Richard Byles is stepping down as president and chief executive officer of Sagicor Group Jamaica Limited at the end of this month and will be replaced by Christopher Zacca, the Jamaica Observer learnt yesterday evening.

Byles was not available for comment last evening, and Zacca, when contacted, said he had “no comment”.

However, a highly placed Observer source confirmed that Byles will be going on retirement after voluntarily extending his stay at the helm of the organisation two years ago.

Byles, who up to last November served as co-chair of the Economic Programme Oversight Committee, was appointed president and CEO of Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited (formerly, Life of Jamaica Limited), a subsidiary of Sagicor Financial Corp and Sagicor Group Jamaica Limited in March 2004.

His biography posted on the Bloomberg website states that he served as the president and CEO of Pan Jamaican Investment Trust Limited from 1991 to February 2004, where he chaired the trading, banking and insurance subsidiaries, and pursued a strategy of mergers, acquisition and divestments.

Regarded as one of the more accomplished businessmen in Jamaica, Byles has held managerial positions in several major corporations, among them First Life Jamaica Limited, where he served as chairman and CEO.

He was a vice-president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) and serves as the chairman of Red Stripe.

Byles holds a BSc in Economics from the University of the West Indies and an MSc in National Development from the University of Bradford, England.

He is also known for his commitment to philanthropic causes and is one of the driving forces behind the successful Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run which, over the past 19 years, has raised more then $250 million for facilities that offer health care to children.

Zacca, who currently sits on the Government’s Electricity Sector Enterprise Team, served twice as PSOJ president – December 2006 to June 2009, and June 2012 to December 2014.

From 2010 to 2012 he was chairman of the Government’s LNG Steering Committee under two separate political administrations.

He is a private equity investor and business consultant who holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

After graduating from MIT in 1980, Zacca worked as a trainee plant engineer at Desnoes and Geddes, then completed his MBA at the University of Florida in 1982, after which he worked for another nine years at Desnoes and Geddes in a variety of positions, culminating in the position of vice-president, engineering.

He was appointed managing director of Caribrake Limited in 1991, then became managing director of Appliance Traders Limited in 1994, served as deputy chairman of the ATL Group of Companies, which includes the

Observer, and was a director of Sandals Resorts from September 1997 until September 2009. He also served as deputy chairman and CEO of Air Jamaica from 1998 to 2004.

From September 2009 to December 2011, Zacca was special advisor to the prime minister of Jamaica on a range of policy issues including the economy, business and energy.

On July 31, 2013, he created history when he, on behalf of the Jamaican private sector, signed the historic Partnership for Jamaica Agreement, along with members of the Government, academia, and civil society. During this time, he partnered with an ex-ATL colleague, Christopher Foster, to start Enerbiz.

He is currently chairman of the Development Bank of Jamaica and the National Health Fund where he is spearheading a National Health Insurance Plan for Jamaica, as well as a director of Youth Upliftment Through Employment.

On August 6, 2014 he was conferred with the national honour of the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander (CD) for “invaluable contribution to the private and public sectors”.

Last December, Zacca was presented with the Observer‘s 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award for business development in Jamaica at the newspaper’s Business Leader Awards ceremony.