KEITH Panton, former head of Alcan operations in Jamaica, died last week at the University of Florida’s Shands Hospital in Gainsville.

Panton grew up in St Elizabeth, later attending Kingston Technical High School. He received a bachelor’s from Wilmington College in Ohio, US and a PhD in economics from Washington State University.

He came back to Jamaica to join Alcan, eventually rising to the role of executive chairman and chief executive officer.

While in that role, he lost most of his personal possessions in a fire which destroyed his Alcan residence in the Ingleside neighbourhood in Mandeville.

Panton, who was 79 years old, died leaving his wife Barbara and four children.

Eldest son Dr Marc Panton is currently working in finance in Atlanta, Georgia. A vet, he previously worked as chief technical director for the Ministry of Agriculture and was involved in farming in St Elizabeth.

Second son D David Panton, a Rhodes Scholar and graduate of the Harvard Law School, also works in finance. He is founder and chairman of Atlanta-based PCH Holdings Group LLC, which is focused on sourcing and structuring strategic, opportunistic, private equity investments. He is also an adjunct professor at Emory University Goizueta Business School in Atlanta, Georgia. Previously, he was a government senator and founder of G2K, a group of young professionals attached to the Jamaica Labour Party.

Daughter Beth-Ann Panton Wright attended the University of Cambridge in England and is an adjunct assistant professor at the department of psychiatry, at the Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta. She is also an author and an inspirational speaker.

Youngest daughter Melanie Panton is a publishing executive in New York, US.

Panton has received many online tributes for his role at Alcan, including from Nsombi Jaja, managing director of Quality Management Consultancy, who said, “Dr P you are one of the finest human beings I’ve ever met and one of the greatest leaders I’ve worked with”.

Leo Lambert, a consulting partner at Musgrave Legal Services, said, “I had the privilege of working with Alcan during Dr Panton’s incumbency. His leadership was simply legendary. Humility was his defining characteristic and his generosity of spirit remains unequalled in my experience. ‘Father’ was an extraordinary human being. I will be eternally indebted to him for his role in shaping my personal development.”