St Lucian wins Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year

Laurie Barnard, Chairman of St Lucia Distillers, has been named the 2003 Ernst and Young Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year. The award ceremony took place last Saturday night at the luxurious Ritz Carlton Hotel in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Barnard will go on to represent the Caribbean at the Ernst and Young World Entrepreneur of the Year awards in Monte Carlo next May. The Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year Award is presented by the professional services firm, Ernst and Young and is supported by companies such as platinum sponsor, Republic Bank Limited. This is the seventh year of the programme which recognises and honours the contribution of entrepreneurs to the economies of the region.

St Lucia Distillers Ltd produces some 27 different award winning rums, liquers, creams and punches. Their products can be found throughout the Caribbean, as well as the United Kingdom and recently Canada, and there are plans for further expansion. The lone distiller in St Lucia also imports wines and provides specialised machines and provisions to hotels. Current output stands over one million litres of alcohol per annum and the company has an annual turnover of approximately US$11 million. Barnard has been Chairman of St Lucia Distillers since 1989. He credits their ability to keep pace with global competition to their heavy investment in research and development, resulting in innovative new products and packaging. Fifteen finalists from five countries vied for awards in five categories. Only finalists in the Emerging Entrepreneur category were not eligible for the overall award.

In addition to the overall Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year award, Barnard also gained top honours in the Manufacturing category. Vincent Chang, CEO of Tastee Ltd won the award in the Retail category and Anthony Thorne of Wilderness Explorers in Guyana won the Tourism award. The lone woman in the pack, Audrey Hinchcliffe, founder of the Jamaican cleaning company, Manpower and Mainten-ance, clinched the award in the Services category, while the winner in the Emerging Entrepreneur category was Trinidadian Gregory Noone, Managing Director of Optik Technologies. Jamaican businessman, the Honourable John Issa was named Master Entrepreneur for his contribution to business in the Caribbean. He is the executive chairman of the Superclubs chain which includes the Grand Lido, Breezes and Hedonism hotels. He is also chairman of the Pegasus Hotels in Jamaica, vice chairman of the Gleaner newspaper and a director with Grace Kennedy, Globe Insurance and the Jamaica Stock Exchange.