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.