Theresa Lindo: The mother of comebacks

THERESA Lindo has discovered that she has a superpower: to do hard things well and emerge stronger and more successful after each challenge. Not only has she beat two types of breast cancer in the last two years, but she did so on the heels of leading Pure National Limited (PNL), the largest ice manufacturer in the English-speaking Caribbean, through the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as she reaches the pinnacle of a career in conceptualising and incubating businesses to success, Lindo is embracing her next adventure – motherhood.

Lindo speaks unreservedly about her personal and career journey in her office at PNL, where she has served as managing director since the company was born in 2018. Now in her third trimester, she speaks unhurriedly and beams with pride as she reflects on the experiences that have shaped her life so far, and shares her hopes for the future.

Raised in Kingston as the last of three children and only daughter to her parents, Lindo grew up in an environment that exemplified and encouraged entrepreneurship.

“My father owns an air conditioning and refrigeration company, which is now about 45 years old. Interestingly, though, his first business was an ice company, making block ice,” she said. “We were exposed to the hard work, joy, and sometimes pain, of building a business, and that experience shaped all of us.”

While her two brothers, one of whom passed away in 2010, also became entrepreneurs, she is one who found herself following in her father’s footsteps by venturing into the ice-making business. She’s not surprised, however, that she found herself in the field of manufacturing.

“From as early as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to build things. My favourite toys were building blocks—Legos, I could not get enough of them. I played with Barbies, but my favourite part was building out the Barbie city.”

But while she knew what she wanted to do, she could not know the career name for it, especially in a time when students were only exposed to catch-all traditional careers. She pursued a wide range of subjects in the arts and sciences, and after graduating from Wolmer’s Girls’ School, moved overseas for tertiary studies. That’s where she discovered industrial design.

“I was studying mechanical engineering and fine arts at the same time,” she said. “By year two that became very difficult, and my art professor helped me to find the merger of the two fields – industrial design. Once I discovered what it was called, I transferred into the industrial design programme at Georgia Institute of Technology.”

And she loved every moment of the programme. For the first time on her education journey, she felt like her grand ideas were welcome and valued, and learned how they could be applied to develop business from thought to profit. She started her first business, Studio ID8, while she was studying.

“When I moved back to Jamaica in 2010, I was perhaps the only industrial designer in the region. No one really knew what to do with me, so while I was figuring out how to transfer my skills into a marketable position here, I continued with my freelancing and I did packaging and branding for companies,” she recalled.

When the Heart Institute of the Caribbean decided to build out its first medical spa in Jamaica, Lindo was tasked to build it out, and after successfully completing that, she was offered the role of director of operations, which she held for four years.

In 2014 she co-founded Norbrook Water Company, which quickly became Jamaica’s fastest-growing provider of five-gallon spring and purified water. That same year, she also co-founded the company that is now Mailpac Local, which paved the way for Jamaica to begin offering online retailing services. The next few years saw rapid developments for both businesses, and the local economy, which ultimately led to a merger of Pure National Ice, Kingston Ice and Happy Ice, to form PNL in 2018.

“The very early days were very difficult because they were spent merging the two former entities – harmonising two different cultures that were previously competing with each other,” the managing director recalled. “But by the end of 2019 we were very clear on what the business was and how we would work together.”

Then came COVID.

Profits took a nosedive and the business declined by as much as 70 per cent in a matter of weeks, and Lindo and her team had to figure out how to keep PNL afloat with 30 to 50 per cent of its revenue for two and a half years.

“But because of all the work we did back in 2019, once things turned around, we were able to recover quickly to meet the demand, and we were back to being profitable, and the business was doing very well,” Lindo shared.

But as she overcame that mountain, she found herself looking up at another one – breast cancer.

“In 2022, at 38 years old, I was diagnosed with a mammary ductal carcinoma, which is usually the one persons consider to be a death sentence. It’s the one you never want to hear. It’s aggressive, especially if it’s triple negative,” she explained. “Then I got another diagnosis of an adenoid cystic carcinoma, which is a very rare presentation for breast cancer. And because it was such a rare diagnosis, I had to get multiple opinions.”

When another lump was found in the other breast, albeit benign, Lindo opted to remove both breasts.

“In retrospect, it was almost eerie how peaceful and joyous I was through it all, with no doubt about the outcome,” she said serenely. “I’m really happy that I have that ability, and that’s a part of who I am. I am really happy with my ability to do hard things and do them well. I didn’t know it was a super power until it was pointed out to me.”

As a Christian, Lindo thanks God for her fearless spirit, and attributes her resilience to her faith and support network. “There’s a comfort in knowing God the way that I do. In moments of uncertainty, I think of the phrase ‘If He dresses the lilies,’ from Matthew 6:23, and it reminds me that I’m always cared for.”

Her tribe, which consists of family members, treasured friends, and colleagues in her company and industry, have been there with her through all of her setbacks and have celebrated with her in her comebacks.

Most recently, she was honoured as a nominee in two categories at the Jamaica Manufacturers & Exporters Association (JMEA) Awards – Best Generational Leadership and Best Woman-led Business in Manufacturing.

“I never really thought about or sought out being acknowledged by my peers or my work community,” she said. “But having been recognised and nominated, it’s satisfying. It feels good, and I am honoured.”

Even while considering all that she has accomplished, she anticipates that motherhood will be her most celebrated endeavour.

“It honestly feels like a good rounding out of things,” she said happily. “I’m really living every aspect of my life that I’ve intended to have. It’s all coming together. I think, particularly becoming a mother this ‘late’ in my life, I’ve had the opportunity to build my career and have a really good time doing it. I never experienced that tug of war that women often face when wanting to pour as much as possible into their children while trying to advance in their careers.”

As she embraces this new journey, Lindo says she feels like her time is her own, and she’s striking the right balance with all the facets of her life. She is secure in a career that she loves, and is now at a palace where she can also comfortably pour into her family life and parenthood, and reconnect with her love for the visual and performing arts.

And when her daughter is born in a few months, she will know her mother to be a fearless, multifaceted woman who was never afraid to chase her dreams – all of them.

“I want my daughter to know that her mother is unafraid, present, reliable, and a champion for other women,” Lindo said. “Her mother is a friend, sister and daughter who will fight vigorously for those she loves. Her mother will be honest with her, but with love. Her mother is a woman of integrity and pure love.”