( L - R ) MCCONNELL, SUTHERLAND, FRASER and POWELL
MAJOR CONGLOMERATE Lascelles deMercado has boosted the size of its board by the recent addition of three external directors - Marlene Sutherland, Richard Powell and Michael Fraser.
On Monday the chairman of Lascelles, William McConnell, told Wednesday Business that, in expanding its board with the independent directors, the group was pursuing good corporate governance, though he stressed this was not the sole reason.
"I don't want [the new directors] to ever think that they were ... brought on the board to meet some corporate governance objectives. They have been invited to the board because we think they have something to offer that, really, money can't buy," he remarked.
GOING INTO THE NEXT PHASE
McConnell, however, conceded that the new appointees "will lend the basis for [the group] to go into the next phase of corporate governance which should be the establishment of committees which sometimes require composition of external directors."
Lascelles - headed by its long-standing chairman, the well-respected George Ashenheim - currently has five board members, including McConnell. The other directors are Anthony J. Bell, David C. Henriques and Richard G. Ashenheim.
The composition of the Lascelles board has been, for some time, a minor moot point among shareholders. At its last annual general meeting in April the question was raised as to the particular composition of the board with one shareholder suggesting that women - on a point of corporate best practices - should be appointed to the board.
'GOOD BUSINESS SENSE'
McConnell, however, told Wednesday Business that the competence rather than the gender of the directors was more important. He noted, as well, that it made "good business sense" to appoint the independent directors. "From a commercial standpoint we [are] very fortunate to have selected three candidates [who] bring mixed talents and experiences to the board. They are three very senior executives, people who have held very senior positions in large companies in Jamaica," he commented.
Still, some of the new members, while unconnected to Lascelles, have had, in the past, direct and indirect relationship with the Lascelles group.
For example, Marlene Sutherland, a board member of Carreras, worked for many years with George Ashenheim when he was the chairman of that
company. Ashenheim, prior to his retirement as Carreras' chairman in 2005, spent some 44 years as a director with the fortress cigarette manufacturers.
"We have seen Marlene at work ... and she is a very, very talented person and ... was asked to join our board based on her extensive experience and expertice," said McConnell.
Lascelles is also the second largest shareholder in Carreras.
For his part, the managing director of Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS), Richard Powell, was a former employee of a Lascelles subsidiary, Wray and Nephew.
The other appointee, Michael Fraser, is the deputy CEO of Life of Jamaica (LoJ). The latter's Pooled Equity Fund is one of the top ten largest shareholders in Lascelles. However, Mr. McConnell told Wednesday Business that Mr. Fraser's relationship with LoJ had nothing to do with the latter's appointment. "He was invited to sit on the board in his own right," he remarked.
