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BARRY O’Brien – the outgoing Digicel Jamaica chief executive officer (CEO) promoted to a regional post – hinted at the possibility of a Jamaican CEO emerging from the senior management team in the future.

His comments were made within the context of describing the country as offering investment opportunities for foreign investors while offering growth prospects for the country and its citizens.

“I do think that we were successful over the last 14 years, [and it] comes from the fact that most people see Digicel as a Jamaican company,” he said at a Digicel-sponsored luncheon at the Jamaica Investment Forum (JIF) 2015 within the grounds of the Montego Bay Convention Centre on Thursday.

“We have over 1,200 staff employed here in Jamaica…Only 16 are expatriates and the majority of those are in narrow technical fields. And now the majority of the senior management team is Jamaican as well. Hopefully in the not too distant future you will see a Jamaican CEO.”

Digicel Jamaica lists online its expatriate senior management as including O’Brien, Niall O’Toole — chief commercial officer, Jason Corrigan — general manager Digicel Business and Peter Lloyd — marketing director. The Jamaican senior managers listed include Dwayne Tulloch — customer care director, Patrick King — customer solutions director, Andrea Hardware — human resources director, Michelle Anderson — director of distribution and retail channel and Krishna Phillipps — chief technology officier.

David Butler will join Digicel Jamaica as CEO and leave his role as CEO of Digicel Panama. O’Brien will be appointed director of business development for Digicel Caribbean and Central America and board director for Digicel Barbados. Butler joins Digicel Jamaica with more than 12 years of telecoms and technology sector experience. He started his career with Digicel in the eastern Caribbean in 2003 and has held the position of CEO for Digicel FIJI, Tonga and Vanuatu in the Pacific region.

The principal and founder of the Digicel Group is Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien.

JAMPRO, the Government marketing arm, describes JIF 2015 as Jamaica’s international investment and business conference, designed for “eager” investors and business executives. The forum focuses on tourism, logistics, manufacturing, business processing outsourcing (BPO), agribusiness and international financial services.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/A-J-can-CEO-may-be-in-the-Digicel-wings—-O-Brien_18560411

Published Date: March 13th, 2015