Wayne L. Biggs Jr., the Virgin Islands Economic Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority’s (VIEDA) chief executive officer, has announced that Kelly Thompson-Webbe and Monique T. Samuel were recently appointed as chief financial officer of VIEDA and managing director of lending at the Economic Development Bank (EDB), respectively, at the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority (VIEDA) in July. Both women served previously in interim capacities for their respective positions and began serving in their top spots effective July 16.
VIEDA Chief Financial Officer Thompson Webbe will oversee VIEDA’s Department of Administration and Finance, focusing on the authority’s return on investments (ROI), increasing revenues, assisting with operations and the overall work culture, and expanding technology for increased efficiency. As she permanently joins the executive team, Thompson Webbe will report directly to the VIEDA’s chief executive officer.
Samuel joins the VIEDA senior management team and will continue to oversee the operations of the Economic Development Bank while identifying positive financial solutions for local small-to- medium-sized businesses. She will report directly to VIEDA’s Assistant Chief Executive Officer. The EDB is one of four entities under the VIEDA.
A VIEDA team member for more than 13 years, Thompson Webbe previously served as VIEDA’s interim chief financial officer since November 2019. She currently oversees all of VIEDA’s financial functions, including, but not limited to, accounting, external audits, budgeting, cash management and financial reporting.
She has also been recognized for her consistent foresight in identifying and recommending solutions to operational issues that have a positive fiscal impact on VIEDA. Thompson-Webbe continued to greatly contribute to the VIEDA team and the business community during her term as Interim CFO, most notably by maintaining the highest audit rating (an unqualified opinion) an entity can receive for its financial statements and implementing an Automatic Clearing House (ACH) payment process, which assists the VIEDA Accounts Payable team in streamlining the vendor payment process.
She was selected as VIEDA Employee of the Year in 2013 and 2019. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of the Virgin Islands.
A proactive leader who has dedicated her career to building transparent relationships that ultimately help businesses identify positive financial solutions that address their needs, Monique T. Samuel has dedicated more than 18 years to VIEDA’s Economic Development Bank. She recently served in dual roles as interim director of lending and senior loan officer for the EDB for over three years.
As EDB’s interim director of lending and senior loan officer, Samuel’s responsibilities included assessing and improving customer experience, managing the risk of the loan portfolio, managing a team of four employees, establishing new business leads, partnering with public and private organizations/ stakeholders to fulfill the EDB’s mission and goals, analyzing loan requests, overseeing the VIEDA Incubator Program, and leading the development of entrepreneurial opportunities for businesses operating throughout the territory. She also served several years in the private sector within the banking industry.
Samuel has a Master of Business Administration in Management from American InterContinental University and earned the credential of a certified public manager through the Virgin Islands Division of Personnel’s Certified Public Manager® (CPM) Program. In 2018 and 2020, Samuel was selected as VIEDA Manager of the Year for her skills in professionalism, leadership, communication, customer focus activities, commitment, quality work, teamwork and innovation.
For more information, send an email to info@usvieda.org.
