Father Ho Lung:One of the greatest CEOs we've never had

If asked to consider the global impact of Jamaican organisations, the Missionaries of the Poor (MOP) would perhaps not come readily to mind to most persons. Instead, companies such as GraceKennedy, Red Stripe and J. Wray and Nephew would be recalled with pride. Each has been led by a series of respected leaders who are legends in their own right.

However, one of Jamaica's (and perhaps the world's) most legendary CEOs is Father Richard Ho Lung, founder of MOP. It takes conviction and strength to go global, and from the ghettoes of Kingston, Father Ho Lung and his team run an operation that is staffed with skills and experience imported from more than 13 countries; provides a service to thousands of people in eight countries; and has survived in a sustainable way for more than two decades.

Father Ho Lung is a master marketer who has cultivated (unwittingly) an authentic brand persona which has remained 'bankably' consistent over the decades.

The man, whose vow of poverty, which means perhaps that he owns only two suits of clothing, has unintentionally launched one of the most highly recognised clothing 'lines' in Jamaica.

The white robe, draped with either a blue or brown cummerbund of the religious brothers, is easily identified and represents compassion, self-sacrifice and service to society's outcasts.

One can only be an effective leader if there are believing followers, and the best leadership is that which inspires, influences and coaches.

successful networking

Father Ho Lung, although a religious leader, has the ears, confidence and support of his secular counterparts across the gamut of spheres, including business, politics and at the community level.

He has also successfully navigated the tension ascribed to interdenominational relations. Heads of churches across the country yield their lecterns to allow him to address their congregations and invite support for his work.

This influence does not only exist in Jamaica but in the other 'markets' which are served by MOP. How else could the Jamaican ghetto priest successfully manage to cross the cultural, geographical and even ideological barriers?

Some people spend millions of dollars in business school to learn a portion of what Father Ho Lung has managed to accomplish. The annual theatre production put on with 'Friends' is a highly anticipated calendar event that always plays to a sold out audience.

If he is not the creator of, he can certainly be credited with refining the Jamaican opera genre. His shows are a unique, unparalleled space in Caribbean theatre which showcases Jamaican amateur and professional talent.

The space is also an enviable platform for proselytising in comedic, though potent form, demonstrating Ho Lung's winning ability to become all things to all men, especially his zany versions of the latest popular dance moves.

pro-life facility

Proceeds from Acts of the Apostles, the grand performance staged recently at the National Arena on the first and second weekend of October, will go toward funding the Holy Innocents Centre, which is a pro-life facility. The facility was part of MOP's response to what Father Ho Lung described as the pending "hurricane of abortion" which he anticipates with pending legislative changes. Ho Lung would rather have babies live, despite tremendous odds and opposition to their birth.

Luckily, the biological parents of Steve Jobs, the globally idolised former CEO of Apple Inc, also made that tough call, and allowed him to live, be born and given up for adoption rather than aborted. Jobs passed away on October 5 (may his soul rest in peace) and the media have been clogged with stories and commentary from all angles.

But when Father Ho Lung passes away, his life will not be as equally covered. Lucky for us, the 'chairman of the adjustment bureau' has allowed the world to have the benefit of the genius of both men. However, if we had a choice, would we have preferred the Jobs legacy of remarkable but high-priced products which made acute distinctions between the haves and the have-nots? Or would we have preferred the legacy of Richard Ho Lung, who shone the spotlight on the outcasts and sought to include them by honouring their humanity, despite their difficult and sometimes terrible life circumstances.

a more remarkable model

It has been reported that Mr Jobs, though undeniably brilliant, ruled by fear and intimidation, did not believe in donating money to charity from the company's coffers (despite his US$7 billion net worth), and did not believe in praising staff. Father Ho Lung also started a novel, breakaway type of operation; used his genius in direct service of the most needy; attracted the support of talent from around the world to whom he constantly gives credit for the work that has been accomplished across the various arms of his operations; and has a large following of admirers.

Mr Jobs famously dropped out of college, whereas Father Ho Lung almost didn't qualify at all for St George's College because he had failed the Common Entrance Examinations, and only got a space at the prestigious school for boys on someone's goodwill. The man, who did not pass the entry test, is now one of our country's greatest visionaries, evident even in the way he has groomed others to succeed him when he can no longer lead the order that he founded.

In closing, I must also mention Father Gregory Ramkissoon, founder of the Mustard Seed Communities, which rescues disabled children and those living with HIV/AIDS. The Mustard Seed Communities was founded in Kingston and expanded to serve in Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Zimbabwe. Jamaica has had a rich history of positive, powerful and influential cultural exports. Thanks to both Fathers Ho Lung and Ramkisoon, Jamaica can also boast of having developed and exported a sustainable model of social intervention, which has been tested, proven and adapted across markets.

I invite another source of great Jamaican pride, the remarkable Mona School of Business at the University of the West Indies, to include the study of both Father Richard Ho Lung and Father Gregory Ramkissoon in its leadership and entrepreneurial studies programmes. I also invite our theological seminaries to host conferences around the lives and work of these men, while we still have them with us.

Klao Bell-Lewis is a communications specialist and is not Catholic. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and klaobellelewis@gmail.com.