Growth & Jobs | MDS and Cari-Med: A relationship of growth

The founders of two of Jamaica’s most successful medical and pharmaceutical distribution companies recently sat together and shared some crucial business lessons at MDS’ recent Continuing Education Seminar for Pharmacists. Founder and Executive Director of MDS Limited Myrtis Boothe, alongside her mentor Dr Glen Christian, founder and chairman of Cari-Med Group Ltd, spoke candidly about their roles in the life of Jamaica’s healthcare industry and the influence they had on each other’s careers.

“Gratitude is a must. I am grateful for the opportunity that Mr Christian offered me at the point in time when I decided to try something else apart from nursing. I learned everything I know now from being at Cari-Med and starting from the beginning, knowing the intricacies of the business. From being on the ground, on the floor, with the people, knowing the products, knowing how to treat people - complementing my background in nursing with the actual customer base within the health facilities first, and then on the wider scale, it gave me a certain strength to know that people count. You have to serve and serve well, you have to develop an inner strength, and you must be able to look ahead, set objectives, and go for it. And I think I learned that very well from Mr Christian,” she said.

The MDS founder was speaking of Dr Glen Christian, her former boss, who founded his company in 1986 with three employees. One early employee was Mrs Myrtis Boothe, today the executive director of MDS Limited, distributors of medical, pharmaceutical and consumer products. Boothe served Cari-Med for 12 years, before ending her tenure and then starting her own business. Almost anecdotally, Christian remembered how he was in support of Boothe and “challenged” her to be great. “I recall when we decided to separate. Myrtis joined the company in 1988 and gave me 12 years. She turned up in my office one day and said, ‘I’m going to start a business.’ I encouraged her to go, and I recall a Saturday afternoon when I went to see her at her start-up facility at Eastwood Park Road – that’s where I challenged her,” he said.

Christian is a well-known pioneer and force in the pharmaceuticals industry, having led his 37-year-old company to achieve considerable growth over the years through distribution and, eventually, investments in labour, technology and real estate. “Cari-Med is powered by a lot of acquisitions - growth has been rapid through acquisition,” he shared.

CAPITALISING ON STRENGTHS

Call it a challenge accepted, as Boothe, along with her team led by now CEO Kurt Boothe, capitalised on the guidance, knowledge, training and expertise from Christian to later make big moves within their own company. MDS listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange in 2017.

MDS has served a successful 22 years in business. Growing from distributors of solely medical products, they have since seen immeasurable growth and now have three divisions: medical, pharmaceutical and consumer. The recent acquisition of its first subsidiary, Cornwall Enterprises Limited, places them among the fastest-growing distribution companies in the country, leading with local consumer brands such as True & Natural, Benjamins Cosmetics, Scotch Boyz Condiments and so much more, which are slowly becoming household names.

Elaborating on the growth of the company, Boothe quoted numbers from the company’s most recent report.

“For the year ended March 31, 2022, the group generated a total revenue of $3.42b which is an increase of 41 per cent, or $993.50m when compared to the total revenue produced last year. The increase in sales can be attributed to an increase in overall business activity, coupled with the consolidation of the recently acquired subsidiary, Cornwall Enterprises Limited - and our growth will only continue for the rest of 2023,” she ended.

Any story about success and achievements will always reference capitalising on strengths which later lead to growth, and both Myrtis Boothe’s and Dr Glen Christian’s stories were no different. Some 900 pharmacists and pharmacy owners (both online and in-person) were audience to Boothe and Christian, who both spoke about utilising their areas of expertise to grow their businesses and offered advice for others to emulate. Christian’s advice? “Stay in your lane and run with your strengths. I know pharmaceutical; I didn’t know hardware and I didn’t know groceries. The fact is, for the first 10years we stayed in our lane,” offered Christian.

“I’m a nurse at heart,” shared Boothe, “I know how to care for people.” She credits her success to her passion for caring for others and being true to her core mission.