The Jamaica National Group (JN Group) has appointed Elizabeth Ann Jones as the new chair of the group, following the passing of former chairman, Oliver Clarke, who died on May 16.

Jones, a retired chartered accountant, is the first woman to chair the board of directors in the history of the organisation, which celebrated its 146th anniversary on August 13.

She joined the board of the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) in 2014, and was appointed chairman of JN Fund Managers Limited in 2015.

After the restructuring of the JN Group in February 2017, she was appointed as a director of JN Bank Limited, JN Financial Group Limited, and JN Group.

In April 2019, she was appointed chairman of the JN Financial Group and co-deputy chair of JN Group.

Jones has had a long and distinguished career in the accounting field and is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, a retired senior partner of KPMG Jamaica, and a previous chairman of KPMG Caricom — a regional governance entity comprising KPMG member firms in the Caribbean.

She is also a director of Radio Jamaica Limited and 1834 Investments Limited.

Jones has served on several tax reform committees and was seconded to the Ministry of Finance, between 1989 and 1992, as special advisor to the minister on taxation and related matters, in particular the implementation of the General Consumption Tax.

In addition to Jones’s appointment, CEO of JN Group Earl Jarrett, was appointed deputy chair. He joins Dhiru Tanna, executive chairman of Blue Power Group Limited, as co-deputy chair of the JN Group.

Tanna is one of the longest-serving directors of JN Group, having been appointed a member of the board of the JNBS in 1981. He also serves on the board of several JN companies including JN Fund Managers Limited, JN Bank Limited, and the MCS Group Limited — the non-financial holding company and parent of the unregulated entities within JN Group.