Former Barbados Head of Country to take up new post from February 1, 2026

Mr. Kemar Polius,

Bridgetown, Barbados, January 20, 2026 – CIBC Caribbean has announced the appointment of Mr. Kemar Polius, to the position of Senior Director, Head of Corporate Banking and Sustainable Finance from February 1, 2026.

This follows the retirement of Mrs. Gillian Charles-Gollop, who previously led the bank’s business in that area, at the end of January.

The announcement was made by the bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Mark St. Hill who hailed the appointment of Mr. Polius, a seasoned corporate banker, while also praising Charles-Gollop who retires after 34 years with the bank for her “dedicated service to CIBC Caribbean and her unwavering commitment to both clients and team engagement within the Corporate Banking segment across the region.”

Mr. Polius is currently serving as Head of Country for the bank’s Barbados business where he oversees the bank’s national operations including financial performance, regulatory relations, market positioning, and strategic leadership across the Barbados business lines such as Corporate Banking, International Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, and Wealth Management.

A Chartered Financial Analyst, he has also served in the Cayman Islands in the role of Senior Credit Manager leading the Cayman team of corporate credit specialists. He was later appointed Director of Corporate Banking, The Bahamas & TCI, where he remained in that capacity prior to assuming the role of Head of Country in Barbados.

Mr. Polius graduated top of his class with an MSc in Finance with Distinction from Warwick Business School and also holds a BSc in Banking and Finance with First Class Honours from the University of the West Indies. 

“We are pleased to welcome Kemar to his new role which brings him back to Corporate Banking. He is a familiar face to many of our corporate clients, and we look forward to his leadership of this segment which we know will redound to the benefit of our clients and the talented team that he will lead.” Pim van der Burg, the bank’s Chief Commercial Officer said.

“The seamless transfer from Gillian to Kemar is testament to the wealth of talent we have at our bank which ensures an uninterrupted superior client experience,” he added.

Commenting on his new role Mr. Polius said: “It is an honor to step into this role and continue to contribute to our company’s success. I am looking forward to serving our clients and working alongside my team to deliver exceptional results for our bank.”

Ends 

CIBC Caribbean 

CIBC Caribbean is a relationship bank offering a full range of market leading financial services through our Corporate Banking, Personal and Business Banking and Private Wealth segments. We are located in ten (10) countries around the Caribbean, providing banking services through approximately 2,700 employees in 41 branches and offices. We are one of the largest regionally listed financial services institutions in the English-speaking Caribbean, with US$13 billion in assets and market capitalization of US$1.7 billion. We also have a representative office in Hong Kong that provides business development and relationship management for our fund administration. The face of banking is changing throughout the world, and CIBC Caribbean intends to lead these changes with the expertise, integrity and knowledge gained from banking in the Caribbean since 1836.

Ongoing news releases and more information about CIBC Caribbean can be found at https://www.cibcfcib.com/about-us/media-centre

CIBC is a leading North American financial institution with 14 million personal banking, business, public sector and institutional clients. Across Personal and Business Banking, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, and Capital Markets, CIBC offers a full range of advice, solutions and services through its leading digital banking network, and locations across Canada, in the United States and around the world. Ongoing news releases and more information about CIBC can be found at www.cibc.com/ca/media-centre.

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