Christopher Tufton

Avia Ustanny, Outlook Writer

Tall and stop-you-in-your-tracks handsome, Christopher Tufton was born blessed with much more than his looks. Although his English father was never to lend support to either himself or his mother, his Mom did not - in the usual Jamaican style - take this out on him.

Too often the story is told of Jamaican boys who, because they so resemble their offending father, are endlessly reviled and told to find a job as soon as they complete the minimum schooling possible.

But, Tufton's life was being guided by his mother's unqualified support. Civil servant Ruby Blake invested completely in educating her children, and received returns in terms of commitment to hard work.

Daughter Sharon Miller is a diplomat in Washington, D.C. Another son, Bryan, works in the security forces in Canada. Younger children Andrew and Shelly are students - Andrew at the Jamaica Theological Seminary and Shelly in nursing school.

Second child, Dr. Christopher Tufton, is a Government senator who is also currently a lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, teaching international business strategy, international marketing and marketing strategy.

Doctorate

Senator Tufton completed his Doctorate in Business Administration at Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, England in 2002. Before that, he completed his undergraduate degree in management studies at the University of the West Indies and his Master of Science degree in Marketing at Georgia State University, Atlanta, U.S.A.

The senator, who has a well-known interest in foreign direct investment and has written several papers on subjects primarily related to international business and marketing strategy, is also a business consultant.

Most recently, in November 2006, Tufton completed a three-year stint as leader of Generation 2000 (G2K), a group of young professionals associated with the Jamaica Labour Party - a post which he demitted, he said, in order to allow for new leadership and to make way for his re-election campaign as Member of Parliament for South West St. Elizabeth.

Mother Ruby Blake told Outlook that she is not surprised in the least that Tufton continues to reach higher and higher.

"He was a conscientious child and a sober child. Anything he is instructed to do he would it well and he would look for your approval. If it is not done well, he would want to do it over. He had to wash the dishes, sweep the yard and sometimes take care of his siblings. He assisted greatly and was quite mannerly."

Disciplinarian

"She mothered and fathered me," states Tufton about Blake, a labour officer who spent 30 years at the Ministry of Labour.

"She was extremely hard-working, a strong disciplinarian with very strong faith - one who also got a lot of satisfaction from serving the less fortunate."

Tufton was quick to follow his mother's example. From high school, he was involved in community service as well. Close friend Marlon Grant, now a real estate investor and entrepreneur in New York City, but who attended Manchester High School for seven years with Tufton, remembers how he would take on positions of all kinds in order to improve the school environment.

"Anything to make the environment a better place, he would do. He has kept it from high school to this day. He has always tried to motivate and mould people, the constant leader who puts himself on the line all the time."

compassion

Most recently, when Grant's mom died, Tufton flew to New York for one week to spend time with him.

Along with compassion, he states, Tufton is the "ultimate professional." He said that Tufton "was always a very ambitious hard-working young man, although he came from very humble background."

It was a constant battle for Ruby Blake to provide the basic needs of her four children, but she always emphasised education. Tufton recalls that his grandmother, Henrietta Spencer, along with uncles and other relatives, provided her with support.

At Manchester High School, Tufton was valedictorian of the Class of 1987. He was also head prefect and president of the debating society.

In 1988, Christopher Tufton won the Jamaica Flour Mills Foundation Scholarship to pursue a degree in management studies at the University of the West Indies.

Then in 1993, he won the U.S.A.-based Thomas Jefferson Memorial Scholarship to pursue an MSc degree in marketing at Georgia State University, Georgia, Atlanta.

He went on to obtain the Commonwealth Scholarship from the British Council, England, in 1999 to pursue doctoral studies at Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, in the United Kingdom.

Today, in addition to his responsibilities at the University of the West Indies, Tufton conducts business consultancy locally as well as in North America and Europe and is chairman of CNT Global Limited, an international marketing consultancy company specialising in conducting market research using focus groups.

He is a director of Cari-Med - the Caribbean's largest pharmaceutical distributor, West Indies Trust Company Limited and NCB Insurance Company Limited - subsidiaries of National Commercial Bank Limited and C-Mobile, an authorised dealer of bMobile products.

Married since 1994 to Nadine, Tufton and his wife are parents of one-year-old Adam, six-year-old Kimberley and 10-year-old Charles. Described as a good family man by his friends, the politician, academic and businessman is also known for enjoying a good lime. He also enjoys attending sporting events or dramatic productions.

Dr. Tufton's academic and commercial actives have been paralleled by an active interest in politics.

Friend Warren Newby, now a professor of finance at the University of South Florida in Tampa and an entrepreneur, told Outlook that the first thing to know about Tufton is that he is "very people oriented. He gets along well with people and he is concerned about people's welfare."

According to Newby, "We have had countless discussions about the extent to which over 40 years of Independence have not changed the welfare of so many Jamaicans, especially those in the rural areas."

Goals

Tufton, he says, who "has an ability to clearly conceptualise what his goals are in any situation, to put in place whatever is required to achieve these goals, whether these are personal things like his education, or representing his constituency," is very focused.

"Even though I do not share his political leanings and I totally support the other side, I am convinced he wants to help poor people," states Newby.

Dr. Christopher Tufton was officially sworn in as Opposition senator on June 24, 2005, appointed to fill the vacancy left by Opposition Leader, Bruce Golding, who tendered his resignation four months earlier.

He told Outlook, "My interest in politics and public policy is born out of a strong belief that we can transform society. As a country we have not optimised our potential," says Tufton. His interest, he says, is in playing whatever role he can to transform communities into the kind of places worth living in.