It is often said that outsourcing is a people business. And in this newly released 2013 Nearshore Americas Power 50 ranking, we see first-hand that the people inside the ‘war room’ of the Nearshore business community are hard-working, ambitious and focused, almost obsessively, on operational excellence. In other words, the Nearshore industry didn’t get to where it is today by accident.Success in outsourcing requires tremendous attention to detail. Requirements have to be filled. Clients have to be reassured. And high-performing professionals need to be hired, retained and rewarded. Cities and countries need to be educated on the enriching opportunities of outsourcing, and policies have to be built to make the whole system perform at a level that is unfettered and fluid.All these things happen because real people devote big parts of their lives to make the Nearshore a reliable place to do business. They also continue to win business and influence

the direction of deals amid intense competition from national and international rivals.We congratulate the winners of this, the third annual Power 50 Ranking. We especially salute the top ten finishers, who have achieved noteworthy milestones in the short history of Nearshore outsourcing. We hope their exemplary work continues, and we hope that all the winners recognize their impact on an industry that is still finding its way, and still calls for leadership and vision.

Editor’s Note: It should be noted that the Power 50 is entirely based on nominations from you, the reader. We rely on the ‘eyes and ears’ of the community to inform us. If you feel key executives are ‘missing’ from the list, then make it a priority to participate and make your nomination next time. We hope for maximum engagement and count on readers to participate!

 

UWI Ambassadorial Corps Launched

Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, Stephen Vasciannie, in one of his first duties on home soil, yesterday officially launched the University of the West Indies Mona, Western Jamaica Campus Ambassadorial Corps.

The Ambassadorial Corps is an initiative led by a team of final-year students at the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) and involves 12 outstanding members of Western Jamaican, who are to serve as advocates for the campus with the business and academic communities, deliver lectures, and promote the interests of UWI Mona Western Jamaica Campus in the wider society.

The appointed ambassadors are Custos of Westmoreland, Father Hartley Perrin; executive chairman of Caribbean Producers Jamaica Limited, Mark Hart; Dr Barbara Salmon-Grandison, CEO of the National Health Fund; Everton Anderson, principal of Hampton High School; Heather Murray, Adam Stewart of Sandals Resorts International, Omar Robinson of Round Hill Hotel and Villas, businessman Howard Ward, of Ward Power Tools; Yoni Epstein of Island Outsourcers, Ernest Grant of Rainforest Seafoods, Hope Markes of Kiwanis International and Fred Smith of Exclusive Holidays.

At the programme launch at the Iberostar Grand in Montego Bay, Ambassador Vasciannie commended the Western Jamaica Campus for conceptualising the Ambassadorial Corps, which he described as “an excellent initiative”.

The ambassador notes that while the UWI focuses on students in their pursuit of learning, it must also promote the welfare of the wider society in other ways. “We, the people in the wider society, pay taxes and make other contributions to the organisation of tertiary studies. And we expect that our universities will be sensitive to our day-to-day challenges and concerns, even as we want our universities to promote personal academic development,” said Vasciannie, the former principal of the Norman Manley Law School.

He said it is expected that some of the research and learning at the institution will address social needs in immediate ways. “In seeking to promote the wider social interest, some persons at the Western Jamaica Campus could consider giving particular focus to the activities and concerns of this part of Jamaica,” the ambassador charged. “This is an area in which tourism and agricultural production are important to the lives of many, which open the door to the suggestion that there should be more and more studies emanating from the denizens of western Jamaica on the impact of the tourism and agricultural sectors here.”