Kingston Wharf 75th Anniversary

T HESE DAYS Grantley Stephenson is out on the other side. He is still serving as deputy chairman of KingstonWharves, and sitting on other boards. However, he is doing so from a place of rest and peace; far away from the day-to-day of the shipping in- dustry and all its complexities. He relinquished the reins of KingstonWharves in January 2020, having retired as chief executive officer, a position he held for 16 years. With the COVID-19 lockdowns for older Jamaicans, he conducts his board meetings virtually and performs his other functions remotely. He is also chronicling his shipping journey. Other than that, he is taking time to relax. “You are lucky you find me up at this time of the morning,”he chuckles, in reference to the 9 a.m. interview call. “I miss the daily activity of shipping, but I am enjoying my rest at the same time. I am spending time withmy family and can watch a good game of football or cricket,” he said. Many agree that this is a well-deserved break for a man who got up at 5:30 a.m. every morning for 16 years to carry out the business of Kingston Wharves. “As CEO, you had to constantly be strategising. You had to be kept abreast of everything that was happening in the company, respond to major challenges, and engage with different people who are calling you on various matters. Now I don’t have to take those calls, that is for Mark (cur- rent CEOMarkWilliams); now I can hear about the issues after,” he continued laughingly. Yet, Mr Stephenson’s laid-back conversation belies the energetic approach and courageous steps he took inmoving the company forward over the years, which helped to change its trajectory and set it on a path to success. “Being in the shipping business keeps you going because there is always something going on, and with the variety of activities KWL had going on as a multipurpose termi- nal, there was always something to keep you occupied or challenge you. So it made life very interesting. You could never be bored at a facility like Kingston Wharves, which is so multifaceted,” he observed. In reflecting on what he would like to be remembered for, in terms of his impact on KWL, Mr Stephenson pointed to his effort to modernise the company to international standards, which positioned it to access new opportunities. “In the early days, KWL did not own its equipment.We had one crane that was owned by a third party and a few stackers that were again owned by third parties. And so, we were never in control of the level of service or the productivity that we offered,” he elaborated. Mr Stephenson and his team recognised that in order to grow the business and give KWL more control over its destiny, certain bold moves had to be made. “So we devel- oped a plan to purchase equipment, buy additional land and train people, and so on. So that is how we have been able to grow over the years to where we own six cranes, 19 stackers, 17 tractors, 25 container chassis, trucks and other equipment,” he said. This positioned KWL to handle increased cargo volumes and get involved in trans-ship- ment, while growing its domestic market. The former CEO is also extremely proud of getting the company more deeply involved in the motor vehicle trans-shipment business. “Establishing a car trans-shipment business was a goal for a long time, but this was always very elusive, until we got the partnership with Höegh, a Norwegian motor vehicle carrier. Other autoliners were calling on KWL before, but not with the volumes of the Norwegian autoliner,” he explained. “We have done very well as a trans-ship- ment hub for automobiles, to the point that it attracted a few other carriers to Kingston. So apart from our strategic location, we have done a very good job over the years. This motor vehicle trans-shipment business is what has broadened our revenue base; so we were not dependent on any one area. We now have a number of good revenue streams and that has strengthened the company over the years,”Mr Stephenson said. The development of Berths Eight and Nine is another achievement in which he takes great pride.“That was the single most impor- tant project we have undertaken. This set us on a new path where we can now serve major shipping lines and be the trans-shipment hub for some of them,” he said. Mr Stephenson explained: “The contain- erised cargo traffic started to grow rapidly in the early 2000s, but we could not handle it efficiently from the break-bulk terminals, and so we needed a specialised berth. I believe that today more than 75 per cent of all the container business KWL handles is carried out at Berths Eight and Nine. If we hadn’t done it, KWL would not have a future.” He is often recognised for transforming the physical landscape of the organisation, but team members also credit him with rev- olutionising the company’s social landscape, bringing professionalism, visionary and com- passionate leadership. Mr Stephenson’s old schoolmaster often told him to“bite off more than you can chew, and chew like hell”. That, he has done. “It’s been an interesting journey; it had challenges. At times, not everyone saw the vision, but I believe it was very rewarding,” Mr Stephenson concluded. NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2020 26 KINGSTON WHARVES 75TH ANNIVERSARY GRANTLEY STEPHENSON After his contribution, out on the other side Then CEO Grantley Stephenson (second left ) and Chairman Jeffrey Hall (left) join Prime Minister AndrewHolness to officially open the KingstonWharves Total Logistics Facility in 2018. Then Anglican Bishop of Kingston the Rt Reverend Robert Thompson (right) also participated in the function. Grantley Stephenson