DON WEHBY, the affable businessman known mostly for his 14-year tenure as CEO of GraceKennedy(GK) Limited (2011–2025), left a legacy of excellence that colleagues rever with near awe.

When he passed on July 26, 2025, tributes revealed a leader whose unique blend of strategic rigour and nation-building zeal redefined Jamaican enterprise. From his start as group finance manager at GraceKennedy in 1995 to his departure as CEO this February, one truth resonated: Wehby was a game-changer.

The Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ) called him a “transformative business leader, dedicated public servant, and tireless advocate for Jamaican enterprise”, adding its voice to tributes from regional business figures who acknowledged his mentorship of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“Don Wehby was a giant of Jamaican business — strategic, ethical, and passionate. He harnessed the power of the private sector to uplift communities and champion local growth,” said Garnett Reid, president of the SBAJ. “He understood the critical role that small businesses play in fostering national prosperity, and he committed himself wholeheartedly to mentoring and supporting entrepreneurs.”

Yet for those who worked closest with him over 30 years, Wehby’s legacy — though forged during his GraceKennedy leadership — transcended corporate triumphs. His bold “2030 Vision” aimed to make GK “the number one Caribbean brand globally, with 70 per cent of revenues and profits earned outside Jamaica”. As Douglas Orane, his predecessor and mentor, stressed in an interview with
Jamaica Observer: “Rather than just having an article to say, ‘You know, Don was a wonderful guy and it was good knowing him,’ we must draw lessons from his life, which is exactly what I think Don would want.”

Orane recounted a half-dozen stories of a leader who chose action over apathy — a selfless Jamaican who fixed problems rather than lamenting “what is wrong?”

He said that drive pushed Wehby in 2007 to accept an appointment to the Senate from which he was appointed minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Finance.

“And he had very clear views on what he wanted to achieve and he did it… One of them was that he helped our country to get through the international financial crisis.” That crisis in 2008 caused by cheap credit and lax lending standards in the United States, fuelled a housing price bubble that was felt across the world, including in Jamaica. At the time, reduced demand from US consumers led to lower tourism arrivals and remittances and the economy contracted 0.9 per cent. The crisis exacerbated already severe fiscal and debt challenges in Jamaica, forcing tough fiscal measures to stabilise the economy. Wehby was appointed to the Senate again in 2016 and retire in November 2024.

“The second one was that he ensured the establishment of the Junior Stock Exchange, which has really transformed the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Jamaica. And then when he had completed what he wanted to do, he said, ‘I’d like to join GraceKennedy again,’ and we were happy to have him come back. Remember, he resigned from a very senior position; he was the CFO,” Orane noted.

Marlene Street Forrest, former managing director of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, recounted Wehby’s role in realising the establishment of the Junior Market during and after the time he served on the JSE board up to his Senate appointment in 2007.

“When the idea of the junior market was raised, he championed it. And not only did he champion it at board [level], but he championed it after he left. He had to resign because he took up the duties as senator. And he spearheaded…and pushed through the legislation that made this junior market vibrant, that made it have life.”

She said his influence extended over how stocks are priced at the end of each trading session, moving from using the last traded price to using the average price of the stock each day.

“When his company wins the Corporate Governance Award, you could see that pride, that beaming. It resonated with him, and not only for his company, but the fact that people were taking this thing of the best practices award very seriously. So that’s a man, and my reflection on him, his legacy was that of leadership and service. And, from that standpoint, it will endure generations to come.”

For Orane though, Wehby was less a successor than kin. “We are like brothers that we never had, because he doesn’t have any biological brothers and neither do I. So we spent a lot of time talking about business and personal life and family,” Orane reflected.

“In meetings, I’d take a breath to ask a question — and Don would voice it verbatim before I spoke. So, it’s like we’re in sync, so it was uncanny. But, I think it’s because we have a similar approach to business. We are very curious.”

This symbiosis fuelled GK’s original transformative “2020 Vision” which was developed in 1995 and targeted earning 50 per cent of revenues outside of Jamaica, initially, by 2012, but this target was revised later to achieving that aim in 2020. But, from revenues of $58 billion in 2011 when he assumed the leadership of the company to 2020 when revenues reached a then record $115 billion despite the challenges of the COVID pandemic, yet, revenues from outside Jamaica remained below the target, hovering at around 45 per cent in 2020.

During that time, Wehby oversaw the transition by GK into its core areas of Food and Financial Services. GK exited its Retail and Trading business in December 2015 when it sold its 58.1 per cent stake in Hardware & Lumber Limited to Argyle Industries Inc and then turned to focus heavily on expanding into the international markets which included its La Fe purchase in July 2014 and subsequent expansion into more financial services across the Caribbean. The La Fe purchase opened the company to a market of 350 million people in the US with GK also positioning itself to serve main stream consumers and not just the diaspora.

“GraceKennedy is the first company in Jamaica that we ever heard of doing business in Africa and the like, so they were truly a global company and Don was at the helm of the ship when it sailed into those waters,” Metry Seaga, president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, added pointing out the breadth of Wehby’s vision for the company’s growth. “He did a great job.”

GK also purchased at least two Scotiabank insurance businesses in the Eastern Caribbean while growing its domestic business through a partnership with Scotia General Insurance Agency. Wehby also spearheaded the formation of Canopy Insurance Canopy with Musson Jamaica, which was formed in 2018. This is the latest life insurance company in Jamaica.

By 2024, Wehby’s last full year before he retired earlier this year, revenues reached $167 billion, triple where it was in 2011, but still only about 46 per cent came from outside Jamaica, but this was not a failure.

“The reason, ironically, that it hasn’t reached the 50 per cent as yet, is because GraceKennedy in the Jamaican economy has been growing faster than outside, which puts aside the point of view that it’s not possible to grow in our environment,” Orane pointed out.

“And then one of the things is that he was very decisive, so once we have collected information, and this is probably one of his greatest skills, he was a tremendously effective implementer. In other words, once he had made up his mind to do something, it got done.”

He gave other examples to back up the claim, like when Wehby decided that he did not want to continue importing pepper mash for its hot pepper sauces and contracted local farmers to grow hot peppers for its production. Now, GraceKennedy is self-sufficient in hot pepper and now even exports pepper mash to other countries along with pepper sauce.

“So then the question to ask ourselves, what would Jamaica be like if we had, a game-changing leader in every industry in Jamaica like Don?” Orane asked out loud as he reinforced his call for other business leaders to make bold game-changing decisions that not only benefit their company but also the country.

He also spearheaded the company’s move into its new corporate offices, insisting that young people from the inner city in the vicinity of GraceKennedy, should be trained and employed on the site, giving them a skill for life. Then the annual high school track and field championship was added to a list of projects he took on, calling the meet “a Jamaican gem” to be nurtured.

Always humble, Orane said Wehby even took advice from Stella, his office attendant, whom was labelled “his biggest advisor” as she would be quick to point out opportunities or threats she envisioned. Those who worked with him were never let off the hook being intolerant with subpar performance from anyone.

“You need to be punctual, you need to be accurate. Don’t tell me you’re late with your accounts. Unacceptable.”

For the man who succeed him, Frank James, “Don was an extraordinary leader, a mentor, and a friend. His love for GraceKennedy and for Jamaica was at the heart of everything he did. Don believed in people — he saw potential, nurtured it, and inspired our entire GK team to dream big. The years I worked with Don have left an enduring mark on me, not only in how I lead, but in how I see the role of GraceKennedy in shaping lives and building our nation. His passing is a profound loss, but his legacy will continue to guide and uplift us for generations to come.”

ORANE…we are like brothers that we never had, because he doesn’t have any biological brothers and neither do I. So we spent a lot of time talking about business and personal life and family.

STREET FORREST…When the idea of the junior market was raised, he championed it. And not only did he champion it at board [level], but he championed it after he left.

SEAGA…GraceKennedy is the first company in Jamaica that we ever heard of doing business in Africa and the like, so they were truly a global company and Don was at the helm of the ship when it sailed into those waters.

JAMES…the years I worked with Don have left an enduring mark on me, not only in how I lead, but in how I see the role of GraceKennedy in shaping lives and building our nation.

Don Wehby in the Senate.

Don Wehby at the GraceKennedy leadership seminar in 2024.