Chris Williams to retire as Proven CEO next January | Business

In just over six months, Christopher Williams will step down as Chief Operating Officer of Proven and retire. There is no information yet about his possible successor.

For the past 14 years, Williams has led one of Jamaica’s most dynamic companies, growing it from a start-up with just $141 million in assets at its IPO to an established company with tentacles reaching beyond Jamaica and assets of more than $1 billion.

Williams is CEO of Proven Management Limited, PML, which was founded by himself and three other investors – Garfield Sinclair, Peter Bunting and Mark Golding – all of whom had some involvement with the former pioneering investment bank Dehring Bunting & Golding before it was purchased by Scotiabank Jamaica.

Before joining Proven as a co-investor, Williams headed NCB Capital Markets for about five years, cementing his reputation as a high-yield investment banker.

PML is the investment management company of Proven Group Limited, formerly Proven Investments Limited. The group includes businesses in real estate, pension and investment management, banking and manufacturing, and has a regional presence in Barbados, St. Lucia and the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas. When including investments in micro-lender Access Financial Services Limited and financial conglomerate JMMB Group Limited, the reach is even wider.

The Proven Group’s principal businesses include Proven Wealth, Proven Properties and Proven Bank. Its other investments include Roberts Manufacturing.

Williams will officially retire on January 31, 2025, a date that also marks the 15th anniversary of Proven Group’s founding, the company said in a market release.

“While retiring from day-to-day operations, Williams will remain a significant shareholder, active director of PML and member of the investment management committee and will continue to serve on the boards of a number of Proven Group subsidiaries,” the company said.

Proven Group Limited’s assets are currently valued at $1.1 billion, while its book value (or net worth) is over $126 million, based on annual results released last week. The investment company posted a profit of $13.6 million last year.

Proven was listed as a pioneering share on the JSE’s US dollar market in 2011. The capitalization on Wednesday was 96.2 million US dollars, or 15.9 billion dollars in Jamaican dollars.

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