Leadership profile – Junior Jabbie, Banneker Supply Chain Solutions

by Ann Clanton, Contributing Writer – “Speak Up”

An unforeseen opportunity in Covid-19 times…

Promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer, by Banneker Industries Founder, Cheryl Snead, several years prior to her untimely passing in early 2018, Junior Jabbie balances the legacy with his own vision for the supply chain company.

A Bryant University graduate (he received his undergraduate and Masters in Business Administration) Jabbie’s ascension to the position began a decade and a half ago. He has served in several capacities including Executive Manager of Corporate Operations and Executive Manager of Business Development and Customer Relationships.

A member of the 2018 Providence Business News “40 Under 40” class and an in-demand community and corporate board member, he gives of his time on issues that are important to the woman, Cheryl Snead, who brought him on as an intern years ago.

Today, as the Chief Executive Officer, Junior says, “the role of chief motivator to the Banneker Team is particularly difficult during this time of COVID -19. A team that consists of 100 operational, sales and administrative staff at the North Smithfield headquarters, with warehouses in North Kingstown and Indiana. Figuring out how to keep them motivated during Covid-19 when for many of the staff their work life is more stable than their homelife. For many, he adds, “the Banneker salary is the only family income”.

While he acknowledges COVID-19 can be difficult for many during this time, he also sees the pandemic as an opportunity for Rhode Island’s 2020 graduates entering the workforce. “College kids have an easier time having grown up with technology”. He does advise them that when meeting potential employers, you must differentiate yourself from other candidates by being involved outside of your college coursework.

Banneker Supply Chain is committed to being a good community partner, just as they are to customer service. The GenX CEO says that when it comes to social justice issues like the George Floyd case, “we should always have a response”. While corporations are not monolithic in their response, corporations, he says, “should be cognizant of issues of inequality among LGBT and people of color (POL)”.

Jabbie serves on the Board of Directors for Delta Dental of RI, the Northern RI Chamber of Commerce, the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association, the United Way of Rhode Island, and the American Heart Association Southern New England. He is also a Member of the RI Commodores and serves on the Strategic Planning Committee for SENEDIA.

Clearly the decision to bring aboard intern Junior Jabbie was the right one. It has led to Banneker Supply Chain being nurtured and growing, yet maintaining the values of its founder.

Under Junior Jabbie’s leadership the Banneker Foundation was established in 2019 to provide scholarships and resources for the causes of importance to Cheryl Snead.

To learn more about the Banneker Foundation contact the supply chain’s northern Rhode Island headquarters. You can also learn more at their website: https://banneker.com/

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Ann-Allison Clanton was born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island. As principle of Ann Clanton Communications, Ann has more than two decades of experience as a communications and public affairs consultant. She has written features and profiles articles for the Providence American Newspaper and Ethnic Online Magazine.

Among the notable persons interviewed include former U. S. Ambassador Andrew Young, Dr. Cornell West, former Florida Congressman Allen West (R-FL) and Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey Circus first African American Ringmaster, Johnathan Lee Iverson.

Ann is the founder of the Rhode Island Black Film Festival and a founding member of the Southern New England Association of Black Journalists.