a pleasure to get up and go to work, because it is always a new challenge, and we are always trying to push the limit and push the envelope, and take it to the next level each time. There is no complacency; there is no time to get bored or to say we ‘have reached’,” said the 41-year-old Reid, who is employed to CPJ as a sales representative.
Reid, who holds the honour of being CPJ’s longest-serving employee, recalled that he first joined the organisation in November 1995 at the invitation of current CPJ chief executive officer, Tom Tyler.
“I was at another company doing sales when Tom (Tyler) approached me and asked me if I was interested in coming to work for him. I had known Tom before when I worked at the hotel, Jamaica Grande … we knew each other from then,” said Reid.
“I am always interested in a new opportunity and a new challenge, and with CPJ just being opened at that time, I said I had no problem … so he (Tyler) told me what he was doing, and his vision. Tom always had big visions for what he wanted to do,” Reid continued.
Currently, Reid lives and works out of Ocho Rios, St Ann, although CPJ has its headquarters in Montego Bay, St James. But this has not deterred his enjoyment of his work, which he says gives him an opportunity to flex his creative muscles.
“I like selling, so it is just for me to keep coming up with new ideas, and try to help the company take it to the next level. I always do my research and try to come up with things to make my job easier and make the company more successful,” said Reid. “Whatever it takes for the company to be successful and to take it to the next level in sales, that is what I will do.”
Reid recounted one of his most memorable moments during his 20-year stint with CPJ when he was given an opportunity to visit a number of meat plants in Texas in the United States.
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The Gleaner
