The Business Hall Of Fame
On October 15, 2011 the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce will hold its seventh annual Business Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Hyatt Regency to pay tribute to three distinguished business persons who displayed exemplary leadership over the years. The event is once again being sponsored by First Citizens Bank Limited, whose generosity over the past five consecutive years has made it possible to honour our local business icons in style year after year.
When the Chamber initiated the Business Hall of Fame in 2005, it was born out of what was felt to be a major void in the local business landscape, namely, a recognition of the role of successful Business in the holistic development of Trinidad and Tobago. What better way, we thought, to bring attention to the tremendous, and often silent contribution that our business men and women have made to our national development, than to recognize the individuals who have worked assiduously to succeed, in their various areas of enterprise, oftentimes giving back through philanthropic work to the society, whose challenges they overcame.
The Chamber’s event is therefore a very important one as it identifies role models in business and highlights their success. Success in business is often seen as unison of flowing profits and industry respect. Our Hall of Fame recognizes that true success as businesspeople goes far beyond this. Success in business, while not easy to attain, can be sustained through adherence to the principles of strong corporate governance and making sacrifice, resilience and creativity the cornerstone of all initiatives. Even more so, success transcends generations, and creates a business and brand that becomes interwoven into the fabric of society. This year’s exemplars all met our definition of success and have made outstanding contributions to the country’s business landscape. For this reason they deserve our highest honour and esteem.
The stories of the inductees show that each one has been self-made with no golden spoon, yet through hard work and determination, each became a leader in his respective field. It is therefore with great admiration and appreciation for their accomplishments, that the Chamber each year pays tribute.
Over the past six years, the Chamber has inducted fourteen business leaders into our Hall of Fame, many of whom have also been recipients of various National awards.
This year, we once again have a distinguished group of inductees that represent the best of our country. They have excelled in the fields of distribution and banking – and each has made significant contributions to our twin-island Republic. Our 2011 inductees will be Mr. ‘Naz’ Ahamad (posthumously), Mr. Peter July and Mr. Conrad O’Brien. On the night of October fifteenth they will join the ranks of our other illustrious inductees, and we will tell the interesting and inspiring stories of their climb to success. We invite all to join us for this gala function.
We take this opportunity to thank all our business men and women who contribute to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. We hope that by honouring these three inductees, their accomplishments will continue to be an inspiration to the future business leaders of our great nation.
