Outgoing chairman to serve as paid consultant to First Rock Private Equity

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Barbados-registered First Rock Private Equity is seeking to clear the air regarding the sudden resignation of its chairman, former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding.

Having been appointed to head the board in February this year, news came yesterday that Golding has resigned seven months into his tenure.

When contacted today, Managing Director Chris Yeung was quick to point out that the former one-term Jamaican head of government and elder statesman has not left the company but has transitioned into a new role – that of paid consultant.

Yeung stated that Golding has indicated an interest in serving wherever he can in First Rock Private Equity, which was set up last year to pursue private equity transactions across the region, particularly focusing on financial services and small and medium enterprises. He advised that Golding’s departure as chairman has nothing to do with any differences regarding the company’s operations, corporate governance or performance.

However, he explained that the reasons for the departure were purely of a personal nature, saying Golding indicated an inability to continue in the capacity given his other personal commitments and endeavours. 

 “Golding advised that he needed more time to do things of personal interest that he couldn’t give to us, hence the resignation,” Yeung told Our Today.

Staying on as a consultant

The First Rock Private Equity MD disclosed that Golding has been hired as a paid consultant and is very much welcomed in that new role. He indicated that the company is growing, very profitable and is in full compliance of all regulatory requirements.

Yeung is of the belief that Golding is fully committed to the company but time would not afford him the ability to give as much as he would have wanted.

First Rock Private Equity is an associate company in the First Rock Group, co-founded by Jamaicans Ryan Reid and Michael Banbury.