By: Derrick A Scott
Washington DC – Lowell F. Hawthorne, the trailblazing President and CEO of the New York-based Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill, distributor and franchisor of Caribbean food products, will keynote the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce (MBCC) flagship event slated for the Hilton Rose Hall Resort on Saturday, December 3, under the theme ‘Honouring Tradition, Embracing Innovation.’
Amidst the usual glitz and glamour expected of the MBCC Annual Awards Banquet this year, patrons will get an opportunity to learn how businesses can successfully navigate the minefield of disruptive technology and innovation.
A much-celebrated success story in the Jamaican diaspora, business leader Hawthorne has continuously honoured the legacy of his family, who operated a bakery in Jamaica and opened the first US restaurant some 27 years ago in the Bronx, New York. Since then, the business has grown into a chain of restaurants of over 100 locations operating in several states within the United States.
The Chamber will use this banquet to spark the minds of its members and guests and show that while disruptive technology and innovation can transform or relegate a product or service, a business or an entire industry, it can and should be leveraged to realize sustainable and significant returns.
Elaborating on the focus of this year’s awards banquet, MBCC President Gloria Henry said “much has been said and continues to be said about disruptive technology and innovation and many businesses, countries and regions have gone to great lengths to secure their products or territories to ensure continuity and success.”
According to Henry, “the services sector, more than any other, has been impacted by disruptive technology, which has either rendered other technologies obsolete, or has completely altered the characteristics of a service and how it is delivered.”
Montego Bay as the hospitality and near-shore amenities capital of Jamaica generates majority of its revenues from services, but the changing tides of technology, innovation and its impact on services do not seem to resonate at a high enough decibel in the discourse of engagement.
Henry added: “Indeed, the Chamber will acknowledge and recognize in its traditional way those businesses that have distinguished themselves in spite of unpredictable and often rising tides and continue to support the economy of the West, whilst navigating the course of disruption, competition and global challenges.
“Many of these businesses have been very innovative and have employed great entrepreneurial talent to expand their boundaries. Some have even gone so far as to reinvent themselves.
“The foregoing arguments; the energy and drive, which are propelling the future of growth and success for this Western economic centre are at the heart of the decision in the choice of keynote speaker for the Banquet this year.”
Hawthorne’s success and his family business have created employment and spin-off windfall for many persons who either work directly with the company or operate a franchise.
The business is recognized among the United States largest black-owned businesses, Golden Krust holding at No. 31 on Black Enterprise magazine’s list of 100 Industrial/Service Companies with $113 million in revenues for 2014.
Lowell has been bestowed with many awards for his entrepreneurial prowess and philanthropy. His many accomplishments and accolades include the Order of Distinction of Jamaica, the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Jamaica Observer’s Business Leader Award, an Honorary Doctor of Letters from Medgar Evers College and an Honorary Doctor of Law from the University of the West Indies.
In 2005, he established the Mavis and Ephraim Hawthorne Golden Krust Scholarship Foundation, to honour his parents. It has awarded numerous scholarships to young people in the United States and Jamaica.
Hawthorne also serves as a director of the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry and as Chairman of the Partnership Board of the American Foundation for the University of the West Indies.
He is also an author, whose compelling account of his extraordinary journey is entitled “The Baker’s Son.”
In 2016, Hawthorne was featured on the Emmy Award-Wining CBS Television Network series Under Cover Boss.
The Golden Krust CEO embodies the spirit of the Caribbean dream with family, ingenuity, persistence and innovation as pillars of success on which thousands of families stake their livelihood and millions get to enjoy the best of what Jamaica and the Caribbean have to offer.
The Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce & Industry is honoured to host another celebratory event recognizing trailblazers and innovators, as ‘Together We Build.’
