'Moore' than just father and son
Published:Sunday | August 19, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Garfene Grandison, Gleaner Writer
At the head of Kia Motors is an 'unstoppable' partnership/force that plans to bring a lot to the motor-vehicle sector in Jamaica in the near future. The father/son partnership of Dwight Moore and son Dominic Moore is one that started via motor sports years ago and has now transitioned into the corporate world of work. However, the partnership isn't something new to the Moore household, but the continuation of a tradition passed down through the generations from grandfather to father to son.
According to Moore, "It's a process that I had to go through and my son Dominic is carrying on the tradition, which I think will pay handsome dividends ... ."
Dwight Moore grew up in the automotive industry, a vocation his father pursued from the 1950s. It was an automatic move for him then, to venture into that arena. However, he found his footing in auto sales.
"As we grew, we launched into the more formal business sector, which is the new-car market, and that has evolved over the years through the used-car business, tyre sales, alarm sales, etc. It has been an evolution," Moore beamed.
Dominic, who works alongside his father, confessed that, from his motor sporting days, he wanted to take over his dad's car dealership business. And technically, he has.
Working as a team at the office could be a bit tedious, especially living under the same roof, but this isn't the case with the Moore family.
"The business never stops", said Daddy Moore. "Matters might sometimes arise even when we are at home, because I do take home a lot of work. I might very well be researching and preparing and Dominic helps with that, especially with the social-media aspect, because his generation is all about technology," added Dwight.
"We also spend time outside of the office - going to the gym, cycling, jogging and so on, which is geared to enhancing our competitive spirit," he said.
The father-son team started to gel from Dominic's motor sporting days when he was being prepped by his dad.
"It's all about conditioning and competitiveness ... . The results in motor sports come quickly, but in business it comes after time. Hence we work around the clock, sometimes 20 hours straight, and this is totally different from the adrenalin rush of motor sporting", Dwight noted.
As a family business, the opportunity is there for other members to come on board, but Moore laughs as he talks about his daughter Shari and her love for law and his other son Dwight junior who is an engineer in Canada.
However, he is hoping that all his children will come on board at some point. He went further to state that the family fights against barriers to instil family values through the use of education and constant dialogue. "People look to the different influences in society, deem them important and, based on those successes, youths become magnetised in that direction. So in our family we have tried to establish our own system of governance," Moore stated. He continued, "We recognise the need to keep a close bond. We channel positive energy by engaging everyone in the family," he ended.
Right now, the elder Moore is trying to bridge the generational gap and adjust to the "lifestyle" of his children, but the principles remain the same ... hard work, planning, time management, etc. "Working together bridges the gap somewhat," says Dominic, as he has learnt and adapted most of the attributes from his father.
What of their vision for the future? According to the duo, "the future is bright" and they are looking forward to the next successful decade in business together.