In the face of rapid economic, demographic, and technological shifts, Caribbean business leaders today navigate an environment marked by both promising growth opportunities and unprecedented challenges. From the pressing demands of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) imperatives to the dual-edged influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the scope of leadership has expanded dramatically.

The declining birth rate and population growth across the region highlight an urgent demographic challenge. With aging populations, high emigration, and shifting family structures, the region faces a shrinking labour pool and a gradual transformation in consumer demand. Business leaders must re-evaluate strategies, invest in automation, attract talent creatively, and engage policymakers to build a resilient future.

Additionally, the adoption of advanced technologies, particularly AI, brings competitive advantages but also new cybersecurity risks that require robust protections and forward-thinking regulation. These pressures demand that companies adapt and safeguard their operations while responsibly implementing AI to build trust and ensure long-term sustainability.

This edition of Businessuite Top 100 delves into these critical issues with insights and actionable strategies, from innovative ESG practices to future-proofing operations amid demographic shifts and technological advancements. With contributions from top Caribbean firms, we explore how businesses can lead effectively in an era of constant change, underscoring the resilience, adaptability, and forward vision that the Caribbean’s business landscape needs now more than ever.

Businessuite remains committed to supporting Caribbean business leaders as they shape sustainable growth and inclusive prosperity for the region.

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Mr. Ian Mitchell has been the Chief Executive Officer of National Flour Mills Limited since February 31, 2021. Mr. Mitchell was previously employed as the Managing Director of Ansa Polymer, is an Engineer by profession with experience in the manufacturing sector of Trinidad and Tobago.

Mr. Mitchell holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Finance and an International MBA from the Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business.

National Flour Mills Limited (NFM)

National Flour Mills Limited (NFM) was incorporated in 1972 and over the years has been recognised as the leader in flour milling feed milling and dry mix operations throughout Trinidad and Tobago.

NFM has emerged from the pandemic stronger and more resilient than before. Plagued by challenges emanating from the global environment, NFM focused its efforts on developing its human capacity, restructuring the organisation and improving its processes. As a result,
NFM achieved a 63.6% increase in Gross Profit from $93M in 2022 to $152M in 2023.

Operating Profit increased by 376% from $12.4M to $59.3M year on year, and Profit after tax increased to $35.5M from $6.9M in 2022.

These significant improvements could only have been achieved through the synergies among processes, people and equipment. In pursuit of our purpose, ‘To Feed Our Caribbean Families’, our strategic initiatives continued to focus on our two strategic pillars of improving profitability through productivity and growth through innovation. In service of improving profitability through productivity, efforts were expended on restructuring the organisation to create a more agile workforce. We moved away from jobs that were highly specialised to roles that embrace and reward multiskilling and flexibility.

To complement this process, the performance management system is being re-engineered, and this process will continue in 2024 to ensure that team members are held accountable and fairly rewarded for their efforts. This will now allow the organisation to continue to attract the top-level talent that is needed to deliver a very ambitious and exciting strategy.

Our ability to continue to aggressively grow our profitability is contingent on our ability to further develop, attract and retain top-level talent. There has been a careful mix of new talent with existing up-and-coming talent from within the organisation. This blend is what we consider to be the winning formula.

Training and development have always represented a significant area of focus and investment for NFM, and in 2023, we went further by implementing a Graduate Trainee Programme. This programme offers an opportunity for talented young graduates to gain on-the-job professional experience. Graduates of this Programme would certainly contribute in a meaningful way to the sector, if not directly to NFM, in the not-too-distant future.

Oliver Townsend is the Chief Executive Officer of Knutsford Express Limited. Mr. Townsend has served in the Tourism and Service Sector for over 26 years in various management capacities including those that involved marketing locally and overseas. His career began in Caribic Vacations, a family-owned destination management company, where he served as Director of Transport and CEO.

He also serves as Director of Caribic Vacations Limited. Mr. Townsend holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the New York Institute of Technology, as well as an MBA from the Florida International University.

Knutsford Express Limited – We Are Excited About The Future Of Our Company

Knutsford Express began changing the way you travel on June 1, 2006, and our mission has always been to provide world-class service to our customers. Whether you’re taking one of our coaches for a trip across the island, or need to send a package locally or overseas, we’ve got you covered.

We now serve 18 major towns in Jamaica, including connections to both major International airports in the country, Norman Manley International Airport and The Donald Sangster International Airport.

Our offices are located in convenient spots islandwide so that we can be there for you, whether you’re an individual or an organization.

We’re always striving to improve our services, and now, we even offer online shipping services, airport shuttle services, and pickup services for select locations. If you sign up for a Courier Plus account, you can access even more KE benefits and take advantage of our competitive and affordable rates.

The trends in travel that we observed in the latter period of the prior financial year has held true, as travel has returned with a groundswell. The upsurge or return seems sustained and Jamaica’s Pax arrival figures continue to outpace trends and keep breaking records.

Being considered Jamaica’s premier island-wide transport solution, coupled with the aforementioned trend continues to reinforce the extraordinary responsibility, privilege and expectation to improve our customers’ lives. In a challenging environment we are dedicated to nurturing this trust through undiminished efforts in maintaining and improving our level of safety, reliability and convenience.

We have in this period, set into motion solutions including the ordering of several premium double decker and full-sized coaches equipped with toilets, charging points, and other Knutsford Express conveniences. In an effort to add convenience to the lives of our customers we have begun development of innovations that will truly streamline the process of booking and checking into trips to reduce wait times at our stations.

Profitability
Net profit has increased to a record three hundred and four million dollars ($304M) from seventy eighty million dollars ($78M). The operational transport efficiencies gained in the post-covid era continue to serve us well.

Our departure frequency and schedule management have generated higher efficiencies in fleet utilization. This has helped us to contain our overall expenses to one billion three hundred twenty-eight million dollars ($1,328M) an increase of three hundred forty-nine million dollars ($349m) or 35.6% over the previous period. These costs were driven mainly by a 59.6% increase in staff costs in response to increase customer demand.

The strong transportation demand also led to increases in other direct transport costs. As expected fuel costs climbed by 44.4% to two hundred seventeen million dollars ($217M) from one hundred fifty-one million dollars ($151M) over the previous financial year followed by a 36.1% increase in toll fees which totalled forty-seven million dollars ($47M) up from thirty-five million dollars a year ago. As fuel prices hover around new historic highs and toll passage fees continue to keep pace, it is precisely these circumstances that continue to affect motorists’ pockets that serve to boost our passenger ridership.

Other notable increases are from combined utility costs which rose 29% in this period to sixty-six million dollars ($66M) up from fifty-one million ($51M) in the financial year 2022.

Telephone costs (which include internet costs) have risen significantly and has been driven largely by customers’ shift in buying patterns towards online bookings and the more convenient digital solutions. Growing bandwidth has its own attendant costs, but we know that the impact will be diminished over time as increasingly more of our revenue will be derived from the virtual platform.

Regular electricity and water utility costs have increased as we strive to satisfy our travelling customers and our team in the comfortable surroundings of all of our locations in the face of increased global temperatures.

CIBC FirstCaribbean is a relationship bank offering a full range of market leading financial services through our Corporate and Investment Banking, Personal and Business Banking and Wealth Management segments. We are located in twelve (12) countries around the Caribbean, providing banking services through approximately 2,700 employees in 48 branches and offices.

We are one of the largest regionally listed financial services institutions in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean, with US$13 billion in assets and market capitalization of US$1.6 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 FirstCaribbean intends to lead these changes with the expertise, integrity and knowledge gained from banking in the Caribbean since 1836.

Leadership

Brian McDonough Chair of the Board
Brian was previously the Executive Vice-President, CRO Global Credit Risk Management, at the Bank’s parent company, CIBC. He led CIBC’s Corporate and Commercial Adjudication globally and was responsible for assessment, adjudication and monitoring of credit risk in Wholesale Banking and Commercial Banking for CIBC.

Brian joined CIBC in 1983, has held various senior positions in Risk Management, and was appointed to the position of Executive Vice-President, Wholesale Credit and Investment Risk Management in July 2008.

He is a graduate of McGill University, University of Alberta and University of Toronto

Mark St. Hill Chief Executive Officer
Prior to this, Mark was appointed Managing Director, Retail & Business Banking in May 2013 where he had responsibility for the development and growth of CIBC First Caribbean’s Retail & Business Banking operations including the Bank’s cards issuing business.

Previous to his appointment as Managing Director, Retail & Business Banking, Mark was the Barbados Country Manager and Managing Director of CIBC FirstCaribbean’s Barbados Operating Company. Previous to that he was the Director, International Banking with responsibility for the leadership and development of the International Banking (Personal & Corporate) offering across the six centers in The Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman, Curacao and Turks and Caicos Islands.

An experienced banker with 33 years in various positions spanning Insurance Brokerage, Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Credit Risk, International Banking and Wealth Management, Mark has also held senior management positions in several countries in the Caribbean such as Grenada, British Virgin Islands and Barbados.

Mark is a Fellow of the British Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, a graduate of the FirstCaribbean Executive Leadership Program with Wharton Business School and has also completed the Master’s Certificate Program in Financial Services Leadership in conjunction with Schulich School of Business and CIBC. He is also the President of the Barbados Hockey Federation.

CIBC Caribbean Bank Limited – Transforming Itself Into The Region’s Premier Multi-Channel Financial Services Institution

2023 has seen significant change for CIBC FirstCaribbean. Our bank has delivered on its strategy of transforming itself into the region’s premier multi-channel financial services institution, as it prepares itself for growth in the coming years.

Today, its operational success and achievements are to be celebrated, while looking forward to the next exciting phase. The divestitures which the bank has completed in the past year, with sales of its assets in St. Vincent and Grenada to Bank of St. Vincent & Grenadines and Grenada Co-operative Bank Limited respectively, and its exit from Dominica, are part of the Bank’s revised focus on 10 key markets, which will help it to achieve its stated goal of providing banking service to its clients in a variety of formats, from creative digital solutions via mobile devices, to in branch client service and financial advice.

The two final divestitures in the Dutch Caribbean islands of St. Maarten and Curaçao, which were announced at the end of the fiscal year and are subject to regulatory approval, complete the bank’s right-sizing phase, and herald a renewed focus on growth in our core
markets. Your board is fully supportive of these plans, as it believes the focusing on our 10 key markets represents the best way forward to achieve our long-term growth and success of our Bank.

The Bank delivered a strong financial performance for the fiscal year as we continued to execute our client-centric strategy focused on deepening client relationships, enhancing our digital banking offerings, simplifying operations and investing in our people. Our strategic investments are creating a strong foundation for future growth and optimization of resources across our strategic business segments.

For the year ended October 31, 2023, the Bank reported net income of $269.9 million, up $93.5 million or 53% from the prior year’s net income of $176.4 million. Adjusted net income was $267.0 million, after excluding net gains of $2.9 million related to the previously announced divestitures compared with adjusted net income1 of $186.9 million at the end of 2022.

The year’s significantly improved results were largely due to the revenue uplift from higher US benchmark interest rates in our primary US dollar denominated operating companies in the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands. As the regional economies continued to recover
from the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, transaction-based operating income returned to normalized levels, improving over the year.

While the high interest rate environment has improved margins in 2023, loan growth has been moderate in line with costlier debt and clients’ debt management strategies. Deposit growth has also slowed, as some client inflows have been directed towards alternate investment products or debt repayment. In 2024, a softer pace for economic growth and sustained inflation levels are likely to have broad implications across our strategic business units. However, even with some fluidity in the economic outlook, we are confident we can build on our momentum and drive strategic long-term growth.

GraceKennedy Limited (GK)
GK is a publicly listed company on the stock exchanges of Jamaica and the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago. Our Company was founded on February 14, 1922, and is the parent company of a group of subsidiaries operating mainly in the food and financial services sectors – the GraceKennedy Group (or GK Group).

Our Group’s operations are structured into two divisions:
• Food (GK Foods): Our food division is engaged in manufacturing, distribution, and retail.
We manufacture Grace and Grace-owned brands, along with third-party brands at our manufacturing facilities in Jamaica and the UK. We distribute our Grace and Grace-owned brands throughout Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, including Belize and Guyana, as well as in Canada, the USA, the UK, and Europe.

In Jamaica, we also distribute products for several major international food brands, and we are engaged in retail through our supermarket chain.

Financial Services (GraceKennedy Financial Group): Our financial division offers a range of services for businesses and individuals across the Caribbean and the Caribbean diaspora globally. It includes commercial and merchant banking; investment and advisory services; general, creditor life and health insurance; insurance brokerage; and money services, including remittance, cambio and bill payment services.

Our Vision
We have bold ambitions for the future of GK, and we are committed to making our vision a reality. Our 2030 vision sees GraceKennedy becoming the number one Caribbean brand in the world with 70% of our revenues and profits earned outside of Jamaica. Notwithstanding a tough global economic climate characterised by high inflation and geopolitical unrest, we made significant strides towards achieving this vision in 2023.

Leadership:

Prof. Gordon Shirley, OJ Chairman
Professor Gordon Shirley is the Chairman of GraceKennedy Limited and GraceKennedy Foods (USA) LLC. He has been a member of the Board of Directors since 1996 and previously served as Chair of the Corporate Governance & Nomination Committee, and a member of the Audit Committee.

Professor Shirley is currently the President and CEO of the Port Authority of Jamaica. He has also served as Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States of America and Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States and has had a distinguished academic career at The University of the West Indies serving as the Carlton Alexander Professor of Management, Executive Director of the School of Business and as Pro Vice Chancellor and Principal of the Mona Campus.

He has also served as the Executive Chairman of the Jamaica Public Service Company and has been a board member of several public and private sector entities.

He holds an MBA and a Doctorate in Business Administration from Harvard University and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from The University of the West Indies.

He has been conferred with the honour of the Order of Jamaica.

Don Wehby, OJ Group CEO, GraceKennedy Limited

On July 1, 2011, Mr. Don Wehby was appointed Group Chief Executive Officer of GraceKennedy Limited. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Wehby held the position of Group Chief Operating Officer from October 5, 2009.

Mr. Wehby first joined GraceKennedy Ltd. in 1995 as Group Finance Manager. He was appointed Deputy Finance Director in 1997 and in that same year was appointed to the Board of Directors of GraceKennedy Ltd. The following year, he was appointed Group Chief Financial Officer and in 1999 undertook the additional role of Chief Operating Officer for the Financial Services Division. In addition, he was charged with the responsibility for leading the Group’s local and international expansion especially as this relates to banking, investments, and insurance services. He has directed the listing of the company in Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange sited in St. Kitts. Under his leadership, GraceKennedy acquired 100% ownership of First Global Bank Ltd., now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.

During his tenure as Chief Operating Officer of the Financial Services Division, the division’s pre-tax profit rose from $280 million in 2000 to $1.417 billion in 2005, an increase of 406 %. Additionally, under his leadership (as Group Chief Executive Officer) the GraceKennedy Group achieved recording breaking results for the financial year ended December 31, 2020. This represented the Company’s best financial performance in its 99-year history.

He is also a director of several of GraceKennedy’s Boards including chairman of First Global Holdings, GK Foods & Services Limited, GraceKennedy Money Services SRL, Canopy Insurance Limited, Key Insurance Company Limited and Deputy Chair of Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation.

Mr. Wehby is currently New Zealand’s Honorary Consul to Jamaica, following his appointment in September 2015. In September 2020 Mr. Wehby was reappointed to the Senate allowing him to continue his service to Jamaica and his contribution to nation-building. Mr. Wehby is also a former Chairman of JAMPRO a role he served in since April 2016 up to his resignation in July 2022. On October 16, 2017, Mr. Wehby received the Order of Distinction (Commander Class) for his sterling contribution to both the public and private sectors. He is also the Chairman of the Finance Commission for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston following his appointment on August 2019.

A Fellow Chartered Accountant, Mr. Wehby holds both a Bachelor of Science (Hons.) and a Master of Science degree in Accounting from The University of the West Indies and has completed an Advanced Management College certificate course at Stanford University. Mr. Wehby is married with three children. He is an avid cricket fan and a member of the Kingston Cricket Club GraceKennedy is now a US$1 billion company.
2023 was a good year for GraceKennedy. For the first time in our history, we surpassed the US$1 billion revenue mark, a significant milestone in our journey towards becoming a US$2.1 billion company by 2030.

“We are championing improvement and innovation across our business, and remain dedicated to serving the needs of our customer at the highest standard.”

2023 was a year of significant growth for GK, marked by record-breaking revenue of $155.0 billion, an increase of 9.5% or $13.4 billion over the corresponding period in 2022. With this result, we achieved a significant milestone, exceeding the US$1 billion revenue mark, demonstrating progress towards our 2030 vision of becoming a US$2.1 billion company.

Profit before other income was $7.5 billion, a $1.1 billion or 17.9% increase compared to prior year; while profit before tax (PBT) was $11.4 billion, 11.0% or $1.1 billion higher. Net profit was $8.4 billion, an increase of $0.8 billion or 10.0% when compared to the prior year.

Total assets grew by $23.3 billion to $219.5 billion, while total liabilities grew by $16.5 billion to $136.2 billion. Capital comprised shareholders’ equity of $79.1 billion and non-controlling interests of $4.2 billion, compared to 2022, when shareholders’ equity was $72.6 billion and non-controlling interest was $3.8 billion. Return on equity was 10.3%, a slight improvement compared to 2022, while earnings per share grew from $7.11 to $7.86.

2023 was characterized by high interest rates, and higher costs across our supply chain and distribution channels. High global inflation also limited the disposable income of remittance customers in our sending markets, leading to reduced foreign currency inflows to Jamaica, which adversely impacted the performance of our remittance business. Despite challenges, GK continued to thrive due to our strategic diversification in both business and geography, resulting in a robust financial performance.

GK earns from four operating segments: Food, Banking & Investments, Insurance, and Money Services. In 2023, revenue increased across three out of four segments, led by strong growth in Insurance. Our Insurance segment saw the biggest percentage increase in revenue, followed by our Banking & Investments and Food segments.

Money Services recorded a decline in revenue. Profitability results were mixed, with our Insurance segment showing impressive growth and our Food segment experiencing solid gains. Money Services and Banking & Investments recorded reduced profits.

GK’s vision of being a global consumer group includes achieving 70% of our revenue outside Jamaica by 2030. In 2023, we generated 42.7% of our revenue outside Jamaica. North America accounted for 24.5% of our total revenue, compared to 26.2% in 2022. European markets, including the UK, contributed 11.6% of total revenue in 2023.