Davis

They were two of the most powerful civil servants to walk the corridors of power this decade, and now they have teamed up as consultants to go after business in areas where their skills have been honed in government service.

Dr Carlton Davis and Shirley Tyndall, will next week launch a consulting firm in which they hope to leverage nearly 100 years of experience, combined, in public service management, as well as their expertise in finance and mining to international clients.

On November 3, they will launch Davis Tyndall Consultants, a company whose home for now was identified only as a post office box number, and a cellphone number as contact.

Tyndall on Thursday declined comment on the partnership, saying any disclosure would come at next week's function.

That in itself was nothing new, for Tyndall has never been a media hawk and rarely speaks to the press.

With more than 40 years in the public sector, Davis retired in February after 15 years as cabinet secretary and head of the Jamaican civil service.

But he is perhaps better known internationally for his expertise in the bauxite/alumina industry for which he was a key negotiator on behalf of Jamaican governments. He has also written books on the development of business in Jamaica and globally.

In fact, up to his retirement, Davis was chairman of the Jamaica Bauxite Institute, the agency that monitors the industry, as well as Clarendon Alumina Production, the company that holds the government's now minority stake in Jamalco alumina refinery, which it owns with Alcoa.

Tyndall retired in November 2005, having served 46 years as a public servant, including 16 as financial secretary, the top civil servant in the finance ministry.

Interestingly, Tyndall worked alongside Dr Omar Davies, brother of her new partner, for a decade of his 13 years as Jamaica's finance minister.

Ministry insiders said that not only did Tyndall have Davies' full confidence, but he looked to her for guidance in his international dealings and handling of the domestic economy.

Invitation to guests for the company launch spoke to the "combined expertise of the principals in the extractive in-dustries, public sector management and the financial sector", which offered "unique opportunities for the developing world and international organisations".

At the time she left the government, Tyndall, who is chairman of the National Contracts Committee - an agency that oversees the awarding of government contracts - said she had "no plans to retire" although he was not out "looking for a job".

Any job she undertook, Tyndall said, "would have to come very good to tempt me".

john.myers@gleanerjm.com

Tyndal