On Sunday, the management on the Pulse Group invited friends, family and associates to their Stony Hill location, Villa Ronai, to celebrate the company’s 37th anniversary.

The event should have been twofold — observe the anniversary and celebrate the success of their latest international model Alicia Burke. However, Burke was unavoidably absent.

The model who has been gracing runways and pages of popular glossies in all the fashion capitals of the world, was called away at the last moment to shoot a campaign for none other that major fashion label Ralph Lauren.

“We were disappointed, but she didn’t have a choice… Ralph Lauren called,” Pulse Chairman Kingsley Cooper told the Jamaica Observer.

“This is the second time she is shooting for Ralph Lauren with photographer Steven Meisel. He shot her last year for Ralph Lauren, as well as twice for Italian Vogue. She has really developed a relationship with him and that is great considering he is one of fashion’s top photographers. So we really had no choice. It means more to her and her career to shoot this campaign that to be partying in Jamaica. Right now she is our most successful model. What she has done in a year of being on the international market has never been done by any of our models.”

Cooper admits that the model agency, for which the Pulse brand is best known, is no longer the heart of the business.

“We have come a long way in our 37 years. We have always felt that Jamaica has the level of talent that could compete at an international level. In the same way it was done with music, we felt it was possible with our models. We reaped successes very early in this regard. However, we felt the need to widen our base and interest. We have gone into real estate holdings as well as an investment company through our listing on the stock exchange.”

He further notes that, with the added inflows from the widened platform, it allows Pulse to do more when there is a slow period in the world of modelling.

“This coming year we are eyeing a Caribbean expansion and are looking to sign our first model out of Trinidad in the coming weeks. One of our most recent ventures is the Peter Tosh Museum, which we opened late last year. The impact of that venture was immediate. This past Christmas holiday had some really great days with tours being more than the staff could handle. We are also making moves through connections with hotel and tour operators. The museum was also mentioned in an article in The New York Times as one of the must-see attractions when visiting Kingston.”

Looking back on the past 37 years, Cooper is pleased with how far Pulse has come.

“We have come a long way. As for our vision, we have realised some of our goals, and there’s more to come,” he said.