Steve McIntosh

Steve McIntosh’s Success Story is the kind of stuff dreams are made of. A shining example of not only how the Cayman Islands can be an ideal location for business people, but also how one individual can integrate into society and make a long lasting, positive impact in the community. Originally hailing from the west coast of Scotland, Steve is a recovering accountant, HR professional and author of The Employee Value Curve: the unifying theory of HR and career advancement helping companies and their people succeed together.

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Moving to the Cayman Islands in 2001, Steve embarked on a journey of a lifetime that has lead him to experience more adventures then he could have imagined during his over 20 years living the Caribbean dream in what he calls “the best place on the planet to raise a family…”

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A chartered accountant (ICAEW) and HR professional (GPHR) by trade, Steve began his career with KPMG in the United Kingdom and transferred to the Cayman Islands in 2001. In 2004, he founded CML Recruitment Cayman Islands, and Steve and his team set out to become a different kind of recruitment firm, one run by professionals, for professionals. Since then, CML has grown to become the trusted recruitment, immigration services and HR consulting partner to many of the Cayman Islands’ best known professional, legal and IT firms.

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With the mission to help clients build great teams and to help candidates build great careers, CML has had a profound impact on every client they have worked with.

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An active member of the Cayman Islands business and professional community, Mr. McIntosh serves and has served in a number of leadership roles including the Chamber of Commerce Council, Forbes Coach Council and various government boards relating to employment, immigration and good governance.

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When asked why he loves life in Cayman… ”I came from Glasgow in Scotland so initially was the warm weather that appealed the most to me. Over the years the novelty of fine weather has worn off a bit, but now as a busy founder and parent, I’ve found Cayman is the best place on the planet to raise a family.  It’s safe, there’s plenty for kids to do, there’s no commute. Not having a commute really becomes a benefit, because rather than wasting hundreds of hours a year commuting you can spend that time with your family.”

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Through the years Steve’s outreach has grown along with his natural talent for bringing out the potential in others. “About 10 years ago I realised the big difference between the people who are successful and the people who are left behind is not that successful people are super hard working, or super intelligent, or amazing with people, it’s that they know how to ‘play the game’. The skills of the game of career advancement can be taught and learned like any other skill. 

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So, I came up with a way to explain how career advancement works and began presenting it in workshops. For years I did this as a passion project, but I realised that this was the part of my job that I loved the most… When I decided to move on from recruitment this is what I decided I wanted to spend my time doing; something that could be scaled and have a really positive impact on the world.” 

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Following his passion, in October 2020 Steve founded virtual coaching platform CareerPoint.com

with the goal of helping a million young people advance, and leveling the playing field

for historically disadvantaged groups.  CareerPoint’s unique industry-agnostic coaching methodology helps ambitious early and mid-career employees understand how they create value, how to increase it, and how the value the create drives their career advancement.  18 months in, the company has grown to 80 coaches with clients around the globe in industry sectors including oil and gas, energy, financial services and professional services.

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Summing up why founding a global company like CareerPoint through Cayman Enterprise City (CEC) was an ideal strategy to setup a business, Steve says, “Cayman is an easy sell for recruiting talent, we have so much to offer anyone from anywhere in the world that it’s a great way for a company to set itself apart from the competition. In the war for talent, basing yourself in Cayman means you can not only hire anyone from anywhere, but make a very compelling value proposition to them as an employee. Because moving here you have this fantastic life; weather, there’s no tax, and real short commutes. It’s the pitch I’ve been making to professional candidates for years and it’s all true. I have a long-standing association with CEC, and when I decided to start a tech-enabled company in August 2020, it was a no-brainer and I signed right up”.

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Today, Steve is the CEO of Cayman Finance, the Association of the Cayman Islands Financial Services Industry.