KPMG remembers Clarke

The Jamaica National Group is one of our largest clients and we worked closely with Mr Oliver Clarke from his time in the Westmoreland Building Society, JN's predecessor, so many years ago. The Gleaner Company, too, is one of our two oldest clients, and as such we had a very close relationship with Mr Oliver Clarke.

Over the years, he was a mentor to many of our young people, and his recommendation counted, as several became leaders of the firm. He was a fair man and an astute business leader and served Jamaica well on so many fronts: The PSOJ, PALS, the Public Service Commission, the JN Foundation, among others. As a client, our experience with him was that he got to the bottom of a situation very fast, took a considered decision and did not waste anybody's time.

At the same time, he valued loyalty and the fact that a relationship was beyond a mere mistake. He personified the humanity that makes Jamaica great and the leader of its Caribbean and Latin American peers. The institutional memory of KPMG in Jamaica is that Oliver was one of our most visionary clients.

Last year, he was given a short time, and it is a testimony to Oliver's character and mental strength that he proved his doctors wrong and we had that much more time with him. He arranged his affairs carefully and put in place the next-generation succession to take JN and RJRGLEANER to the next level.

To his last year he was learning new things. I'm personally saddened but he is in a good place now.

We know and work closely with his wife, Monica, and his daughter, Alex. On behalf of my colleagues at KPMG and my own family, we open our hearts out to them and wish them strength. We stand ready to support them through this difficult time.

R. Tarun Handa

KPMG, Jamaica