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During the massive rebranding exercise, Tony Deyal wryly commented: “Neal and Massy announced it was Massy and proved to be even worse, messy…”
He also cautioned Mr Gervase Warner: “…I keep seeing the CEO in almost every local forum pontificating about the economy, the environment, and everything under the sun… If you spend so much time telling other people how to manage, your business must be the best.”
According to an Express editorial, the Massy Group is hugely important since “it carried us from cradle to grave.”
It is a profitable conglomerate that spans the Caribbean, “pays millions of dollars in taxes to the government, thereby contributing to the common wealth of the nation”, and its local profits are “the main driver in the growth of the group outside of this country”.
The sheer size of the government’s shareholding block also compels us to examine Massy’s behaviour and performance.
The sudden departure of Mr Warner bears risks. These include but are not limited to the potential to destabilise or distract the organisation, talent flight, and negative publicity.
Have we tried to fix one problem by creating another? An immediate red flag is his replacement by an executive on the brink of retirement like him.
Massy is a company that announced a US$244 million investment in three companies outside of Trinidad and Tobago last year. Is there a future if one does not prepare for it? Is this the best the Massy succession pipeline can deliver in a crunch?
Let us look at the legacy that the current Massy leaders inherited. Let us consider Sidney Knox and Nazir Ahamad.
Knox was not afraid of taking on expansion or criticism. He confronted Dr Eric Williams on the need for the National Commercial Bank to be independent of political influence, eventually serving on its board for two decades.
Ahamad was an unruffled chairman who worked in unison with the then-CEO, Bernard Dulal-Whiteway.
In this time of crisis, what do we have? We have at least seven serving directors living outside the Trinidad base. Is this reflective of Massy’s future ambitions?
Nine of the thirteen directors have less than three years of service. Suresh Maharaj, former Citibanker, has 16 years of Massy board experience. Except for David Affonso, the executive directors have less than a year of board experience. The inexperienced board was facing its most significant test.
Photo: Massy
The Chair’s response at the Annual General Meeting foreshadowed the resignation outcome. He left the door open to misinterpretation in answering the allegations.
Was he complicit in ignoring the whistleblowers complaint? A careful reader may not have discerned any mature appreciation of the risks involved in the official releases.
What would Naz Ahamad, the calm and measured player, have done?
One is forced to ask whether the Warner resignation was approved by a board more concerned about their reputations than the company’s long-term prospects.
What was the problem they and Mr Warner were trying to solve? They were struggling with a reputational damage problem. Massy’s problem was long in the making and is representative of many local businesses.
Massy’s board mistook corporate image for corporate reputation. The former is easy to build, but the latter is essentially perception. Image is a mental picture, while reputation is a value judgment.
When events hit the headlines, they attract the public’s attention—shareholders, and politicians. In the eyes of these groups, the company’s reputation will influence their willingness to provide or withhold support.
Local companies shun reputation-focused research studies. Multinational companies operating here do them. We do cocktail parties. We do not recognise the world is more complex than before.
When a company’s reputation is built on earnings and acquisitions, it is more vulnerable to adverse commentary. The value of solid relationships and credibility with the press becomes evident during a crisis.
Who will you call when you have worked at being respected for being ‘the biggest business in town’ while your customers are experiencing challenging times? Who are your ‘Ghostbusters’? Who will defend or soften the blow to your reputation?
Copyright: Baloocartoons
Did Massy think about reputation when their “community giving” was up 1% compared to a profit increase of 24% in 2023? (Massy 2023 Annual Report p. 6)
How many favourable media items were there before this incident?
Neutral coverage of their successes was their Achilles heel. When the negative news about the death of an employee spread across the news landscape, what was their response? Silence, a few dollars and more silence.
Mr Warner’s resignation does not fix the reputation problem. Even if the executive team remains united, their confidence to act will be undermined. Will the executive team have learnt the lesson of needing community and stakeholder support?
Will the Government overreach in attempting to replace board members? Do we have a Sidney Knox on board to bring wisdom to the situation?
Massy is not an insignificant company. The hard work and recent investments can be jeopardised by opportunists taking advantage of the messy situation or weak men.
Stay tuned.
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Some good nuggets here re Culture,Leadership and Governance.The focus on Reputation,Business Model and Board composition are on point.My point of departure is your solution.It is said that in the problem,you find the Solution.Exactly.When we are seeing here is the irrelevance of a Leadership legacy left by Knox.Oh how well he secured ambitious business outcomes.He was a great entrepreneur.I saw it first hand at NCB.He was a genius for those days.There was a “Bullmoose” culture in a large measure…my way or the highway.And it served him well.Leaders today don’t have that option..really.Massy’s crisis goes beyond reputation or Gervais.It is a call to bring Leader and Corporate culture into the 21st Century…greater inclusiveness,transparency,respect for stakeholders,engagement. And please don’t rush off to remedies,hacks and quick fixes.This is deep work requiring heavy lifting,requiring neuroscience and evidential management. And this will take time. Is the new CEO and board up to this charge.Dont waste this crisis.And thanks Noble for elevating the Conversation..N-j0y..nAz