The GraceKennedy Group has launched its 100th anniversary celebrations (GK100) with the announcement of a share offer for its over 2000 employees. The announcement of the offer, which is geared at broadening the share ownership of the GraceKennedy (GK) team in the Company, was made by GK Group CEO Don Wehby during the virtual launch of GK100. The launch was streamed live to hundreds of GK employees from around the world on Saturday, January 15, 2022, one month ahead of GraceKennedy’s official 100th anniversary date – February 14, 2022.
In his address to the online audience at the launch, Wehby commented that GK100 is not only an opportunity to celebrate the Company’s growth and successes, but also the positive impact GK has made on its team and the communities it has served over the past 100 years, as well as its contribution to spreading the spirit of Jamaica across the globe through its food and financial services. Wehby went on to say that the secret to GK’s success lies in the Company’s continued commitment to its core values of honesty, integrity, and trust, instilled by its founding fathers over 100 years ago. He also reiterated his belief that there is indisputable correlation between GK’s highly motivated team and the profitability of GK’s business.
“As we mark 100 years of being in business, we have made it a priority to ensure that a major part of our celebrations involves GK giving back to our amazing team who have made it all possible. A few years ago, I made a promise that we would give GK employees the opportunity to own a piece of GraceKennedy and I can think of no better way to celebrate our 100th birthday than to give the gift of ownership in this great Company to our team. Today, I am thrilled to announce that in 2022, in celebration of GK100, our GK employees will be given the opportunity to own a piece of GraceKennedy,” said Wehby.
The announcement was met with virtual cheers from those viewing the launch online and a slew of comments from team members expressing appreciation and jubilation. Persons in attendance at the virtual launch were also advised that the share offer would be subject to the Company’s rules governing stock options.
The announcement of the share offer has come on the heels of GK being awarded the 2020 Governor General’s Award for Excellence at the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) Best Practices Awards in December 2021. GraceKennedy is consistently one of the top performing stocks on the JSE and recorded the best financial performance in its history in 2020.
“We had a record-breaking year in 2020 and 2021 is looking great too. With the GK100 wind in our sails I am confident that 2022 will be even better!” said Wehby.
GK100 will feature a year-long calendar of events and activities to celebrate the Company’s anniversary and will be reflected across all its brands and subsidiaries in Jamaica and overseas.