Asked to select outstanding personalities for their transformational leadership course, MBA students at the Mona School of Business, University of the West Indies (UWI) picked seven persons and one entity who have impacted thousands of lives with their genius.

The students selected three Jamaicans among the eight – National Hero Marcus Garvey; late Prime Minister Michael Manley and Chairman of the ATL/Sandals Group of Companies, Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart – for video presentations and panel discussions before tutors Dr Oliviene Burke and Herman Athias on Sunday at Mona.

Named also as transformational leaders were: Late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez; Former Cuban President Fidel Castro; American television mogul, Oprah Winfrey and American civil rights leader, the late Rosa Parks.

The eighth pick was Facebook, the Social Network that has revolutionised social media and brought the world closer together on the Internet.

Michael Manley was chosen for his slew of social legislation that changed Jamaican society in the 1970s by introducing equal pay for women; maternity leave with pay; free education; abolishing bastardy through the Status of Children Act; reviving the literacy movement through the Jamaican Movement for the Advancement of Literacy (JAMAL); housing thousands of Jamaicans through the National Housing Trust and many others.

The Manley backers noted the resistance which met his Democratic Socialism and, asking whether he was a failure or a revolutionary, concluded that he was not a failure but that he advocated the social good over individual good. While the economy did not boom in the 1970s, expectations begun to build.

As evidence of Manley’s impact on the people, the students, part of Cohort 16, cited an opinion poll in 1997, the year the former People’s National Party leader died, in which 67 per cent of Jamaicans believed he should be named a national hero. A Carl Stone poll in 2000 said 65 per cent of Jamaicans regarded Manley as the best prime minister of Jamaica; and in a 2006 survey, he emerged among 48 per cent of those polled as the prime minister who had done the most for Jamaica.

Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart was selected for his vision, drive and work ethic that had created the hugely successful Appliance Traders Limited and Sandals Resorts International groups, which includes the Jamaica Observer, providing thousands of Jamaicans and Caribbean citizens with a livelihood and a better quality of life for them and their families.

The group preferring Stewart as their transformational leader – Hedda Rose-Pitter, Opal Levy Clarke, Jod-Ann Lai and Hanica Peart -noted that he had set standards of excellence for all those who worked with him by being himself the example. He would not ask his staff to do anything that he himself was not comfortable doing.

They cited his establishment of the Sandals Corporate University to deepen training of his employees and the Sandals Foundation to provide life support for the needy across the Caribbean where his hotels operate.

Stewart, who was once described by Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer of Antigua-Barbuda as “President of the Caribbean”, inspired the kind of loyalty and family atmosphere among his employees that after a devastating hurricane, 100 per cent of the staff turned out for work the next day, the students said.

They noted that his establishment of the Observer came at a time when Jamaica had only one daily newspaper, which meant a one-dimensional approach to how the world was viewed. His Save-the-Dollar Initiative and exciting marketing initiatives at Air Jamaica were also singled out.

One panelist said Stewart, once head of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), had influenced Manley to adopt the battle cry “Export or Die” and had helped to persuade the then prime minister to define tourism as an export industry, paving the way for the sector to become the single largest earner of foreign exchange for Jamaica.

Marcus Mosiah Garvey, National Hero, master printer, publisher, orator and political activist, founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) to spearhead the advancement of the Black Race.

Born in humble circumstances in St Ann, Jamaica, he too had dropped out of school at 14 to support his parents. Garvey refused to yield to superior forces, if he believed that he was right in his belief. That steely resolve followed him to Costa Rica, the United States and to England where he worked tirelessly for change in the conditions of Black people.

Garvey’s student backers said he had devoted his life to end political, economic and social inequality for descendants of Africans. As a charismatic leader, he inspired his people and gave them hope for a brighter future. His UNIA movement fought for the unification of all Black people.

Venezuela’s Hugh Chavez would be remembered for his social programmes that took tens of thousands of his compatriots above the poverty line. But he had a heart for the people of the Caribbean and Latin America beyond the shores of Venezuela, as evidenced in the highly concessionary PetroCaribe Fund.

As the youngest president when he took office in 1999, Chavez championed more power for the people and less for the legislature and the judiciary.

It was noted that between 1999 and 2011 he had raised the number of students accessing secondary education from 48 per cent to 72 per cent. The percentage of the people below the poverty line fell from 50.4 per cent to 30.3 per cent.

Chavez was described by the students as a visionary with great wisdom who, despite his dislike for United States President George W Bush, sent discounted oil to a poor section of the Bronx, New York and helped poor people in a section of London to get cheaper bus fares from cheap oil.

His Government was more inclusive than others before, with over 30,000 communal councils ensuring the decentralisaton of government.

Rosa Parks was described as first lady of the American Civil Rights Movement, who changed the lives of black Americans by an act of courage when she was arrested for refusing to yield her seat in the back of a bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955. That act led to a 381-day boycott that ended segregation on buses and inspired further resistance to the racially organised American society.

It was recalled that Rosa Parks had dropped out of school at 11 years of age to care for her parents but eventually became one among only seven per cent of blacks who attained diplomas. She later became a devoted activist in the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP).

February 4, 2013, the 100th anniversary of her birth, was declared National Day of Courage in the United States in honour of Rosa Parks.

Born Orpah Winfrey (later changed to Oprah) in Mississippi in 1954, the trail-blazer and social activist became the first black female anchor on WTVF- TV, Nashville at the age of 17. She moved to WSLTV’s local AM Chicago show which became extremely popular.

Winfrey at the height of her success, which meant overcoming great odds as a Black woman, founded Harpo Inc in 1986 to produce her internationally acclaimed flag ship Oprah Winfrey Show. In 2000, she co-founded the Oxygen Network, followed in 2011 by the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).

Winfrey also acted in several movies included the hit Colour Purple with Danny Glover and Whoopi Goldberg. As her impact on the lives of people grew, Winfrey was named by Life Magazine as the only living woman on a list of 100 people who changed the world.

Forbes Magazine on four occasions – 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010 – named her the World’s Most Powerful Celebrity; and CNN called her World’s Most Powerful Woman.

Winfrey was noted as well for her Angel Network Charity which had been making a difference of the lives of large numbers of people through education and support in times of need.

The National Child Protection Act in the United states is often refered to as the “Oprah Bill” after it was signed by President Bill Clinton, based on her advocacy for chld protection, especially against abusers.

Cuba’s Fidel Castro was hailed as a transformational leader for improving the livs of countless numbers of his compatriots, after leading the revolution that toppled dictator Fulgencia Batista.

He had since inspired millions across the world through his steadfast devotion to the poor, becoming known for his literacy eradication programme; healthcare reform and nationalisaton of key industries to serve his people.

Castro met great resistance, particularly from the United States but remained steadfast to his goal of lifting Cubans out of poverty and sharing the resources of Cuba with other countries, including Jamaica and in Africa. – Desmond Allen