The news that Johann Heaven is to succeed co-founder and long-serving CEO of Proven Group, Christopher Williams was generally well received. Williams had for years presided over Proven, turning it into an investment house with a footprint across the Caribbean and revolutionising residential real-estate development. Proven became one of Jamaica’s sexiest brands.

Johann Heaven has been with Proven since it began its operations, prudently investing funds and seeing to it that it formed a stellar reputation. He has always been quiet and very effective. His approach has been to operate below the radar with little fanfare, focusing on getting the job done. He is results-oriented. Johann Heaven knows Proven’s DNA.

So what can be expected from his tenure as CEO? 

In an interview with Our Today, Heaven said: “I have been in the industry for twenty-five years. I started off as an analyst at Dehring Bunting & Golding (DB&G) with the same principles that we have now. I transitioned into Scotia Investments before joining Proven when it was founded. I am at heart a chartered financial analyst which means I am very meticulous and mathematically minded in the way I approach things. One of my major roles at DB&G and Scotia was strategic thinking and implementing formulated strategies. Proven has evolved considerably over the past fifteen years.

“We started off with US$20 million raised from the IPO and today we have over US$1 billion of assets under management.  My job now is to take that US$1 billion and to generate profits, generate returns for shareholders. The goal now is to put us on a stable path for the next step up to growth.”

Proven will be looking to recalibrate and employ new approaches. It reported a net loss of US$2 million for the first quarter ended June 2024, a far cry from the US$4 million net profit it posted for the same period last year. It did not pay a dividend for the June quarter. It did manage to keep its net revenue steady at US$15 million and has capital of US$103 million and holds US$153 million in cash.

Heaven will be now looking to improve operational performance.

Although Proven did take a hit in the June quarter, its performance is largely due to its fortunes being inextricably tied to entities that it is heavily invested in. It is the largest shareholder in JMMB with a 20 per cent stake it acquired in 2018 for J$9.2 billion. Over the last two years, JMMB has posted anaemic financial performances which in turn have weighed on Proven, which in effect operates as a holding company for the entities it invests in.

Can Proven go out in its own right and generate revenues as opposed to sitting back and collecting big paydays from some of the largest financial players in Jamaica? 

“The focus right now is on our core. We have banking and wealth operations in Jamaica, Cayman, BVI, Bahamas, Bermuda, St Lucia. We are now looking to get them even more profitable. We need to get our Wealth arm back up. That falloff can be attributable to the high interest rate regime over the past two years, but that is on a positive trajectory now. The focus will now be on our operating profits, that is profits we book before profits from subsidiaries.  You are right, there is a lot of contagion, whether it be JMMB, Sagicor – yes it is something we are aware of. We know that with interest rates falling, the future for JMMB will be better than it has been for the last two years,” explained  Heaven who will be stepping into his new role in January 2025.

Proven should have a clear runway for the remainder of this year and into the first quarter of 2025. Interest rates are expected to further abate and the hurricane season would have passed. The only trouble that looms ahead is geo-political tensions in the Middle East and a continuing depressed environment for commercial real estate in Jamaica.

“Pre-COVID, we did three large acquisitions namely Roberts Manufacturing, Proven Bank Cayman and Heritage. Right after that, we saw Central Banks pumping money into economies which led to an increase in both inflation and interest rates. We went into “a perfect storm”. Coming out of it now, we are seeing interest rates coming down and the market is more conducive to business and to growth. Even during those trying times, you see we were able to weather the storms and still be profitable. Given where we are now from an economic and market perspective, it is only up from here,” declared an optimistic Heaven. 

Johann Heaven has the experience to guide Proven into the next chapter. The investment house now headquartered on Lady Musgrave Road, has been tried, tested and proven worthy. What is the next chapter for Proven? 

“At the stage that Proven is right now, the revenues are there. The key is to bring in the technology and transform the business into a technology-based one, particularly on the banking and wealth side. We have to place all the entities on one operating platform. We are still operating in silos and we need to have them operating as one. That is my main focus right now, to get the companies on one operating platform and to seek out opportunities to cross-sell. We have to leverage that which we have built with greater efficiency and get profits up to a certain level, “ explained the incoming CEO.

What sets Proven apart, is the way it interfaces with clients and the public.  There is plenty of talk about the digital age, AI and losing that personal touch. Is Proven in danger of losing that personal touch, its ability to connect and garner attention with great reliability and dependency on digital technology? 

“Proven has built this sophisticated brand for the sophisticated investor right across the Caribbean. That is not going to change. We will not neglect the relationships we have formed. With that comes the personalised touch and here the directors and management team have held fast to that. It is core to Proven and part of our DNA. There is no way technology will substitute that. The way we go about business is what our investors and shareholders want to see and want from us,” said Heaven.

Proven has left an indelible mark on the residential real estate landscape in Jamaica. Many are now imitating what it implemented and its aesthetic.  It elevated real estate development in Jamaica to a new level and announced to Jamaicans that they should no longer accept having to reside in concrete boxes. Proven brought style to Jamaicans’ living arrangements. Today, when you look across the Caribbean, Jamaica is lagging in the residential space, nevertheless Proven has closed that gap. Where it leads, others are following. It raised the bar. 

In the June quarter, there were no property sales and there now seems to be a slump of sorts in the real estate market, more so in the commercial space.

Heaven shone light on this, saying, “Our property segment has done wonders for the Group not just by the results and bringing in profits but by going into Cayman and Barbados. That uniqueness you talk of, is again part of Proven. We addressed that sophisticated investor who doesn’t want the regular-type apartment or townhouse. We have been a differentiator, we have been unique in our approach to living spaces. The properties team led by Aisha Campbell has done wonders. You can see what we are all about with real estate by looking at this building which is our new headquarters. 

“You should take a look at our Bahari development in Runaway Bay. There will be fantastic villas and apartments there. We will pivot to where the market is. Given where interest rates are right now, the residential market is not as pretty as where it was three years ago. We have moved into the commercial side but with interest rates falling we expect the residential market to pick up again.”

Millennials and Gen Z are taking an active interest in investing and place great stock in living the “ uptown lifestyle.”  How will Proven interface with these new investors looking to succeed even better than previous generations of Caribbean people?

Heaven answered: “These young people haven’t built their wealth as yet but many are children of parents who have wealth. We do have this mystique and reputation of being only for rich people. We do appeal to the younger generation. We are on social media, we have the Heritage project which is geared toward saving for your child’s college education and behind that product is a lot of marketing. We do target the young all the way to those going into retirement.” 

Jamaica is seeing a new generation of business leaders taking their place as captains of industry. Many head businesses not seen in Jamaica before. Many have new entrepreneurial ideas and will need capital to fund their businesses.  Will Proven be looking to fund these new business leaders and their ventures?

“Well, we do tend to be a bit conservative. We are not in that space right now. We invest in more established companies with a track record. That’s not to say we won’t get into that business but the risk profile of start-ups and venture capital is not really in keeping with our philosophy which is preserving capital for our investors and giving them immediate returns. But saying that, it is the future of Jamaica and it is critical the start-up sector gets funding. It is vital to Jamaica’s growth and development in the future. It is an area we will look at down the road.”

So what does Johann Heaven see through his untrammelled eyes as the future for Jamaica and the wider Caribbean? After all, Proven has been one of the leading investment houses to lay a footprint across the region over the last fifteen years.

 “We are bullish on Jamaica and we are bullish on the region. Jamaica is now in a really good position, the best it has been for thirty years. The economy is growing, interest rates are falling, so too are debt levels, and there is improving infrastructure. The one factor that has eluded us is growth. It is incumbent on the private sector and business leaders to take Jamaica to the next level as an emerging market in the region.  We are confident given the dynamics and where Jamaica is positioned right now, that will eventually happen.

“Similarly for the region, we see the growth and development taking place. The Caribbean is special and it is good for Proven. The Caribbean is an attractive area to invest in. There is a need to invest in a sophisticated brand and a brand that is well-known throughout the Caribbean. Our focus now is to build that brand, build that awareness and attract investors. Many people want a second home in the Caribbean. “