Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), Carmen Tipling, has resigned from that post and will return to the private sector early next year, according to Minister of Information and Development, Donald Buchanan.

He said the CEO, who has guided the modernisation of the executive agency from 2000, has been instrumental in placing information communication technology (ICT) at the centre of the organisation, and honing skills, which have brought the performance of the agency to a new level.

"Mrs. Tipling's communication and management skills, as well as her work ethic, have served the JIS well. And, I am confident that as the agency moves into its second phase of modernisation, that it will be possible to build on the foundation that has been laid," the information minister said.

Welcome challenge

In a presentation to members of the management team at the agency, on Wednesday, Mrs. Tipling said she welcomed the challenge to be part of the change management of the JIS, and credited the directors, managers and staff for their respective roles in implementing the operational changes at the agency.

"Team work was critical in moving the JIS forward," she said, "and, it is clear that the acceptance of that dynamic worked."

She also noted that media houses had a new level of appreciation for the work of the agency.

"This was evident in the increasing acceptance of the veracity of the news and information output of the organisation," she added.

In a tribute to Mrs. Tipling, who was honoured earlier this year by the Kingston Technical High School Past Students Association, former Information Minister Burchell Whiteman, who worked closely with the CEO for three of her six years at the Government information agency, described the veteran communicator as, "the embodiment of excellence in the management of an enterprise. Her ability to motivate staff is legendary and she is always on the cutting edge of innovation, whether it be in technology or in the adoption of new modalities to engage the client".

Under her leadership, the JIS has entered a new growth phase in which it is achieving 21st century corporate standards and is being regarded as a model for similar institutions in the Caribbean.