Distinguished business leader, Mark Myers, has been appointed the new Board Chairman of Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO).

The announcement was made by the Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, who noted that Mr. Myers will bring a wealth of experience as a seasoned business leader, having already made significant contributions to the economy.

“His appointment as Chairman of JAMPRO is fitting, as it strategically aligns with our Ministry’s vision to elevate Jamaica’s export, investment, manufacturing and service capabilities. Together, we are focused on propelling substantial growth in export revenues, attracting local and foreign investments to the Jamaican economy, and generating valuable employment opportunities within our nation,” Senator Hill told JIS News.

For his part, the Board Chairman expressed his enthusiasm, noting: “I am deeply honoured to step into the role of Chairman at JAMPRO, an organisation I have been proud to serve as a Board member in the past.”

Mr. Myers added that “working closely with the new President, Shullette Cox, the full Board, and the entire JAMPRO team, I believe we are well positioned to refocus on the organisation’s core mandate – to promote exports and investments – as we seek to bolster Jamaica’s economic growth and drive Jamaica’s business brand in the international marketplace”.

Prior to his new role, Mr. Myers has had a profound impact on Jamaica’s economic landscape, helping to shape the dynamics of commerce within the country.

His dedication to driving growth, innovation, and social impact underscores his unwavering commitment to national development.

In addition to his corporate leadership roles, he has been extensively involved in civic organisations and has served on distinguished Boards, including the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, Jamaica Observer, and the Bank of Jamaica.

Mr. Myers’ appointment follows that of former Board Chairman, Melanie Subratie.

The 14 members of the Board at JAMPRO are Board Chairman, Mark Myers; Deputy Chairman, Hon. Ian Levy, and members Yoni Epstein, Max Jardim, Delano Seiveright, Taneisha Ingleton, Vinay Walia, Christopher McPherson, Opal Whyte, Kevin O’Brien Chang, L. Robert Honeyghan, Michelle Lawe, Deveta McLaren, and Jo-Anne Archibald.

Guardian Holdings Limited (“GHL”) wishes to advise that at a meeting of the Board of Directors held on 4th August, 2023, Mr. Robert Almeida was appointed Chairman of GHL’s Board of Directors effective 4th August, 2023. Mr. Almeida joined the Board in 2019 as an Investor, Business Executive and a Director. As an investor, he is a Founding Partner of Portland Private Equity, a leading manager of private equity funds focused on the Caribbean and Latin American region and a Director, Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Portland Investment Counsel Inc., which is a regulated Investment Fund Manager in Canada. Mr. Almeida succeeds Mr. Hylton and the Group wishes to take this opportunity to profoundly thank the former Chairman, Mr. Hylton, for his invaluable contribution during his tenure. It is with great pleasure that we welcome Mr. Almeida as the Chairman of Guardian Holdings Limited.

NCB Financial Group Limited (NCBFG) has announced that the Board of Directors has, on July 20, 2023, approved the following appointments subject to regulatory review:

Mr Robert Almeida as Interim Group Chief Executive Officer. Mr Almeida is currently a director of NCBFG, National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCBJ), Guardian Holdings Limited and Clarien Bank Limited. He helped launch AIC Caribbean Fund and is a Managing Partner of Portland Private Equity. He is an accomplished business person with a strong background in corporate strategy and operations. He was formerly an executive at Loblaw Companies, Canada’s largest retailer, and led the creation of a direct bank at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. He has served on the boards of Columbus International and Advantage General, and is currently on the board of the National Commercial Bank of Jamaica.

Mr Malcolm Sadler as Interim Group Chief Financial Officer and will continue also as Chief Financial Officer of NCBJ.

Malcolm Sadler was appointed Chief Financial Officer of National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited in August 2019. Mr. Sadler has over 25 years of experience as an accounting professional and was a senior finance manager within the company for over a decade prior to taking up the role as Chief Financial Officer.

As Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Sadler has oversight responsibility for financial and regulatory reporting, tax compliance and overall financial performance management for National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited.

Mr. Sadler serves on a number of management committees and subsidiary Boards within the NCB Group as well as on the Learning Council of the organisation’s Corporate Learning Campus. He is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

The Board also approved the appointment of Mr Bruce Bowen as Special Advisor to the Interim Group Chief Executive Officer.

Bruce Bowen is best known in the Caribbean for his 26 year career with Scotiabank in their International Banking Division. Between 2013-2016, he held the role of Senior Vice President – Caribbean and was responsible for operations across 20 countries. Over his 5 years as CEO of Scotia Group Jamaica (2008-2013), he established the Group as the most profitable publicly listed company in Jamaica, growing market share in retail mortgage and commercial lending, life insurance sales and mutual funds (unit trust) under his management. Bruce has a notably successful track record leading large, complex financial service companies throughout diverse international markets.

As a respected leader and trusted advisor across the Caribbean, he has participated in a number of national initiatives, private sector associations and charitable organisations such as the American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad & Tobago (Chairman), Junior Achievement Jamaica (Chairman) and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (Director).

The statement reads:

“Ladies and gentlemen we have noted certain comments in the media and wish to make some clarifying comments. In addition, we have been receiving numerous calls and queries from members of the media. Our first inclination was to ignore these comments but we are being deluged with messages and phone calls from family members, concerned persons internal to NCB, in our local society and from persons overseas. As you will appreciate we are professionals who have carefully built our careers and our reputation over decades of service in the sector in general and at NCB in particular. We have established a stellar record of performance over those years which speaks for itself. We cannot sit quietly by and allow our integrity to be impugned by speculation and a misinterpretation of the facts and circumstances.

Firstly, we have done nothing wrong where our compensation is concerned. All we have done is accepted payments as approved by the board consequent on our surrender and return to the company of some $13.8 billion of shares which we then owned free and clear in July 2021. The appropriate stock exchange releases were made at the time and it was indicated that the company would be compensating us over time for this act of surrender and return of the shares.

Earlier this year we were asked to consider amendments to our compensation which would reduce the quantum and we made certain proposals in that regard. We were asked to take a look again which we did and we recently presented another set of proposals to result in a deferral of a significant portion of our compensation. The board requested that we look at further adjustments which would hit a particular target. We did so and I verbally shared these proposals with Professor Alvin Wint when he was acting as Chairman. We were scheduled to discuss them with him on Monday morning.

A special board meeting was held on Sunday and we were subsequently informed by Chairman Lee Chin that the board had taken a decision to ask us to go on leave while certain discussions regarding a negotiated separation take place. We agreed to proceed in this manner.

Like so many other persons we have families including siblings, children, friends and professional colleagues. The feedback some of our families and friends have been getting from some of these news reports has caused them undue concern and distress. We do not believe this is fair to us or to them in all the circumstances.”

The former Group Managing Director of NCB Financial Group, Patrick Hylton and his Deputy, Dennis Cohen, say their families and professional colleagues have been left distressed by media coverage of the decision by the Group’s Board, led by Michael Lee Chin to send them on vacation leave.

NCB Financial Group Limited (NCBFG) announces that effective July 18, 2023, the Honourable Patrick Hylton, O.J., C.D. and Mr Dennis Cohen have, by agreement, proceeded unto vacation leave for three weeks. During this period, it is expected that other arrangements will be made for the carrying out of their roles on an interim and then permanent basis. For the immediate future, the Honourable Michael Lee-Chin O.J., Chairman of NCBFG, will carry some executive responsibilities.

NCBFG appreciates the service of Mr Hylton and Mr Cohen to the NCB Financial Group over the past 20 and 19 years, respectively. During the period of their leadership, the Group has grown to attain and maintain record levels of financial performance.

The NCB Financial Group will continue to benefit from its strong overall leadership team, while the financial holding company undergoes the above changes. That leadership team includes Mr Septimus “Bob” Blake, Chief Executive Officer of National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCBJ) who also oversees NCBJ’s subsidiaries, Mr Ian Chinapoo, Group Chief Executive Officer of Guardian Holdings Limited and Mr Ian Truran, Chief Executive Officer of Clarien Bank Limited.