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Meet Oliver Jones - patriot
Ken Chaplin
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
JONES... a man of rock-hard determination and perspicacity
After many financial institutions were taken over by the government in the 1990s' awful financial meltdown, some top executives of banks and insurance companies all but lay down to die. Not so with Oliver Jones, then chairman of Island Life Insurance Company who lost hundreds of millions of dollars when FINSAC grabbed his company. Jones, a man of rock-hard determination and perspicacity, bounced back.
He is now chairman of Zenith Insurance Brokers and one of Jamaica's leading business motivational speakers, conducting over 200 seminars both nationally and internationally during the past five years. He believes that these seminars prepare people for business development. "Failure is not final," he says, "especially when you do not think you were the cause."
Mismanagement of some of the financial institutions has always been attributed by the government to the financial collapse, but others believe it was the policies of government. In his book, Policy Derailed, Dr Paul Chen-Young, noted financier, whose institution Crown Eagle Life Insurance Company was taken over by FINSAC, gave his views on what led to the financial fiasco. The title of his book is generally regarded as an indication of what took place. I asked Oliver what was responsible for the collapse. He responded with a question: "Could all of the institutions which were taken over by government have made the same mistake at the same time?" He points out that when he planned the Island Life Building in New Kingston in 1989 the estimated cost was $89 million and the rate of the dollar was $5.50 to US$1. The cost of the building ended up at $490 million in 1992 as the rate had moved from $5.50 to US$1 to $22 to US$1.
Born on December 11, 1931 in Rose Hall, a small district in the Santa Cruz mountains, St Elizabeth, to Edmund Elliot Jones and Julia Jones (nee Binns), the 10th of 12 children (six boys and six girls), Oliver attended the Rose Hall Primary School and successfully completed the First, Second and Third Jamaica Local Examinations. At the early age of 14, Oliver realised that because of his humble beginnings he had to work hard and he almost disrupted his studies because he was so attracted to agriculture - planting tomatoes which he sold to the Bull Savannah Tomato Factory. He said he got a good price for his produce and was encouraged. He also cultivated garlic and realised sufficient money from agriculture to pay for his first term at Excelsior High School in Kingston. At Excelsior he studied for the Senior Cambridge Examinations.
Excelsior made a great impression on him, Jones said, and he studied hard, even at night with some of his other classmates at Pioneer Bakery in Jones Town, owned by Deputy Mayor A A Walker (PNP). What impressed him most at Excelsior was that unlike at primary school where one person taught many subjects for the examinations, there was one teacher for each subject at high school. The "great" Mortimer Geddes, former headmaster of Titchfield High School in Portland, taught English Literature; Hector Gibson, geography; Rev Ancel Ramsay and Vivienne Carrington, Latin; Marilyn Lawrence, Spanish, and Ivy Alexander, history, "You could not but learn regardless of how dumb you were," Oliver recalls. He passed eight subjects at the Senior Cambridge level.
Not surprisingly, his first job was at the Ministry of Agriculture where he worked as a clerk in the laboratory for one year. While working he studied for the Higher Schools Examination with Spanish as major. Although he liked the job, he did not see agriculture as a career and was more attracted to the life insurance industry. In 1953, he began a career in the industry at Manufacturers Life Insurance, then Canada's second largest life insurance company, as a sub-agent and was an immediate success. Just about that time the character of the industry began to change. Formerly, agents of the industry were recruited from the teaching profession and also included policemen and public health inspectors. The change also brought on high schools and university graduates. He moved quickly up the ranks: super salesman, unit supervisor, agency supervisor, assistant branch manager and branch manager of Manufacturers Life Insurance of Canada. He became a Chartered Life Underwriter in 1958, one of the five CLUs in Jamaica at the time.
A man with a deep social conscience, many people thought Jones was heading for party politics. In fact, he received invitations to join both the People's National Party and the Jamaica Labour Party, but he backed away. Now he believes that the PNP has remained in office far too long. "Politics is like our underwear," he says. "You have to change it to keep it clean," he noted. Relying on his business acumen and communication skills, Jones has founded and built the Island Life Insurance Company, Island Victoria Bank and Zenith Insurance Brokers. As a leader in the industry, he did exceptionally well between 1955 and 1993. But he lost the first two companies to Finsac in 1993.
Jones' record of public service for 28 years has been outstanding throughout the country. He was appointed chairman of the Banana Company of Jamaica by then Prime Minister Michael Manley in 1978 and served for two years.
He spent a great deal of time walking the banana fields across the country, urging farmers to increase their production for exports. He was appointed chairman of the National Housing Trust in 1980 by then Prime Minister Edward Seaga and served for nine years. He explains that in the 1980s the Trust delivered houses, each at $20,000 to $26,000, compared to the extremely high prices today. Many contributors are unable to afford a mortgage. "It is not right to take people's money who may never qualify for a house, and a way must be found where the government subsidises the poorest of the poor," Jones says.
He made a major contribution to the development of savings in Jamaica as chairman of the National Savings Committee from 1968-1972. He also served as chairman and president, Scouts Association of Jamaica; chairman, Jamaica Medical Association and chairman, St Elizabeth Homecoming Foundation for 10 years. Jones is one of the stalwarts of the Kiwanis Movement in Jamaica and was charter president of the Kiwanis Club of Downtown Kingston in 1969. He was awarded the Commander of the Order of Distinction (CD) in 1994 for public service. Patriotic Jones says the Lord has blessed him with good health and he has "a lot more energy to continue to serve his beloved country".
Ken Chaplin
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
JONES... a man of rock-hard determination and perspicacityAfter many financial institutions were taken over by the government in the 1990s' awful financial meltdown, some top executives of banks and insurance companies all but lay down to die. Not so with Oliver Jones, then chairman of Island Life Insurance Company who lost hundreds of millions of dollars when FINSAC grabbed his company. Jones, a man of rock-hard determination and perspicacity, bounced back.
He is now chairman of Zenith Insurance Brokers and one of Jamaica's leading business motivational speakers, conducting over 200 seminars both nationally and internationally during the past five years. He believes that these seminars prepare people for business development. "Failure is not final," he says, "especially when you do not think you were the cause."
Mismanagement of some of the financial institutions has always been attributed by the government to the financial collapse, but others believe it was the policies of government. In his book, Policy Derailed, Dr Paul Chen-Young, noted financier, whose institution Crown Eagle Life Insurance Company was taken over by FINSAC, gave his views on what led to the financial fiasco. The title of his book is generally regarded as an indication of what took place. I asked Oliver what was responsible for the collapse. He responded with a question: "Could all of the institutions which were taken over by government have made the same mistake at the same time?" He points out that when he planned the Island Life Building in New Kingston in 1989 the estimated cost was $89 million and the rate of the dollar was $5.50 to US$1. The cost of the building ended up at $490 million in 1992 as the rate had moved from $5.50 to US$1 to $22 to US$1.
Born on December 11, 1931 in Rose Hall, a small district in the Santa Cruz mountains, St Elizabeth, to Edmund Elliot Jones and Julia Jones (nee Binns), the 10th of 12 children (six boys and six girls), Oliver attended the Rose Hall Primary School and successfully completed the First, Second and Third Jamaica Local Examinations. At the early age of 14, Oliver realised that because of his humble beginnings he had to work hard and he almost disrupted his studies because he was so attracted to agriculture - planting tomatoes which he sold to the Bull Savannah Tomato Factory. He said he got a good price for his produce and was encouraged. He also cultivated garlic and realised sufficient money from agriculture to pay for his first term at Excelsior High School in Kingston. At Excelsior he studied for the Senior Cambridge Examinations.
Excelsior made a great impression on him, Jones said, and he studied hard, even at night with some of his other classmates at Pioneer Bakery in Jones Town, owned by Deputy Mayor A A Walker (PNP). What impressed him most at Excelsior was that unlike at primary school where one person taught many subjects for the examinations, there was one teacher for each subject at high school. The "great" Mortimer Geddes, former headmaster of Titchfield High School in Portland, taught English Literature; Hector Gibson, geography; Rev Ancel Ramsay and Vivienne Carrington, Latin; Marilyn Lawrence, Spanish, and Ivy Alexander, history, "You could not but learn regardless of how dumb you were," Oliver recalls. He passed eight subjects at the Senior Cambridge level.
Not surprisingly, his first job was at the Ministry of Agriculture where he worked as a clerk in the laboratory for one year. While working he studied for the Higher Schools Examination with Spanish as major. Although he liked the job, he did not see agriculture as a career and was more attracted to the life insurance industry. In 1953, he began a career in the industry at Manufacturers Life Insurance, then Canada's second largest life insurance company, as a sub-agent and was an immediate success. Just about that time the character of the industry began to change. Formerly, agents of the industry were recruited from the teaching profession and also included policemen and public health inspectors. The change also brought on high schools and university graduates. He moved quickly up the ranks: super salesman, unit supervisor, agency supervisor, assistant branch manager and branch manager of Manufacturers Life Insurance of Canada. He became a Chartered Life Underwriter in 1958, one of the five CLUs in Jamaica at the time.
A man with a deep social conscience, many people thought Jones was heading for party politics. In fact, he received invitations to join both the People's National Party and the Jamaica Labour Party, but he backed away. Now he believes that the PNP has remained in office far too long. "Politics is like our underwear," he says. "You have to change it to keep it clean," he noted. Relying on his business acumen and communication skills, Jones has founded and built the Island Life Insurance Company, Island Victoria Bank and Zenith Insurance Brokers. As a leader in the industry, he did exceptionally well between 1955 and 1993. But he lost the first two companies to Finsac in 1993.
Jones' record of public service for 28 years has been outstanding throughout the country. He was appointed chairman of the Banana Company of Jamaica by then Prime Minister Michael Manley in 1978 and served for two years.
He spent a great deal of time walking the banana fields across the country, urging farmers to increase their production for exports. He was appointed chairman of the National Housing Trust in 1980 by then Prime Minister Edward Seaga and served for nine years. He explains that in the 1980s the Trust delivered houses, each at $20,000 to $26,000, compared to the extremely high prices today. Many contributors are unable to afford a mortgage. "It is not right to take people's money who may never qualify for a house, and a way must be found where the government subsidises the poorest of the poor," Jones says.
He made a major contribution to the development of savings in Jamaica as chairman of the National Savings Committee from 1968-1972. He also served as chairman and president, Scouts Association of Jamaica; chairman, Jamaica Medical Association and chairman, St Elizabeth Homecoming Foundation for 10 years. Jones is one of the stalwarts of the Kiwanis Movement in Jamaica and was charter president of the Kiwanis Club of Downtown Kingston in 1969. He was awarded the Commander of the Order of Distinction (CD) in 1994 for public service. Patriotic Jones says the Lord has blessed him with good health and he has "a lot more energy to continue to serve his beloved country".
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