Who is going to hire Oliver?

A cousin of Oliver Clarke’s remembers a conversation in the late 1960s between Clarke’s father and himself, which was the earliest signal he could recall of the accountant’s showing of his destiny to be one of the country’s powerhouses in business and in media.

“I can remember his father saying to me, ‘I don’t know what to do with this boy. He is so smart, and he is going for his fourth degree, and I don’t know who in Jamaica would be able to employ him!” Peter McConnell Sr, four years Clarke’s senior, told The Gleaner yesterday as he reflected on the 75-year-old media mogul’s passing on Saturday night.

I said: “Oliver is extremely bright. Let him pursue whatever he wants to. He will make out in the end ... .”

It turned out that Clarke would rise to become managing director and then chairman of The Gleaner Company, racking up a combined service of more than 40 years.

He had also been chairman of the Jamaica National Group.

“I have never sat on any boards with him, but people have told me that he is an incredibly good and effective chairman,” said McConnell.

Clarke, affectionately called ‘O.F.C.’, was a very forceful person, said McConnell.

“He has a very strong personality, but you know, everything that he has touched has turned to gold,” he said, recalling Clarke’s role in the divestment of National Commercial Bank when it had run into troubles in the 1990s.

“I have nothing but the highest respect for the work he’s done, and his integrity, and he has certainly helped keep Jamaica on the democratic path,” McConnell further added.

Chairman of the RJRGLEANER Group, Joseph M. Matalon, remembers Clarke as a fighter with a unique ability to “speak truth to power”.

“There is no sharper mind, no more focused leader that you could find. You could neither find a tougher businessman, but equally, you would also never find a more generous and compassionate soul,” Matalon, who served with Clarke on the board of The Gleaner Company for 34 years, said.

“As diplomats and guests of Jamaica, we were fortunate to know this national treasure – even briefly. His wit, intelligence, and integrity were boundless,” Canadian High Commissioner Laurie Peters said of Clarke.

McConnell told The Gleaner that Clarke’s extended family was extremely saddened by his passing.

“It’s been very sombre. Everybody is very sad, and everybody has said we have lost a great man,” McConnell said.

romario.scott@gleanerjm.com