Leadership Changes at Kingston Wharves

Grantley Stephenson Appointed Deputy Chairman and Retires as CEO. Mark Williams Appointed to post.

Kingston Wharves Limited announced Grantley Stephenson as Deputy Chairman of the company, as he retires from duties as Chief Executive Officer. Incumbent Chief Operating Officer Mark Williams has been appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer, both appointments taking effect January 6, 2020.

In making the announcement Chairman Jeffrey Hall, hailed Mr. Stephenson for his contribution to the growth of the company and for his decision to continue in this new capacity. He stated “we are extremely appreciative of his decision to serve the company in this important capacity. I very much look forward to working closely with Mr. Stephenson to continue strengthening the governance of the company and to position us to take on major new growth and investment opportunities.”

In welcoming Mr. Williams to the post of Chief Executive Officer, he stated “The board and I are absolutely confident that Mark brings the right mix of leadership, vision, expertise, accountability and teamwork to the role of Chief Executive Officer and we expect the company to do very well under his direct executive leadership”. 

Kingston Wharves will in 2020, celebrate its 75th anniversary. As stated in the 2019 annual report the company plans to stay the course of prudent financial management and the bold strategies that have propelled us to success, while proactively envisioning new and innovative measures to anticipate and meet the demands of the local and global economy.

Grantley Stephenson, Biography

Grantley Stephenson has held the post of Chief Executive Officer for 16 years, having come to the post with over 30 years in shipping and logistics. Under his leadership Kingston Wharves Limited has been transformed to the leading multipurpose multiuser Port terminal in the region, expanding the scope of operations and whilst growing shareholder value. Among his key achievements were, development of Kingston as an International Automotive Transshipment Hub; establishment of modern state-of-the-art logistics facilities for Kingston; major redevelopment of berths 8 and 9; Commissioning of the largest mobile harbor cranes in the Caribbean to support vertically integrated stevedoring services, and; significant growth in assets, profits and share value.  

Grantley is a Director of Jamaica Producers Group Limited, Security Administrators Limited, Harbour Cold Stores Limited, SAJE Property Services Limited, ADVANTUM, Ports Management & Security Limited and Assessment Recoveries Limited. He has served as the President of the Shipping Association of Jamaica and the Caribbean Shipping Association.  Mr. Stephenson is the Immediate Past President of the Caribbean Shipping Association.

He holds undergraduate qualifications in Engineering from the College of Arts, Science and Technology (now UTECH) and in Shipping Management from the University of Plymouth, England. He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of the West Indies. Mr. Stephenson is the recipient of the JIM 2015 Manager of the Year Award (MOTY) and has been a distinguished Fellow of that institution since November 2006. He is also the recipient of the Honorary Doctor of Science in Port Management from the Caribbean Maritime University in 2017.

Mr. Stephenson has served as Honorary Consul General to the Kingdom of Norway since 1998 and is a past Dean of the Consular Corps of Jamaica. He was conferred with the Order of Distinction, Commander Class in 2007 and is the recipient of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit, the highest non-national award. Mr. Stephenson is a Justice of the Peace.

Mark Williams, Biography

Mark Williams joined Kingston Wharves Limited in October 2011 as the Chief Marketing & Planning Officer and later appointed Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for the development and execution of corporate strategy for the KWL Group. In addition to managing the KWL Group’s strategic planning process, he also had responsibility for domestic and international business development, marketing, customer service, terminal operations, safety and security as well as human resources. With the development of a robust strategic plan, Mr. Williams has implemented a series of transformative structural adjustments in Kingston Wharves and headed commercial negotiations for all the company’s fast-growing logistics division. These have resulted in significant cost containment whilst improving revenues.

Mark has 20 years’ experience in commercial and strategic planning. Prior to joining Kingston Wharves, Mark was Vice President – commercial development, marketing and planning at The Airports Authority of Jamaica. He held Senior Executive positions at The Shell Company (W.I.) Limited and Shell Antilles & Guianas Limited with responsibility for 10 countries throughout the Caribbean.

Mr. Williams holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree from University of Surrey, United Kingdom, a Masters of Philosophy (MPhil) and Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree from the University of the West Indies and Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B) from the University of London. He is a Certified Port Executive and has completed Executive and Leadership Development programs from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and Columbia University. Mark is a Justice of the Peace for Kingston and serves as Director of Security Administrators Limited and the Shipping Association of Jamaica.

Mark is married to Michelle and they have two adult daughters.  

About Kingston Wharves

Kingston Wharves Limited (KWL) is the Caribbean’s leading Multi-Purpose Multi-User Port Terminal Operator, providing the Region’s importers and exporters with a broad range of cargo handling and logistics services and connections to over 30 international ports in the Caribbean, Latin and North America. 

#Jamaica #Shipping #business