They Died 2020

programmes that solicit advertising and you have a lot of businesses that are not making their way. The Gleaner ’s interest in this is trying to create an organisation that is viable, can last, and is Jamaican.” A strong proponent of transparency and accountability in both the public and private sectors, Clarke agitated for legislation to provide increased access to Government information in the late 1990s. “With the new Companies Act, with new security laws, with stock exchange regulations, companies are being required to provide more and more information, and that is perfectly acceptable. But at the same time, there has to be a requirement that the public sector also provide information so that we can assess their performance,” Clarke said at a Rotary Club meeting in 1999. Highlighting the difficulties faced by journalists in carrying out their jobs, Clarke said: “It is very difficult to practise journalism in a country where the public and the press have no legal right to access of information”. Three years later, the Government passed the Access to Information Act, giving Jamaicans the legal right to obtain official government documents, except those exempted under the law. WORK HISTORY Clarke worked with the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) as assistant general manager and later general manager from 1971 to 1976. He served as chairman of JNBS for two decades, 1977 to 1997, and also as deputy chairman from 1997 until 2002, when he was reappointed chairman. His involvement with the institution deepened in February 2017, when he was appointed chairman of the newly launched subsidiary, JN Bank, as well as the restructured mutual holding companies, The Jamaica National Group and the JN Financial Group. In April 2019, he demitted chairmanship of both JN Bank and the JN Financial Group and remained chairman of The Jamaica National Group up to the time of his passing. In 1990, Clarke received the Americas Award from the Americas Foundation. The American Foundation for the University of the West Indies recognised him as a Caribbean Luminary in 2004, and in April 2006, the American Friends of Jamaica awarded Clarke with its International Humanitarian Award. In 2009, he was awarded the honorary Doctor of Laws from The University of the West Indies, and also from the University of Technology. In 2013, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the Northern Caribbean University. A chartered accountant, Clarke was inducted into the Order of Jamaica in 1998. Clarke studied at the London School of Economics and received a BSC in economics. He is survived by daughter Alexandra and widow, Monica Ladd. Remembering Oliver Clarke: ‘He gave direction, not orders...’ “I walked through the door with a whole lot of apprehension. It was his encouragement that pushed me to be bold, to take risks and define my own leadership style. To me, the greatest thing about Oliver Clarke was the fact that he gave direction and not orders. He was passionate about press freedom, believing it to be the corner stone of democracy, and he worked tirelessly to preserve it. ” “Oliver was a change maker. He had the foresight to see that the Westmoreland Benefit Building Society had to change to survive in a changing environment and to meet the changing needs of the communities chief of which led to the establishment and the expansion of the Jamaica National Building Society in the 1970s. Under his chairmanship, Jamaica National was transformed into a conglomerate. Jamaica National is now an international business and is recognised as one of the top ten companies from the Caribbean to the wider world. His mission was always to find alternative pathways for the development of Jamaica.” Earl Jarrett – Chief Executive Officer, The Jamaica National Group Wyvolyn Gager – First woman editor-in-chief of The Gleaner “Oliver was a press freedom fighter, a regionalist, a philanthropist and a patriot. He was always committed to the media endeavour as a business and to making it strong. He always said ‘you have to be a business first; you have to make sure you can pay your way if you’re going to be independent media’ and he tried to ensure that that was the case as chairman of the RJRGLEANER Group and before that as chairman of The Gleaner Company and The Gleaner Company (Media) Limited.” Gary Allen – Chief Executive Officer, RJRGLEANER Communications Group "I don't think that there is a measure for the reach that this man had across the length and breadth of Jamaica. He touched many people individually and always had the well-being of Jamaicans at the forefront of everything that he did, whether it was through Jamaica National or through The Gleaner, an institution with which I have been associated for 13 years through his personal mentorship and tutelage. Through these two quintessential Jamaican brands, Oliver always had a focus for what was needed for Jamaica and Jamaicans to advance along the path of development and financial independence at any given time and in any given circumstance." Christopher Barnes – Managing Director, The Gleaner Company (Media) Limited