GRACE Silvera of Red Stripe last week became the latest of three very powerful private sector personalities to embrace a non-partisan political path to serving their country, with the announcement she would head up the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC).

Silvera, international marketing director of the beer company, was preceded – in what could be a new wave of patriotism – by Chris Zacca of ATL fame who is now at the Office of the Prime Minister and before that Don Wehby who this year returned to GraceKennedy from a two-year stint at the finance ministry.

A non-political path to public service could open up unprecedented possibilities for some of Jamaica’s best talent and most experienced professionals to offer themselves in the service of their compatriots, without the fear of being caught in the partisan mud-slinging that has been a significant feature of the immediate past.

Silvera’s appointment to the JCDC which takes effect on January 1, 2010, received the rare endorsement of the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP). Its information and culture spokesperson, Lisa Hanna described it as “a welcomed move” and praised Silvera as good for brand Jamaica due to her strong background and experience in international marketing.

That action by the PNP could serve as encouragement to other professionals who have a deep burden to serve Jamaica but were afraid of being tagged with the label of the party under which they served.

The patriots

Grace Silvera

Named among the Observer’s top 50 most influential women in Jamaica, Grace Silvera is unmistakably one of the country’s most accomplished senior executives with over 25 years of extensive expertise in international marketing, communications, brand management, public relations, communications, events marketing, customer service and operations management.

In 14 of those years at Red Stripe, Diageo Jamaica, Silvera pioneered 10 different roles, each one receiving her signature seal of excellence. She broke ground as one of the first woman directors of the company and the first in the Diageo era. She rose phenomenally to become international marketing director, distinguishing herself by doubling the company’s export volumes in four years.

Before that, Silvera, as communications director (2000-2004), was a driving force behind Red Stripe’s organisational transformation, the company’s name change from D&G and the business strategy that won both her and the company numerous awards, including: the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association Governor General’s Award for Excellence, the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce Best of the Chamber Award and the Jamaica Employers Federation Employer of Choice Award.

She spent 10 years at Air Jamaica, following a stint in journalism and later public relations. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Management, buttressed by professional courses, seminars, workshops and a brief stint at the Harvard Business School.

Silvera is known for her infectious passion and inspirational leadership – qualities she is expected to bring to the state-run JCDC with a mandate to build brand Jamaica.

Chris Zacca

Christopher Zacca made a name for himself as both an outstanding scholar and athlete at Campion College, training ground of sorts for future leadership.

His professional career began 28 years ago at West Indies Crown Cap as a trainee plant engineer. In 1982, he moved to drinks company Desnoes & Geddes and in two years was promoted to engineering manager, going on to acquire a Diploma in Brewing Technology from the Siebel Institute of Technology based in Chicago, Illinois.

After nine years at D&G, Zacca was appointed to vice-president, engineering at the company that is now a part of Irish-owned Diageo. At the height of his career at D&G, he joined Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart’s Appliance Traders Limited group of companies as managing director of Caribrake.

The move to ATL put Zacca in the direct line of sight of Jamaica and the Caribbean’s top businessman. Stewart saw both talent and potential in the young man and after just three years made him managing director of the company.

In 1997, six years after joining the group, Zacca was promoted to oversee a number of the ATL companies. A year later, with Stewart’s acquisition of the national airline, Air Jamaica, Zacca was appointed CEO and deputy chairman of the national carrier. He was still not yet 40. He held that position for seven years until Stewart flung back control of the airline to the Government, citing numerous breaches of promise in December 2004.

At the end of that year, Zacca was named deputy chairman of the group. During his tenure, he was elected president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ).

From the ATL group, after a total of 18 years, Zacca left to become an advisor to the prime minister. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Florida.

Don Wehby

Enriched by two years of service at the finance ministry that has no doubt given him the eye-opener of his life, Don Wehby at the end of July returned to the corporate nest where he had made his name in the private sector, GraceKennedy, as group chief operating officer.

A chartered accountant, Wehby gained his early auditing experience at Touche-Ross Thorburn. In 1995, he joined GraceKennedy Limited as group finance manager and was appointed deputy finance director two years later.

The following year, he was appointed chief financial officer and in 1999 chief operating officer of the Financial Services Division, where he directed the listing of GraceKennedy on the Jamaican, Trinidadian, Barbadian and Eastern Caribbean stock exchanges, thus enabling the company to become the first and only Jamaican cross-listed company.

Under his leadership, GraceKennedy acquired 100 per cent ownership of First Global Bank Ltd, which later became a wholly owned subsidiary of the company. During his tenure as chief operating officer, the division’s pre-tax profit increased from J$280 million in 2000 to $1.4 billion in 2005, an increase of 406 per cent.

In December 2005, Wehby took on expanded responsibilities in his portfolio as group chief financial officer and a year later on the eve of that anniversary, was appointed deputy chief executive officer – GraceKennedy Limited and chief executive officer – GK Investments.

Wehby also served as deputy chairman of First Global Bank Limited and First Global Financial Services Ltd, and as a board member of several other GraceKennedy subsidiaries.

In September 2007, Wehby accepted Prime Minister Bruce Golding’s request to join his new Cabinet as minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service. To accept this call to national service, he relinquished his position at GraceKennedy Limited and joined the Senate, the Upper House of Parliament.

He holds both a Bachelor of Science (Hons) and Master of Science (MSc) degree in Accounting from the University of the West Indies and has completed an advanced management college certificate course at Stanford University.

– With additional reporting by

Al Edwards