Radio Jamaica Limited announces management changes

Chief Executive Officer of the RJRGLEANER Communications Group, Gary Allen, will demit office, effective December 31, 2023.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Print and Digital Services, Anthony Smith, will assume duties as the new CEO on January 1, 2024, the Group's board chairman has announced.

Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), Christopher Barnes, will be resigning as a director of the Board of the parent company, effective October 31, 2023, and as CSO, on December 31, 2023, but will continue as a consultant with the Group and remain on the Gleaner Company Media Limited and Broadcast subsidiary boards.

FULL STATEMENT FROM CHAIRMAN OF RADIO JAMAICA LIMITED, JOSEPH M. MATALON:

The Board of Directors of Radio Jamaica Limited (RJL), the parent company in the RJRGLEANER Communications Group, announces changes in its Board and Executive Management.

After fifteen years as head of the Group, Chief Executive Officer, Gary Allen will demit office as Managing Director of the company and CEO of the Group, effective December 31, 2023.

The Board announces that Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Print and Digital Services, Anthony Smith, will assume duties as the new CEO on January 1, 2024.

A statement from the Group says Mr. Allen will remain with the Group, serving as Group Senior Executive, Corporate and External Affairs, working closely with Board Chairman, Joseph M. Matalon and the new CEO.

Allen will lead the regulatory and policymaking interface of the Group, especially relating to Digital Switch Over. He will continue to chair the Boards of the Overseas businesses in Canada, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom, as well as being a member of the Editorial Board, the Boards of the print and broadcast subsidiaries and being Chairman of the RJRGLEANER Sports Foundation.

The Company also advises that Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), Christopher Barnes, will be resigning as a director of the Board of the parent company, effective October 31, 2023, and as CSO, on December 31, 2023, but will continue as a consultant with the Group and remain on the GCML and Broadcast subsidiary boards.

Christopher has been with the Group for more than 15 years, serving The Gleaner Company and The Gleaner Company (Media) Limited (GCML) as Managing Director before becoming Chief Operating Officer, then CSO after the amalgamation of GCML and RJL in 2016. Effective November 1, 2023, CEO-designate, Anthony Smith, will be appointed to the Board of Radio Jamaica, and on January 1, 2024, will be appointed Managing Director, and automatically become an executive director as provided under the company's Articles of Incorporation.

Mr. Smith was appointed Group Deputy CEO and GCML General Manager on October 1, 2022. A seasoned business and technology executive, he has successfully led diverse teams and transformational programmes throughout his career. Amongst his impressive achievements, as CEO of Massy Technologies Jamaica and Group COO for Massy Technologies Group (Massy Technologies Trinidad Limited), Mr. Smith was successful in growing the company's profits before tax each year, for the 5 years of his tenure. He has also served on several boards, including that of the Massy companies he led.

In the statement to the Jamaica Stock Exchange, RJL, a publicly listed company, says these organisational changes are driven by the strategic imperative to strengthen our leadership position in the local and diaspora markets and to support the digital-first transformation programme, as outlined at the most recent AGM.

The agreed strategy is designed to take advantage of the changing media landscape, which has seen technology convergence; impact of AI technologies; new media; on demand access and Digital Switch Over (DSO), to achieve sustained future growth.

As the new CEO of the RJRGLEANER Group, Mr. Smith will be responsible for spearheading the strategy and execution of the new operating model for the Group. All departments and revenue channels will fall within his responsibility.

The RJRGLEANER Communications Group was established in April 2016 following an amalgamation of the RJR Communications Group and The Gleaner Company (Media) Limited. RJR and the Gleaner have been serving the Jamaican public for 75 and 189 years respectively. The amalgamated Group operates four radio stations, four television channels, two newspapers locally, as well as weekly publications in three diaspora centres.

It also publishes a children's newspaper (Children's Own), operates a multimedia company, a global streaming platform (1spotmedia), as well as several digital and social media assets. RJRGLEANER is leading Jamaica's digital television transition to the ATSC 3.0 standard after, in 2022, taking Jamaica to being the third country in the world to adopt and inaugurate a service for the new NextGeneration of Television standard.

The Group operates the number one television station and newspaper publication in Jamaica, accounts for most of the social media engagement (over 70%) of all media in Jamaica and is consistently in the top two leadership position for radio services in the country.

The Group is confident about its continued leadership in media and communications, into the future, and is proud of its commitment to journalistic integrity and the strong positive corporate impact it continues to have on Jamaica and Jamaicans across the globe.

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