IN contemplating issues such as aging senior management, big plans for growth, and the impending spin-off of its manufacturing arm, Jamaican Teas Limited has moved forward in strategically placing new leadership as it starts to pilot succession planning for the more than five-decade-old company.

With the recent appointment of Jonathan Mahfood and Charles Barrett as general managers for the respective commercial and operations aspects of the company’s manufacturing arm, in addition to the newly formed Caribbean Food Dreams Limited (CDFL) subsidiary, CEO of JamTeas Group John Mahfood said the elevations come as part of strategic initiatives geared towards pushing the group’s growth and development throughout the 21st century and beyond.

The appointments follow the resignation of former Salada boss Dianna Blake-Bennett who was first tapped to head up the manufacturing arm in November 2021.
Speaking with Jamaica Observer at the end of the company’s annual general meeting held on Thursday last at Courtleigh Hotel and Suites in Kingston, the senior Mahfood expressed optimism about the future of his company.

“What I’ve found is that for smaller companies like ours it is difficult to bring personnel from outside — who have not had experience in our business — to be as effective as we would like. These folks that we have chosen have been around for a while. They understand the business and all have the potential to lead the company, each one of them, in the near future. This also means that if we are to acquire another company we will have capable people with experienced leadership who can also manage it,” he said.

Jonathan, who is the son of the group CEO, is to drive the overall commercial strategy and revenue generation for the company as he oversees sales, marketing and business development efforts in his new role. Among some of his other roles are the identification of new markets, export management, and the optimisation of customer engagement. Moving up the ladder from intern all the way to his last stint as export manager, the new general manager of commercial is said to come to the post with years of experience, holding a Bachelor of Arts in International Hospitality and Tourism Management from St Leo University in Florida.

Barrett, on the other hand, in his role as general manager of operations is to ensure the efficient operation of the manufacturing business as he plans, directs and carefully coordinates its functions. Serving the company for over 15 years he holds an MBA, with distinction, from The University of the West Indies (The UWI), among other well-suited qualifications needed for the manufacturing business.

Complementing the work of the two newest general managers is also another young blood, Kimone Meikle, marketing manager, who is charged with the planning, organisation, implementation, and analysis of the performance of marketing strategies for the manufacturing and retail divisions.
The senior Mahfood, though he continues to head up operations for the group, said any of these new generation of leaders, or rising stars as he calls them, could succeed him when that time comes.

“All three of them could succeed me. And what we are going to do is have a programme for the next year where training and mentorship will be offered and, hopefully, one of them will come forward as the general manager of the new company and the others as managers for other companies we may acquire,” he said.
The new company CDFL, which is a spin-off of JamTeas’ manufacturing arm, is now a stand-alone company which Mahfood said finally got off the ground following its official start on January 1, 2024 — after years of securing the necessary regulatory approvals, including the transfer of rights from international franchise holder Tetley.

The company, which is to solely focus on the manufacturing of tea and other dry consumer goods, he said is also now seeking to go ahead with its long-awaited plans to list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) as a separate entity.

Propelled by the move of company operations to a larger 60,000-sq-ft factory space in Temple Hall, St Andrew, and with more than 65 per cent of its products sold overseas, CDFL is expected to be a large revenue earner for the JamTeas Group. Having recently changed its distributors to Wisynco and Trinidad-based Ansa McAL’s Amco, the company has also set its sight on growing sales from its manufacturing business above $2 billion in 2024.

At the end of the six-month period from November 2023 to March 2024 total sales for the group stood at $1.6 billion — the lion’s share or approximately $1.0 billion of which it earned from the manufacturing business.

“We had anticipated doing the spin-off for at least 18 months ago but now it’s started. We still plan to launch an initial public offer (IPO) for CDFL, possibly on the Main Market of the JSE. We do not, however, expect this to happen before 2025,” the group CEO said.