JN Directors, Private Sector and Church Pay Tribute
A man who quietly, but actively investigated his roots; a philanthropist, who gave magnanimously to the church; a business leader and futurist with the vision of an eagle; a competitor; a pacifier, a mentor, an advocate and a shy humanitarian; but most of all a friend.
This was the sum total of the character of Oliver Clarke, to directors of the board of The Jamaica National Group and its senior leadership; leaders of the church and confidantes in the private sector, as they paid tribute to him posthumously in a virtual memoriam recently, organised by The Jamaica National Group, where Mr Clarke was chairman.
Led by Earl Jarrett, the chief executive officer of the JN Group, with whom he worked closely for more than two decades, in the shaping and expansion of the mutual organisation, the tributes to Oliver Clarke encompassed his bonds with many; and his contributions to the growth of a nation.
“Oliver was our chairman at The Jamaica National Group. He was an advocate for the people of Jamaica. He ensured that the JN Group understood it’s role to provide financial support to the people of Jamaica, particularly in the areas of housing; and, in more recent years, in small business financing,” Mr Jarrett memorialised the late Chairman, who passed away on May 19 following a valiant battle with cancer.
He continued: “He promoted financial inclusion, long before it became common, and access to financial services for the broad majority.”
“He was also particularly interested in building a bridge between Jamaicans in the diaspora; and he did that through the building society, the bank and JN Money Services, which was created under his watch. Oliver was a champion for the principles of mutuality, meaning that we are all connected; your outcomes are very much connected to my outcomes, and he ensured that Jamaica National never forgot that.”
As a result, the institution was not merely a commercial entity, which gave back to its community as a rote effort; instead the JN Group was entrenched in the society, with a responsibility to ‘develop people who would in turn develop Jamaica.’
“Mutuality went beyond the boundaries of the institution. Therefore, he had a natural interest in safety and security and through his inspiration and encouragement, we invested very heavily in the police in Jamaica. We helped in the recruitment of international police to improve the capacity of the local police force,” Mr Jarrett recalled.
Mr Clarke was also instrumental in the development of the healthcare system, investing through the JN Foundation to improve its capacity and consequently, the outcomes for Jamaicans, in addition to the environment and climate change.
“This is all about mutuality. There is no successful business if there is no environment. There is no successful business if the people of Jamaica are not in a state where they can support your business. Therefore, he saw the world in a much broader way than how other private sector leaders did, in that, it was not only about profits. And, so he was probably recognised as Jamaica’s leading proponent of the double bottom line, meaning profit and people,” he said.
Deputy chairs of the JN Group, Dr Dhiru Tanna and Betty-Ann Jones, were equally moved by the depth of the late business mogul’s impact on the Jamaican society; and also provided insight into a more private side of the man they traded boardroom ideas with.
“He did more to protect the freedom and economic rights of Jamaicans more than anyone else I know,” said Dr Tanna, paying homage to OFC’s protection and development of press freedom during the period of the country’s emerging socialist political ideology, as the managing director and chairman of The Gleaner Company, and his transformation of JNBS.
“One of the facets of Oliver that perhaps is not very well known, was that he traced his family tree by identifying relatives and arranging to meet with them, even if was only once. I used to look forward to some of those he had encountered,” mused Mrs Jones.
Mike Fennell’s recollection of Oliver Clarke also went beyond OFC’s ability to assist struggling companies, such as The Gleaner and the National Commercial Bank, remembering his dedication to guiding people.
“You could never find a more sincere person who thought of others; their welfare and how they could develop themselves and their families. Oliver counseled and mentored people. He never spoke about this because he was really a very almost shy person. He was very humble, and I believe Oliver would never have approved this (the memorial),” the former president of the Jamaica Olympic Association and businessman said, inserting some humour, as he reminisced about his friend.
He also gave liberally to the church, developing a strong relationship with both the Catholic Church through Mustard Seed Communities, and with the Anglican Church, where his roots were grounded. Head of the Mustard Seed Communities, Monsignor Gregory Ramkinsoon; and Bishop of the Anglican Diocese in Jamaica, Rt Rev Howard Gregory, recalled their many good-natured spars with the philanthropist, and the many ways in which he facilitated the development of the church and its outreach.
Mr Clarke served as chairman of the Diocese’s Property Advisory Board, assisting the church to realise the value of sound management of its real estate assets. “Oliver will be remembered by this and future generations for his facilitation of a mechanism for identifying and developing the real estate assets of the Diocese. Without his persistent prompting, we would not have in place a property development department with proper management,” revealed Rt. Rev. Gregory.
Other tributes poured from Llewelyn Bailey, retired Assistant General Manager of then JNBS; Kay Osbourne, chair of JN Life and former general manager of Television Jamaica, with whom The Gleaner had some fierce competition for advertising; Pastor Aston Barnes, a retired leader of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jamaica and former director of JN Small Business Loans Limited; Christopher Barnes, chief operating officer of the RJRGLEANER Communications Group and president of the Inter-American Press Association, as well as journalist, David Jessop, consultant and editor at The Caribbean Council.
Persons wishing to pay tribute, may post to the Oliver Clarke Memorial page on the JN Group website: https://www.jngroup.com/memories-of-oliver-clarke/
