It turns out that Jonathon Hart was destined for a career in business.
That was not obvious to the now seasoned corporate executive in the teenage years, when, unlike many of his peers, his aspirations did not include becoming a doctor or lawyer.
Looking back, the new managing director of Roberts Manufacturing thinks he and his brother Jeremy, an executive at Inchcape Caribbean, should have seen it coming.
They were raised in a loving household by dad Richard, a manager at Courts Barbados and mom Sandra, the owner and operator of a catering business.
“Bless my parents, they are both great human beings who were not fortunate enough to have a tertiary level education, their family and livelihoods didn’t allow it, so they went straight into the working world,” a jovial Hart reflected during an interview at Roberts Manufacturing’s Lower Estate, St Michael headquarters.
“So, they blessed my brother and I with the opportunity of going to get a tertiary level education. When that time came around, honestly, nothing drew me. So I figured ‘right, it’s going to be in business’.”
Hart, who took up his new post on October 1, arrived at the helm of one of Barbados’ best known companies, one which year, on a foundation of strong academic qualifications, experience other leading enterprises, mentorship pair of the best in business, and of team work. Growing the Roberts products at home and abroad He has a Bachelor of Commerce Saint Mary’s University in Canada MBA from the University of United Kingdom.
Hart’s upbringing, which years in Antigua, is one in which is “if you are a good person, then the battle”.
“That’s pretty much a big wife Amanda and I are then push to our kids Jonah and Jackson, not everybody’s going to be Bill everybody could be a good person,” The real value of family was during the COVID-19 pandemic who was in Miami working for his wife and two sons were away loved ones in Barbados.
From his parents, Hart embraced importance of discipline, gratitude, and to “at least try to keep emotion Strong mentors are also vital. credited the major roles played development by former bosses, Dereck Foster, founder and executive of the Automotive Art Group, Haloute, founder and executive which turned 80 last strong family values, experience at two mentorship from a and the importance Roberts brand and abroad is his goal. Commerce from Canada and an Durham in the includes several which the mantra then you’ve won thing that I my also trying to Jackson, because Bill Gates, but person,” he reasoned. was most evident pandemic when Hart, for Automotive Art, away from their embraced the gratitude, objectivity emotion out of it”. vital. He played in his career bosses, in particular executive chairman Group, and Sir Assad executive chairman of Chefette Group of Companies.
“Dereck is a serial entrepreneur who taught me a lot. The biggest lesson is ‘jump and figure it out’. We would joke that he would jump off a cliff and on the way down try and figure out if we need a parachute or a plane, because he had vision, and the rest of us were there to guide him. So learning from him to jump, but build a team, is equally as important,” he said.
Ready to make his mark
“And then Sir Assad, a brilliant businessman as well. Negotiation is probably the biggest thing I learnt from him. His brain is constantly moving. I learnt his knack for business and how to get the most out of every opportunity.”
After putting down roots at Automotive Art where he held senior roles across the Caribbean, and having most recently served as general manager of Chefette’s manufacturing and distribution
division, Hart is ready to make his mark at Roberts Manufacturing.
“Success for me is going to be how I’m able to help build the Roberts culture. I won’t be around for the next 80 years, but we can lay a foundation for the next 80, that’s going to come from building a strong team,” he explained.
“Roberts has some amazing, committed team members that I can’t wait to continue working with. I’ve met people who’ve been here a week, all the way up to people who’ve been here 43 years.
While the employee roll is 200, Hart sees this as 200 families “because while we come to work, it’s not just about us, all we produce here at Roberts helps feed every single employee’s family”.
He said: “The great feedback we’ve gotten is, by and large, everybody’s saying ‘I think we could do this better’, or ‘I think we could do this’, which is rewarding itself, because it means everybody’s interested in seeing how the business progresses.”
Hart has also been in discussion with Roberts’ various partners, including those who work closely with its Pinnacle Feeds division.
Meetings have been held with Roberts’ distribution partners Bryden Stokes and Massy Distribution, and from the Pinnacle aspect with poultry producer Amir’s and also the Barbados Agricultural Society.
Hart, who sums up his leadership style as “I want to be face to face, and then we can follow it up with an email”, is on a mission to increase innovation at Roberts and Pinnacle.
“We have been here 80 years, how do we get to the next 80? It’s going to come from innovation, not continuing doing the same thing over and over. So we listen a lot to what the market has to say and we’re going to map our products to match.”
While he is often in the office from seven in the morning, work-life balance is important for Hart. This means family time, including being “a toy” for Jonah, 11, and Jackson, eight.
“I’m trying my best to give them that time, because there is a short window before children become adults,” said the executive who also enjoys mountain biking, the beach, fishing and motorsport, although time does not permit frequent participation in all of these activities.
While he has followed his own path, Hart ended with some suggestions for anyone wishing to enter the business world.
“You have to work, you have got to put in the time, you have to grow. No amount of education is going to replace experience, and no amount of experience is going to be gained from sitting back. When the opportunities come, you need to seize them,” he advised. (SC)
