Largest minority-owned insurance broker names Former Barbados Diplomat Sales Coordinator

E.G. Bowman Names Former Barbados Diplomat Sales Coordinator 

Jessica Odle-Baril to Focus on Caribbean Community

 

            NEW YORK—July 7, 2009—E.G. Bowman Company, the largest minority-owned insurance broker, named Jessica Odle-Baril of Valley Stream sales coordinator.  She was formerly consul general of Barbados. 

            Odle-Baril will focus on developing new business in the Caribbean community, both among business owners and individuals.

            “Jessica has long record of achievement in government and business,” said E.G. Bowman president Harry Ennevor.  “SheÂ’ll be contacting business owners and families and showing how we can help them improve their insurance coverage and safety.”

Odle-Baril served as consul general of Barbados at New York from 2003 to 2008.  As the most senior diplomatic operative, she secured interests for Barbados in the areas of tourism, international business and cultural exchange.

            She owned Crimpers, a leader in the beauty industry in Barbados for thirty-two years.  She served as a senator in the Parliament of Barbados and on many boards and commissions, and was the principal delegate for Barbados on the Organization of American StatesÂ’ Inter-American Commission of Women.  She also hosted television shows broadcast in 13 Caribbean nations.

              Odle-Baril can be reached at jodlebaril@egbowman.com or 212-425-8150.

E.G. Bowman Company, Inc. (www.egbowman.com) is a full-service commercial insurance brokerage and loss-control consultant on Wall Street that serves many of AmericaÂ’s largest corporations and nonprofit institutions, small businesses and individuals.  It provides the full range of business insurance policies as well as personal auto and home insurance.

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Jessica C. Odle-Baril—Diplomat, Entrepreneur, Politician—Takes on New Challenge:  Insurance

 

Jessica Odle-Baril has done enough things--as a diplomat, entrepreneur, politician and television host to fill several lifetimes——and succeeded in all of them.

Now the Barbados native is now taking on a new challenge, working in the insurance industry for the first time.  She brings enthusiasm and energy to her new role as sales coordinator for E.G. Bowman Co., a respected New York insurance brokerage thatÂ’s the largest minority-owned firm of its type.

 Ã‚“ItÂ’s just a matter of being true to yourself,” she says.   Those words have been a motivating force that channels her enormous energies into social and economic good and business development.  TheyÂ’ve been a roadmap that has guided her through many initiatives that have made a vital difference in Barbados, New York, the Caribbean and elsewhere.

A graduate of the London College of Fashion, Odle-Baril has been involved in business since the late 1970s. She owned Crimpers for 30-plus years, which was known as the flagship in the Barbadian beauty and personal care industry.

She was appointed as the Consul General of Barbados in 2003, the first woman to hold this position for Barbados during the thirty-six years of consular representation. During her five-year tenure, she greatly increased exposure of BarbadosÂ’ literary and cultural industries in the US. She also helped to pave the way for a new synergy, incorporating collaborative effort, negotiation and team-building within the Barbadian and Caribbean communities. As Consul General, she served as President of the 80 year old Society of Foreign Consuls, a body that brings together the consulates general of more than 100 countries.

She has chaired or served on a plethora of boards of directors, including that of the largest Conference Centre in the Eastern Caribbean. She also hosted regional television programs dealing with social and economic issues and which were aired in thirteen Caribbean countries.

Combining business experience with a passion for entrepreneurial development, Odle-Baril has mentored and helped open doors to commercial opportunities for many students and entrepreneurs.

Active in politics as a member of the Barbados Labour Party, she has been the partyÂ’s public relations officer, its annual Conference Chairman and President of its WomenÂ’s League. She served in the Senate, BarbadosÂ’ upper chamber of Parliament, and has been BarbadosÂ’ Principal delegate to the OAS Inter-American Commission of Women. In addition, she was twice a Commonwealth Election Observer in Ghana and South Africa. 

            SheÂ’s volunteered for many cultural, social and church groups, including the Bronx-based UNITAS Therapeutic community, Big Brothers and Sisters of Barbados, the first Presbyterian Church of Forest Hills and Barbados Cancer Association USA (BACA). She has received several awards from organizations such as the Caribbean American Medical and Scientific Association (CAMSA), BACA, the Barbados Society of Hartford (BASH), and received a proclamation from the United States Congress.

            Odle-Baril credits headmistress Enid Lynch and the Foundation School for her educational base.  She says her extensive travels in the Caribbean, USA, South America, Europe, West Africa, South Africa and Asia, have broadened her outlook and given her an even greater appreciation of the importance of a quality and condition of life that ensures the full democratic and economic participation of all citizens. This has fuelled her determination to make a difference.

            Odle-Baril is married to Robert Baril.  They live in Valley Stream, N.Y.

 

Media Contact:  Henry Stimpson, Stimpson Communications, 508-647-0705, HStimpson@StimpsonCommunications.com