Guardsman director and Group head of Marketing and Advertising Sheila Benjamin-McNeil has watched how her big brother  Kenny Benjamin built the company he started back in 1977 into a market leader and one of the most recognised corporate brands in Jamaica.

The security company has gone on to establish operations in a number of Caribbean countries.

Those early days were testing and called upon Kenny Benjamin’s resilience and resolve. His story is a lesson to those who aspire to build a business from an acorn into a majestic, tall oak tree that endures. Today, the name “Guardsman” holds so much respect. 

Next year, Guardsman will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, and Kenny must be proud to see his son Nicholas ascend to become Deputy Executive Chairman and decades later still as founder, Kenny can count on his sister Sheila’s contribution to the Group as she oversees rebranding and is part of a core team working to transition Guardsman into a new era that fully embraces new technology.

Speaking to Our Today about how Kenny started and how what he accomplished is so remarkable, Sheila Benjamin McNeil recounted: “Kenny was born and brought up in India and came to Jamaica where he had no friends and relatives here. He started literally from scratch. You know he began as a guard in Jamaica. Our father worked at the Indian railways and was in charge of the canning division, and Kenny learnt a lot about guard dogs from him. That proved vital because in Jamaica, he began training dogs for security purposes. Kenny used dogs to guard businesses. He got popular and then began hiring guards.

“He told me back in the early days, he didn’t have food in his fridge and had to make sure the dogs eat before he did. He went to school in the day and guarded at night. That’s how he built up his business.  He invested in a property, then sold it and used the proceeds to invest in Guardsman. It’s an incredible story, and he has grown from strength to strength.  He has always remained humble.”