ALTHOUGH humbled by his appointment to the Order of Jamaica (OJ), outgoing Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) Governor Richard Byles says the decades he spent serving in both public and private sectors were motivated by patriotism, not the pursuit of honours.

As he reminisced on the many feats of a career spanning well over 40 years, Byles told the Jamaica Observer that he’d never assumed a role in the private or public sector to gain acknowledgement, but simply to improve the lives of those he served.

Through that lens, the veteran businessman shared that the national honour is deeply appreciated and equally unexpected.

“I felt very honoured and very proud that I have been selected. I’ve always looked on persons who have had honour like that conferred and thought of them as being outstanding, so I really appreciate it,” he said.

Before his appointment as BOJ governor in 2019 Byles was already one of the most accomplished corporate leaders and businessmen in Jamaica. He was managing director of Pan Caribbean Merchant Bank in 1988 before being appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of the PanJam group in 1991.

He then led PanJam for 13 years before taking over as CEO of Sagicor Jamaica in 2004, retiring in 2017. Additionally, Byles sat as chairman of Red Stripe and was co-chair of the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) formed to monitor Jamaica’s performance under its International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement.

His influence also extended to The University of the West Indies where he served as council member. He also served as vice-president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica.

“What I did in the private sector and in the public sector had its own merit; I didn’t do it to get an OJ. When I was co-chair of EPOC, I did it for country. When I was head of Sagicor, I did it for the shareholders who put up their money. When I’m governor of Bank of Jamaica, I do it for the country, for the financial sector. So those are the objectives and goals that I had in mind. The fact that I got an OJ that I didn’t know I’d get, I’m happy to have it. I’m very proud of it,” he said.

Stepping down from his position as central bank governor, Byles told the Sunday Observer that while he is not actively pursuing new leadership roles at this stage of his life, he remains willing to serve the nation, if needed.

“If you love Jamaica you can’t say ‘No’ to doing something, so whatever there is that I’m capable of helping with, I’m happy to do it. But it won’t be a full-time job. It will be consultation, advice, discussion more than anything else. But you can’t be a passionate Jamaican and give up. My mind will always be thinking about what’s right in Jamaica, how to do it better; what’s wrong, how to fix it,” Byles said.

The Order of Jamaica, ranked fourth in the order of precedence, may be conferred upon any Jamaican citizen of outstanding distinction or upon any distinguished citizen of a country other than Jamaica. In the latter case the person is referred to as a honorary member. A member of the Order is styled “Honourable” and the motto of the Order is “For a covenant of the People”.