worl<
by JENNIFER FFRENCH
HO' IS Carlton Alexander - ' th"at is,
W
besides being one of the
most well known businessmen in this country. the
president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica
(PSOJ). past president of
the Jamaica Chamber 01
Commerce, Board member";; ..
of numerous companies.
and chairman and chief
executive of Grace Kennedy
and Company Limited?
\
He is a nry patriotic Jamilican who
has exhibited unfhogging optimism
when ,housands of others have given
up ana. left. an indefatigable champion of the frcc cntcrpr~ system, and
a man who fought his way up from a
stock clerk at Cu.ee Kcnn~dy to the
number one man in the company
which today employs 2.000 people.
"People rOTgcl tbat I am I Penon," he
uid durinlf an interview which tried to
find OUl b.. ttory. and whal !Dake. him
lid..
If thefl:
Wll5 ever ill Cinderella IIOry in
Ihil counuy. thal of Cuhon Alcuodtr u
ii, and in a WIY, he is the epitome of whit
the free enterpri$e synem Clll produce with
hilrd work, initiltive and opportunitin,
First 01 nine children
Bbrn in Montego Bay. to Selwyn and
Rosina Alexander on May 9, 1916, he wu
the lint of nine, and when hil; sickly flther
died 20 dilys after hil; 16th binhchy, much
of 'the burden or helping with the lupport
of his mother, the lour youngcr boys ilnd
the four younger girls fell on hil; $houlden.
A yur Iller dter plNin, tbe Senior
Coambridle eu.minuioru, hiOl Sl.ud~ on a
CO\lemmeot Open Scholanhip to Jlmaica
College were completed. he faced the
world with familioal rnponJibilitia .puniDI
him to find a job rlther thoan pUTlue bU
studin 10 becenle the lil,wyer he hid Willi-
e Ie, I.
•
• Today at 64, Carlton Aiexand r
(left) is a self-taught man, a Fellcw
of the Jamaica Institute of
Management, and over the Ia$t few
cecade 0 e of th ~ '1l0St so Jaht
'-
rilSe, hi5 work WI$ scmetima ill conflict
with his family life. but thill he WOll IlwlYS
known IS a goed provider. There were
times when busine.. w;u put before family
mltlen but he $:lid thlt now thlt the children are all grown up. they undentilnd
him better Ind koow thlt be hiid tbeir
long lerm interC$.l al hun,
Mr. Alexar.der WOlS one ef tbe few \/oul
businessmen who milinllined il positive uti·
tude on 'oamakil's preloCnl econemic Itilte
and fUlure for il long time lind in the face
"f lIilny
uh
!f"
.u,.' tin miln, nf
·.r
j.iU
... "
,r" ~Ullnb
ilDU
" ... 11
. j/IOY of Grace Kcnnedy ....hich ,It the
",roc employed only I!i people. Over the
next 47 yCOilrl, an astute builnesll acumen,
plus finn principln p;uscd on 10 him by
his mother would be his guide 10 the chid
u«:utivc P-OSI in oDe of the lute" locally
owned companic. in Ihis country.
Family responsibility
His father blld died le..";ng an iMurloce policy of a £100 and by the lime bis
mother was Ipcndinllbc lut of it. be drew
his lim PlY cbeque of the- 10£1, lum of
{%.OO a week, which be uid WII I lood
ubry I t the lime.
•
"My mother had nuer worked Ind itall fell 00 me." he uid, adding thllt bi"
gundf,uhcr (mother'. fatber) who was
alive helped but thai mNt of it was bit
,"ponJibilitr·
He \fal followed by three airls, and as
they each complcu:d tbeir f[udiel, the)'
played tbeir pan b:r Issuming lOme o( the
ruponsibilities, an 10 it went down the
line until everyone Wa5 taken care of.
Orange Hill Prep School in Montego
Bay and St. John's College in Kingnon
look care of his earlien education, and
"'I besides hil years at Jamaica College, other
formal educuion included night c1assel at
Kingnon College learning, shorthand, typo
ing/and book·keeping.
Today at 64, Mr. Aleunder is a self·
uUfht man, a fellow o( the Jamain
Institute of Management, and over the lut
few d«adcs, one of the most $Ousht after
lunch and after·dinner speaker at Krvice
clubs, Khools, and mOSI other functions.
The gTowth o( Grace Kennedy is al$O
the growth of Carlton Aleunder, and he
rccalled Ibu when he joined the company
in 19~~. there' were- many compani('1 tbl!
were- more innue-ntial than it, but he and
the owner fred Kenne-tty wanted il to be
numbe-r one, and $0 uid $0 done.
It was no euy task howeyer, for Mr.
Aluander said, busineu WII very com'
petitive in the 19~O's.
for many yUJI after he WII working,
tie thought about pursuing his ambition 10
be a lawyer. The innuence o( JC old boy
(National Hero) Norman. Manley WII
grel!. and others like the Ashenheims were
excelling in law. Hc spcnt the twO weeks of
his lim vacation leave at Supreme Court
listening 10 lOme or the brilliant ddencClo
thu Mr. Manlcy carried on in \hose dap.
011c-r
SPt:uKt:I::>
JI
... Uj~,
,~ons,
dinners, etc.
but difficulties witb working and lI.udyin!
so thar he could quaJi(y plw a growiDg
IDve for tbe world of butintM made him
abandon the idea soon aher.
M!"'.· Aleunder Slid tba~ at Ibe tUnc,
tbe fuhionable decilion .u bet.een tbe
commerciaJ field and the ciyiJ lernee, aDd
siDce many of his c1asamates .ere joining
the- civil Knite, be palled tbrougb a
od of eonflice but eventually lIaye in
bwincu.
,
"I suppose 11uned to enjoy wbat I WII
doing, ~ he nid, adding Ihal be also saw a
lot of opportunities for development in the
businus world.
He learnt early that the key to suceCIJ
in business is person·to·per$On contact. and.
he capitalised on thil, and in addition, he
was working with t'wo sound businessmen
which helped.
"I was fortunare to wor'" with Mr, Jim
Moss Solomon who WII a lOund if colltCrva'
tive businessman. and .itt, fred Kennedy
who was dynamic and forw"rd tbinking. he
said, after describing them as two of tbe
fioest busineumen tbal Jamaica baa
produced.
The man who said thai t.e hili keell for·
tunate that he hu made 'HI job mOlT than
a .or.... and into a carttr ..nd .. bob b)' ill
tbt Iilme time. said that altbougb peopw
make a mystery 01.11 of bL.Jines; thert is
really no mYSlery in it.
He Iilid that il
very pndKal a.nd
that tbe main thing is obligation and
applKation.
"To be in business. you have 10 be prag·
matic, lnd to make anything a SUCCCIJ you
have to plan it and follow Ihrough.~ Mr.
Alexander laid that you mUll have clear
objecti\'u first for yourltlf and for the
people who work for you. and that beside
dreams and imaginations .hich arc impor'
tam. must reside ~he know·ho. to imple·
ment and bring them to a hol.ppy
conclusion.
rri-
.as
Forceful businessman
A hardnosc busines.sman he is, and also
a Vtry forceful one; and he is very inloler·
ant or indiK:ipline and not Joing a job
prc,.. r1v Ii il said that i the earl-/' tia~"S of
b'111din", Crace Kennedy. be ",u not
un"'nown for firing a man on the spot. aod
then telephoning tbe nut morning to uk
wh,. be wu nOt ill wnrk.
Alked about this reputation, be nid:
"I lei of( lI.eam - bue wben il is fUlished,
it iI finished, and tbat holda eveo to thil
day.w
,
"We were broughl up tbe tOuah ",a,..
and I believe work is work and play is play
and that they can't be mixed." he Iilid.
Accepting reapolllibility ranb hiatt on
Aleunder'l Kale o( principles and be said
Iha ha...-:t brought up to believe that it
must be accepted. and dealt with,
'" havc 2.000 children in the pcop)e 1
employ and eacb o( tbem has an av"use
of four children which mealll that I have
8.000 dependents. and I feel responsible
for them.
.
This Itnlt o( responsibility teem. to
have communicated iuelI tn the "orllt" II
the Company and ",:eu beion: I Ihou"hl
of writing the Itory of Culton .\leuucler
an employee said to:nt "Mr Aleuuder.
.him il one of the greatest. We han been
producin/ tbin1;;1 Uut art nOI lellia3
because 0 tb.. tc:..nOfIllC I1IUol.UOn and he
hasn't laid off anybody - and. ' a~ nOt
uyinl this beca.u.se I wori. here. ~
Married IWlce. Mr. Aleundtr has two
daug!lIen by his first marmtge .hKh end·
ed in divorce, and 01'0 IOIU and a daushter
from the secord marria~ which hal been
going for ~l 'au.
He said that in :ne early 'l'Can of mar
• O!\ TilE rOVER.
I. ,\I "'fl. O' ~lirl'''··:
.....ut··r an "I l"r , •.• r )Ir. \It:undrr r..... "UI~ Ih .. 1'00110'
nd
)IKrketlnjr f>tMUti. 'I Jam..lrll. .... lIrd I. - lht'
J';t'((Ind )"nr hI 1.
...... :~,,; j
~.'tand
J:;mlltrol "rl·.,lll'nt
\1:lrI.NinK E\t'rutiH
Elon l\l'rkf"rd mak, lht pr ~. mlilt.,
~. " f,unilillr roll' - Mr..\Ii'\lIndrr ·,,,'inl: "nl' of
hi. mllill ~pt·t'chl·. ,,' .. "..nil'1" dUI II Iwon.
(riKhl)
:\. T"p phlll" .h',1< It. n1l1'un,' h .... · ,.r nr
Ordl·f nr J~,·.lttCIt .. I
<,·"Ifrp· UIi"
\Ir.
l,,'nu~, I I", 7t'1
\1,'\:.nJ. r Lo\ t,lto"rn'
I,in '!l.,I., In I!I';":;.
Asked about (he ~outce of his op:im •
ism. he uid it Items rrom the knowledge
Ihat Jamaica has pOleQtials in iu natural
and hUrD an resources, but that what he is
not sold on. is that changing around po:iti.
cal panic. is going to help.
"I am optimistic b«aUK I f«1 that t:,~
country could bave been made to work,"
be said. adding that ollr main probler:u
bave been a lack. of production and 101.1. t
economic maDagement.
D«laring that he hu lOme very rlIed
views. he said that if he II.ronaly bclieVCll in
something - rishtl,. or wrongly - he wi!1
stand up (or it, wbetber it is popular or
nol.
DctCribina bimself I I a Jama.Kan· fifll
and foremon. Mr. Aleundcr bcliC'l'es tbat
education bold. the key for the future. and
in "'eepint with thil. bil company rr:c~ntly
invested \4 million in bigher educalion
tbrouJb Kholanhip. aDd in helping (1)
ntabh.tt a new COUf'lc at the Univrnitr of
the West Indies.
He is worried' about what can be done
:0 unify Jamaica at this lime. IOmelhing
\o~ich he said the country badly'needs,
An implicit believer in the private enter'
pnse syltem. he said thai the S)'$tem hu
reponlibililies and that the people in it
should accept and uucise them.
'Totally anti-Communist'
The man who hu b«n called "the left
wing o( the PSOr said that be is tGully
and·Com:nunist and docs not think Ihat
Communiun is any good for Jamaica ur
that it can help w.
Hil !'eatC'll dream iI to _ tbe eccoo·
my cum arollnd. and he Jilid thai I I Ion!
u he can 40 and corne fretl,. he will never
lene Jamalca.
The secret of his succeu. he s_id. is
that he was (ortunate to get an opportunity
and he mad~ use of it by the dint of hard.
work. and application.
The op:ronunity for him WII gelling
the job. an he uid that he urongly believ,
es that everybody should be siven a chance
and that people should be encouraged to
do the things lhey do best.
His one weaknes.s, he said, is thai he
was born first and likes to come first.
"I play to win," he uid ..