“When the straight path bends, and the real lessons finally appear.”
In the second instalment of our Letters to My Younger Self series, Jackie Namara, a Chartered Marketer, reflects on a life and career that has spanned more than 25 years across financial services, FMCG, telecoms, education, and health.
She is a corporate governance expert, seasoned board director, mentor, and co-founder of SugarCUBES.
Today, she is recognised as one of Uganda’s most influential strategy and marketing leaders.
She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM-UK), a certified Company Director (IOD UK), and a trainer with the Learning & Performance Institute.
Her imprint is woven across some of Uganda’s most prominent brands. From Unilever and Uganda Breweries to Airtel, Stanbic Bank, and Vodafone, she led strategic teams, shaped markets, strengthened governance, and championed customer-centric growth.
But beyond the professional excellence lies another equally defining layer: Jackie is a builder of leaders.
That is through her work as a mentor and business coach with Transformation Business Network, Project Girls4Girls, and Shona Accelerator.
It is also through her service on boards in ICT, financial services, agribusiness, and advisory sectors.
And through SugarCUBES; the diabetes support and advocacy group she co-founded.
She has become a quiet force for empowerment, resilience, and community.
Her reflections carry the weight of someone who has navigated reinvention, boundary-setting, service, and profound personal transformation while maintaining her integrity and compassion
“Hey you… I can see you so clearly, standing there with that brand-new MBA.”
Jackie begins her letter by painting a vivid image of her younger self. One who was ambitious, prepared, and certain that her career would unfold in a straight line.
“You’ve got your whole career mapped out, a straight line to what you think of as success.”
And indeed, the early years validated that confidence.
“You will spend years at incredible companies: Unilever, Uganda Breweries, Airtel, Vodafone and nearly a decade at Stanbic Bank.”
“You will receive awards and recognition, feeling the validation of corporate excellence.”
But the purpose of her letter is not to celebrate what she already knows — it is to warn her about what she cannot yet see.
“I want to prepare you for the detours.”
Jackie acknowledges that her younger self expected the path to rise smoothly.
“You’re ready to build brands and chase targets, and you will be good at it. You will thrive.”
Yet the real learning, she says, lies elsewhere.
“I want to talk to you about the detours, the moments that will redefine that straight line you’ve so carefully drawn.”
These detours include the risks she hesitated to take.
“There were risks you will hesitate to take, especially opportunities that seemed just outside your comfort zone.”
“The truth is, real growth lies where certainty ends.”
Her shift from corporate marketing to boardroom strategy would be one such leap.
“Shifting from established corporate marketing to boardroom strategy and governance will seem daunting, but ultimately it will make you more adaptable and impactful.”
“Sometimes the boldest move is to say ‘no’”
Jackie confesses that in her early years, she struggled to set limits.
“When you shy away from saying no, you will take on too much out of fear of letting others down.”
Learning to assert boundaries became a defining moment in her growth.
“It may not be apparent now, but sometimes the boldest move is to assert your own limits and say ‘no’ when it matters.”
Burnout, self-worth & the work of recalibrating identity
Jackie warns her younger self about the dangers of unchecked ambition.
“Ambition is a blessing, but unchecked, it can lead you down the road to exhaustion.”
As she grew into senior corporate leadership, she learned that identity must not hinge on performance.
“Your value is intrinsic — not dependent on your last campaign’s success nor the title on your business card.”
She offers a calm but urgent message about burnout: “The first blow of burnout is often invisible — don’t wait for collapse to reset.”
Her remedy?
“Invest in rest, mentorship, and ongoing self-reflection.”
“In resilience, find not just endurance, but the grace to pivot, seek support, and still show up for others.”
She emphasises the importance of relationships:
Letters to My Younger Self: What Uganda’s CEOs and Professionals Wish They Knew at the Start“The support of family, friends and community, both at work and at home, will be one of your greatest anchors.”
“Success will feel different.”
As her career progressed, Jackie’s understanding of success transformed dramatically.
“In time, success will feel different. It’ll be quieter, yet more resonant.”
She lists what success eventually becomes:
“Success will be seeing a social enterprise thrive because of your guidance on the board.”
“It’ll be mentoring young women and seeing the spark of leadership ignite in their eyes.”
“It’ll be using your voice and experience in a volunteer organisation to serve communities in Uganda and Tanzania.”
“Success will no longer be just about building brands, but about building people and building futures.”
“The real risk—the one I wish you took sooner—is betting on yourself.”
Despite a celebrated corporate career, Jackie admits she waited too long to leap into self-belief.
“It will take you over two decades to leave the comfort of a high-level corporate role and build something of your own.”
She eventually founded Iguru Consults and co-founded SugarCUBES, but…
“A part of you will wonder why you waited.”
Her message is unmistakable: “Don’t be so afraid to step away from the perceived safety of a title.
Your greatest assets are not your position on an organisational chart, but your resilience and your vision — and these are portable.”
Regret, redirection & revelation
Jackie admits her regrets live in moments of hesitation.
“Regret will lie in the times you let fear of failure delay your learning. The hesitation to speak up, to challenge the status quo more boldly, to embrace vulnerability sooner.”
Her most profound revelation arrived through a deeply personal experience: her child’s diabetes diagnosis.
“It will shatter your sense of control, forcing you to rebuild from compassion and realistic optimism.”
“The foundation of SugarCUBES will not just be a solution — it will be healing for yourself and others.”
“It will teach you how shared vulnerability is the bedrock of community.”
SugarCUBES is a diabetes education and support community that Jackie co-founded after her son’s diagnosis.
It was a moment she describes as shattering her sense of control and forcing her to rebuild from compassion and realistic optimism.
What began as a mother searching for answers became a safe space for families navigating the fear, complexity, and emotional weight of diabetes.
The SugarCUBES community is grounded in the belief Jackie articulates so clearly: that shared vulnerability is the bedrock of real community.
It offers education, practical guidance, emotional support, and a sense of belonging to parents, caregivers, and individuals living with diabetes.
And for Jackie, it has been as much a source of healing as it has been a channel for giving. It is a place where leadership is not about strategy or targets, but empathy, service, and human connection.
“If I could whisper one lasting piece of advice…”
Jackie closes with a beautiful, grounding message to her younger self: “Relish the journey; both the triumphs and the trials.”
“Hold your ambition with humility.”
“Don’t be afraid to rest or to redirect.”
“Trust your inner compass and find strength in community.”
“It is not always about reaching the top, but about the lives you touch, the leaders you help to bloom, and the resilience you nurture within and around you.”
What the journey finally reveals
Jackie says that the most important lessons rarely come from achievement. But from the moments that force you to pause, question, and choose yourself.
She wishes she had learned earlier that saying no is not rebellion. It is clarity. That boundaries are not walls; they are guardrails that protect what matters.
And that the boldest risk is not taking a new job or entering a new industry, but finally trusting that your own gifts are strong enough to stand on their own.
She reflects that stepping away from the safety of corporate titles to build Iguru Consult and co-create SugarCUBES was when she finally understood the advice she had avoided for years: bet on yourself, and do it sooner.
The real turning point was not in the roles she held, but in realising that her greatest value lay in her perspective. It was in her discipline, and her belief in meaningful work.
She concludes that vulnerability, once feared, becomes the doorway to deeper leadership.
The experience of raising a child with a chronic condition and transforming that journey into a support community through SugarCUBES taught her that strength is not found in perfection.
That strength is in honesty, empathy, and presence. Community became her anchor; service became her compass.
She learned that success feels different when it is measured not in applause but in impact. It is in the women she mentors, in the leaders she helps grow, and in the people who find courage because she spoke openly about her own detours.
And so her final message to her younger self is simple: your rise will matter, but what will matter more is how many others rise because you did.
