2016 Ones To Watch
A mere 17 days into 2016 and the signs are everywhere that this is going to be one of those memorable leap years. Our list has been edited drastically with a mere 25 left standing.
SO presents the Ones to Watch for 2016.
CHRONIXX & PROTOJE
The so-called reggae renaissance is poised to further expand in 2016 when the genre’s musical marquis Chronixx and his Zincfence Redemption brethren Protoje feature at the revered Coachella festival in April. It’s yet another international milestone for the former, who quickly catapulted into the realm of reggae royalty with the release of his Dread and Terrible EP, the corresponding European tour, and let’s not forget that brilliant performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Not to be outdone, Protoje’s star is steadily rising. The son of Breakfast in Bed crooner Lorna Bennett, the young artiste describes his music as “new-age reggae” that pays homage to legendary influences like Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and Sly & Robbie. It’s interesting to note that despite the thought that reggae is a dying art form, these two young’uns have forced us to step back and assess what it really means to be authentic. And if their duet is anything to go by… Who Knows? Maybe there’s a Grammy in both their future!
LADY SAW
Perhaps it was the moving sermon at ingÃ&Copy;nue J Capri’s funeral or the realisation that her days as Queen of the Dancehall are now a fading memory for Generation Y that made Lady Saw finally say yes to Jesus after many attempts. We’ve come to know and love her for her songs, sass and boldface sexiness. Indeed, controversy is never too far off when the queen’s involved, whether it be a tit-for-tat with Ian Boyne or an outright Twitter brawl with the second-tier acts of the day, Lady Saw is always entertaining.
Fast-forward to December 2015, we were introduced to Minister Marion Hall — the woman of God now charged to “heal broken women and help them find themselves”. We’re not sure if it means a switch to gospel music just yet, so let’s see if there are plans to exchange those glistening garbs for a choir robe in the months ahead.
Patricia Duncan Sutherland
Patricia Duncan Sutherland’s entrance into the political arena has created waves in South Eastern Clarendon. Cut from a different cloth, we see this as politics 2.0. She calls it the politics of partnership and love, where there are no handouts expected or given but working with the people to develop real solutions to the issues, with transparency and integrity as the hallmarks of the campaign. We’ve booked front-row seats for this one to watch.
Global Bob
Global Bob (Chad Torrington) has built an impressive two-tiered business on the platform of social media and his dancing skills. He began by travelling for several months a year sharing his dancehall vision to hundreds of eager students around the world. He has now added a tourism arm to his efforts by inviting these same students to Jamaica to experience the culture. He has already brought over 300 foreigners to the island. Who says there are no opportunities? Those who lack imagination, perhaps.
Tamara Harding
Tamara Harding’s MaraMade designs seem to have come out of the woodwork, but in our view have already had an impressive start to something we think has legs. Through her mantra “No Wood Left Behind”, she has managed to breathe creative life into the moribund furniture and wood accessory industry. Her opening displayed a truly varied and original sensibility that has put her most decidedly among our list of people to watch.
Paul Chang
Paul Chang is the ‘don’ who has been put in charge of ‘architecting’ the law formation for the marijuana industry. Heavy is the head that wears the crown! Can he get the industry dynamics right? For, make no mistake, this global industry is one of the key ways we will build our way out of a multi-decade struggling economy. Ganja must unfold like the wine industry has with experts, varietals and regional dominant players. We already have global recognition as ganja experts. Can we retain that status as the industry goes legal? We are watching.
Kwayera Archer
Kwayera Archer has quietly arrived on the scene as an expert in foundation policy and management. Having already had much-awarded success in North America, she has made a Rock return, part-time, to try to shore up our foundations here. She has already had success in significantly helping the Facey Foundation get more active and proactive in its efforts to raise money, its profile and project implementation. As her reputation grows, she is being invited increasingly into other hallowed halls of social largesse. She works often behind the scenes and without fanfare, but we have recognised that she is starting to have real impact.
Usain Bolt
All eyes will be on Jamaica’s Usain Bolt at the 2016 Rio Olympics as it will be his last and he will be hoping to consolidate his legendary status and confirm he is the greatest the sport has ever seen. After winning triple gold medals at the London Olympics in 2012, Bolt became a legend in athletics; now four years on, he can really enter the history books, being the first man to win three gold medals consecutively in the 100m. The fastest man ever has also promised something special and stated on a number of occasions that he wants to become the first man to run the 200m under 19 seconds. That would give him God-like status in the sport!
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Our beautiful ‘Pocket Rocket’ roared to an unprecedented third women’s 100 metres world title in Beijing at the 2015 IAAF World Championships. The double Olympic champion who captured the world title in 2009 and 2013 is definitely one to watch in Rio.
Asafa Powell
The proverbial saying, ‘Never count Asafa out’, will ring true come 2016 as our sub-10 king will kick off the year in fine style as Patron for the Sagicor 5K on February 21. He’s also one of the ambassadors for Bob Marley’s 71st birthday celebrations, plus, he is working with Proven on an athletes’ fund. On the international scene Powell will launch his sub10King line with PUMA, and word out of The Big Apple is that he’ll strut his stuff for NYFW.
Mark Barnett
Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to bathe in and/or drink. Alas, this was the daily refrain in 2015. Having National Water Commission President Barnett RSVP in the affirmative to your event would guarantee you heated water cooler discussion — get it? — and hopefully a roll-out of his strategic plan for 2016.
Wedding Bells
Lisa Hanna & Richard Lake
He asked and she said yes… nuff said, really… save: SO has seen the impressive engagement ring!
Krystal Chong & Lasse Hamre
Who wouldn’t want to hear the blow-by-blow deets of this ‘Dr Zhivago’ affair complete with wedding proposal on bended knee in the snow? We do, over and over again! And cannot wait to watch the exchange of vows between the marketer and her Norwegian beau, executive vice-president of Technology for iHeart Radio and tech entrepreneur.
Rochelle Cameron
She’s the vice-president, legal & regulatory for Jamaica, Cayman & Trinidad & Tobago, FLOW, who took the bold step three years ago to host a ‘Lean In’ confab. We’ve been watching her ever since. “The voice of women will matter even more”, she opines, “in 2016.” It is expected that more home-grown female talent will emerge this year and many more women will assume leadership roles in technology industries which were traditionally male-dominated.
Naturally, we’d seat her beside Chris Gayle.
Chris Gayle
#Don’tblushbaby… From CNN to the BBC, Gayle stopped the world with his bat-in-mouth faux pas. Let’s not get it twisted: he’ll be the most watched for 2016, especially if he pens the book and shares the blow by blow from the crease.
Kimala Bennett…
Is the managing director of The LAB Limited. LAB is an acronym for The Limners and Bards Limited, which means storytellers. It has been telling stories of extraordinary brands such as GraceKennedy, National Commercial Bank, Digicel, Supreme Ventures, and Gruppo Campari, to name a few. JPS will be added to this impressive roster when the LAB produces the JPS power smart TV show.
The Lab, which made a dramatic shift from being a video production company to an ad agency in 2014 — ostensibly to remain relevant in the Jamaican advertising landscape — will this year focus on innovation. The boldest yet will be the introduction of a new digital platform in April, which will allow clients to access not only local creative but international talent, as well, through creative crowdsourcing.
Kevin Hendrickson
Hotel mogul Kevin Hendrickson, who added the Wyndham Hotel to his family of brands, such as Jamaica Pegasus, The Courtleigh and The Knutsford Court in 2014, has yet to share the grand reveal… let’s not forget the Blue Mountain Inn.
CARRY SIDE BY SIDE
Chris Issa
The Spanish Court Hotel owner Chris Issa has added an amazing business wing to his well-appointed boutique hotel. It’s not yet been shared with many, so naturally the convo will be about that, as well as the other major projects on Issa’s always-busy planning board.
Stephen Facey
New hotelier on the block Stephen Facey, chairman & CEO, Pan-Jamaican Investment Trust, will, we reckon, be asked at least 20 times what his electricity bill is. Why? Facey has given Jamaica its first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified building with the completion of the 129-room Marriott Hotel. What, we wonder, will be on Facey’s mind? Maintaining high occupancy levels, of course!
PM Portia Simpson Miller
Dispatching an invite is one thing. Getting the PM to turn up is yet another. If she turns up, so will your currency.
Andrew Holness
With elections in the air, Holness is definitely on the radar. Plus, with his ‘poverty to prosperity’ campaign, feel free to discuss his Beverly Hills compound over coffee and petits fours.
Chris & Sally Levy
This formidable power couple balances faith, family and business with aplomb. They are the epitome of great hosts and watching them in action should be de rigueur.
Grace Jones & Chris Blackwell
Both added new initiatives to their already impressive portfolios in 2015.
2016 promises more for these BFFs — like the local launch of the icon’s irresistibly titled I’ll Never Write My Memoirs, the expansion of the Island Outpost brand and, naturally, more celebrity sightings.
Adam Stewart
The de facto heir to the kingdom, who in 2015 became the youngest person to win the coveted Caribbean Hotelier of the Year Award, closed off the year with a tremor that was felt throughout the region. This when the 34-year-old CEO of Sandals Resorts International/ATL Group announced he had secured the rights as regional master dealers for BMW and MINI in Jamaica and eight other Caribbean countries.
“Adding BMW and MINI to our stable of world-class brands will see us boast the biggest and best range of automobiles in Jamaica,” said Stewart of the acquisition… “2015 was a very strategic year for us,” he added.
Indeed it was… be afraid to even blink for 2016!
Gary Allen
He’s the man who will steer the RJR/Gleaner behemoth. The man who describes his management style as “deliberate and workmanlike”, puts in the hours and looks to think outside of the box while bracing for what lies down the road.
Allen, who has likened the merger-acquisition exercise to a 110m sprint hurdles, pointing to a brilliant start and hoping that none of the remaining hurdles will be hit, is without doubt one to watch for 2016 as he contemplates the new pieces of his expanded corporate playset.