Positive outlook, diligence pay
Published:Friday | April 11, 2014 | 12:00 AM
André McLean's objective is to always remain positive in life and give persons the opportunity to excel above their expectations. A young visionary, McLean is no stranger to hard work and, over the years, through diligence and forward thinking, he has risen through the ranks of the Guardsman Group Limited, taking up his latest appointment of general manager, overseas markets, at the age of 34.
Seven years ago, his life changed significantly when he was recommended for a position at Guardsman Group as a senior accountant. In just three months, he was promoted to chief accountant, and within a year, he assumed the role of group chief accountant. Over the years, he has served as group finance manager, group financial controller, and subsequent to his recent appointment, held the position of general manager for the Barbados operations of the company; a position he still holds.
"Guardsman Group is a very dynamic organisation and I try to get involved with the different business ventures that the company offers. I have had the privilege of being involved in nearly all the different businesses that Guardsman does. Security, obviously, is the main area, but even within security there are so many things to do," McLean told The Gleaner.
McLean has an innate hunger for knowledge and believes that, no matter what he is doing, it must be done at an extremely efficient level. However, his philosophy now is quite far-fetched from his days at Kingston College (KC). At that stage, he had lost interest in his academic work and even while being an astute sportsman, he still managed to be successful in his CXC examinations. While in lower sixth form at KC, he was asked to leave the institution based on his poor performance. He repeated lower sixth form at Wolmer's Boys' School, and by upper sixth form, he became a prefect and was named sportsman of the year.
Further studies
McLean went on to attain his degree in accounting and management studies and later his Chartered Public Accountant (CPA), as well as an MBA in Banking and Finance.
He attributes his success at the Guardsman Group to working together with his team, stating that, only if the team is successful, then he as the manager can be successful. "At the end of the day, it is not about me. It is about how better I can make the team around me, even better than me. My success is as a result of their success, and I spend a lot of time developing the people around me," McLean said.
His new role includes responsibility for the growth, expansion and initiation of new and existing companies across the region. "Once we see the opportunity for business, we are going for it," McLean said.
McLean's driving force also includes his mother who he said sacrificed everything she had for his success. "I want to be successful for myself, but also for my mother. I am doing my best so she can be proud, and she will be taken care of," McLean said.