Dr George Phillip,

executive director of Sandals Resorts International and a director of the Jamaica Observer, died on Saturday night after an eight-year battle with prostate cancer.

Phillip, 69, who had used his own experience as a platform to motivate other people afflicted with this killer disease, passed away peacefully at 11:11 pm at his Paddington Terrace, St Andrew home his wife, Janette told the Observer

“It’s a great loss for us,” Mrs Phillip said yesterday afternoon. “He was such an anchor in our home. He always had good advice.

He was a very generous husband and father. and was a very wise and intelligent man.” Mrs Phillip said that one of the things she loved most about her husband was that he had respect for people, regardless of their status.

“Whether you liked it or not, he was very honest with you,” said Phillip’s younger daughter, Ky-Ann.

Phillip was born in Grenada on January 31, 1938. He grew up in Trinidad, but moved to Jamaica in June 1970 where he earned a reputation as an industrial relations specialist and made an indelible mark in the corporate world, starting at Grace, Kennedy and Company Ltd where he served as director of human resource development between 1975 and 1984.

In an interview with the Observer last year, Phillip credited much of his success to the late Carlton Alexander, the legendary Grace, Kennedy chairman.

After his stint at Grace, Kennedy, Phillip joined Sandals Resorts International at the invitation of the hotel chain’s chairman, Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, who had apparently been keeping track of Phillip’s business exploits.

He was made managing director of Caribrake, followed soon after by a promotion to deputy chairman of both Caribrake and ATL Automotive.

In 1993, Phillip left the ATL Group for banker Delroy Lindsay’s Corporate Group where he used his influence to forge an alliance with Lindsay and Stewart to start the Jamaica Observer in 1992.

Four months after the Observer published its first issue on March 7, 1993, Phillip returned to the ATL/Sandals Group as managing director of the Observer and was directly responsible for taking the paper from a weekly publication to a daily on December 11, 1994.

After five years at the helm of the Observer, Phillip was transferred to the head office of Sandals Resorts International as executive director with direct oversight for the newspaper company and special projects, one of which was the Observer Business Leader Awards which he played a vital role in establishing. He remained a director of the Board of the newspaper up to the time of his death.

“We are confident that Dr Phillip would have died with the satisfaction of knowing that his pioneering work with the Observer has led to a vibrant, credible and popular newspaper,” said Observer CEO Ed Khoury yesterday. “The entire Observer family mourns the passing of this great Jamaican and Caribbean man.”

Dr Phillip has served on several national boards, commissions of enquiry, chaired the advisory committee for the transformation of the College of Arts, Science and Technology (CAST) to the University of Technology (UTech), authored a book

The A-Z of Industrial Relations Practices at the Workplace and was a member of the Rotary Club and the boards of Guardian Holdings Ltd in Trinidad, Guardian Life (Jamaica), West Indies Alliance, and RBTT (Jamaica).

He also served as president of the Jamaica Employers Federation (JEF); member of the Public Services Commission for 10 years and member of the Police Service Commission. In 2002, he received Jamaica’s fifth highest honour, the award of Officer of the Order of Distinction (Commander Class, CD). He has also received numerous awards and citations from a wide cross-section of business organisations and institutions, recognising his immeasurable contributions to education, advertising, service, and business management.

Yesterday, Janette Phillip reflected on her husband’s bravery in sharing with Jamaica his very personal experiences as a cancer patient. Her reference was to an interview published in the Observer last August in which Dr Phillip spoke of his reaction after diagnosis and the treatment he received.

“I was a little careless, perhaps largely due to living in denial when I was diagnosed,” Phillip had said. “I did not manage it properly, but having undergone hormone therapy and radiation, coupled with care, exercise, a drastic change in lifestyle and diet, reducing my levels of stress, and ensuring a rigid regimen of vitamins and minerals, I am not doing too badly.”

He said, however, that it was not always easy. “I went through the gamut of possible side effects associated with hormone therapy – hair loss, loss of libido, sinus problems, tiredness, back pain, impotence, bad temper, hot flashes, teasing from my male friends, and sweating in an air-conditioned room.”

He used the interview to appeal to men over 40 to get annual prostate check-ups.

“Early diagnosis helps to prevent the onset of cancer and, if diagnosed, men should get a good urologist, be hopeful, cheerful, optimistic and look on the bright side of life,” Phillip had said.

He also recommended relaxing and enjoying life with family, friends and coworkers. “In other words, reduce the tension through a proactive lifestyle change with positive thoughts, kindness and generosity of spirit, aided and abetted by a constructive exercise programme,” he said. “This may not cure prostate cancer, but it will certainly reduce the stress and strain of the experience and improve the quality of your life.”

Up to the time of the interview, Phillip had continued sitting on the boards of various enterprises, arguing that the activities kept him energised. “They provide me with new knowledge, keep me stimulated, focused and upto-date on current business trends,” he said.

In addition, his spirit of altruism had extended to sponsoring three children, providing well-needed funding for their education.

Yesterday, Janette Phillip remembered her husband as a man who loved sports, politics, music and carnival. “His life was full of passion,” she said.

In addition to his wife, and daughter Ky-Ann, Dr Phillip is survived by his other daughter Alicia.