Leesa Kow exiting JN Bank, Keith Levy to act as interim MD

JN Bank Managing Director Leesa Kow will demit office effective March 31.

Keith Levy, who has served as a director of JN Financial Group Limited since 2022 and as chairman of JN Bank since December 2024, will step down from his position as board chair to serve as interim managing director of the bank while the group identifies a permanent successor.

In a statement on Monday, Deputy Chairman and CEO of The Jamaica National Group, Earl Jarrett, said the company has benefited immensely from Kow’s contributions to its growth.

“She helped to build and shape services that Jamaican families across the world now rely on every day. She came into the leadership position of the bank in 2022 at the height of the global pandemic and led the institution through one of the most demanding periods any financial institution has faced, with composure and without deflection. I am personally grateful for what she has given to this group and to the people we were created to serve, and I know her impact will continue to be felt here,” said Jarrett.

“Keith has been a close and trusted part of JN’s governance for nearly four years. He has sat through difficult conversations, asked the right questions, offered sound perspective on key financial initiatives, and understands the mission and purpose of the bank from the inside. He is not coming in to hold a seat. He is coming in to lead, and I have complete confidence in his ability to do that,” he added.

According to JN, Levy has utilised his vast experience in banking and finance to support the board on matters related to capital allocation, innovation, and strategic acquisitions and divestments.

His banking career spans more than 25 years. Most recently, he served as Head of Corporate Derivatives Trading for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Bank of America.

Before that, he spent nearly two decades at Credit Suisse, where his final role was Head of Structured Finance for EMEA, managing US$45 billion of the firm’s balance sheet.

He also serves on the board of Gorilla Technology Group and, in 2022, co-founded Visionario Venture Capital, a fund focused on fintech, healthcare technology, and consumer products.

Kow joined the Jamaica National Building Society in 2003 as senior manager for remittances. She helped to formally establish the building society’s Money Transfer Unit, built out the outbound transfer service, and led the development of the JN Money Transfer card in 2004.

In 2006, she was promoted to group executive for marketing, sales and promotion. In 2008, she became general manager of JN Money Services and the youngest person to head a company in the JN Group.

Under her leadership, JN Money grew from some 200 branches and agents to more than 8,000 across three continents in three years, becoming the largest remittance brand from the Caribbean and the market leader on key corridors, including the United Kingdom and the Cayman Islands to Jamaica.

She served as president of the Jamaica Money Remitters Association from 2012 to 2017 and was elected chair of the Caribbean Association of Banks in October 2022.

Following a personal sabbatical, she returned to JN Bank as deputy managing director in 2017 and was appointed managing director in 2022.

“Working at JN has been the privilege of my professional life. I came here in 2003 and was given opportunities I could not have imagined by people who believed in me before I had earned it. I am proud of what we built together: the services that send money home, the products that open accounts, the teams that show up every day for our members. I will always be grateful for every year I spent here,” said Kow.

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