CEO's PERSPECTIVE
James McLetchie
President & Group CEO of Massy Group
Lessons from Life, Learning, and Leadership
Those words from my father came one morning when I was in Form 6 at Fatima College, just months before he passed away. At the time, I didn’t realise he was preparing me for the ‘what if’ of his illness. But that lesson—short, clear, and unforgettable—has stayed with me my entire life.
His death was my first real encounter with disruption, personal and completely outside of my control. Yet, what I could control was my response, which was precisely his point. Many thought I wasn’t processing my loss, was perhaps too calm. But I had already framed it differently. I couldn’t change his passing. What I did have were excellent memories of a father who believed in my potential (he also set clear boundaries).
At 17, I learned to see disruption not as an ending, but as a starting line, a new threshold to cross. That perspective has shaped how I live and how I lead.
Staying Unfinished
Over time, I’ve accepted that I will never be a complete or ‘finished’ leader. And that’s a good thing.
The idea of the ‘unfinished executive’ is simple: I stay energised by constant learning. My passion for and commitment to learning is what sharpens my craft, no matter the stage of life or career. It is what helps me respond to change, adapt to new realities, and see opportunity where others may only see disruption.
Staying unfinished also means staying humble. Over the years, I’ve dropped the ball more times than I’d like to admit. In the moment, those mistakes always felt bigger to me than to anyone else. Yet often the solution was straightforward: refocus on the goal, learn the lesson, and move forward.
That rhythm—falling, reframing, stepping again—has been as central to my growth as any success. It keeps me grounded, adaptable and willing to take risks without fear of imperfection.
People as the Multiplier
If there is one constant across my journey, it is people. As I have been learning, I also accept that our role as leaders is to support others if they want to learn and, over time, I’ve come to think of this power of people in business in quite a simple way:
People + Customers + Partners = Results × Impact
Results matter, but what excites me is the multiplier: the impact. When people (at all levels) feel their work has meaning and that they matter, they make customers happy, and partners trust us. That’s when results compound into something lasting.
This perspective is deeply rooted in my upbringing. My father, self-disciplined and self-taught, served as Assistant Controller of Customs. My mother was the 'entrepreneur of entrepreneurs'. She ran a catering business, a roti shop, and sold roti skins to Hi-Lo. Together, they gave me a model of hard work, professional integrity, and discipline.
My mother’s rule was simple: “If you’re still in bed after 5:30 or 6 am, you will get lazy.” I don’t think that’s true, but maybe that’s why I’m an early riser even now.
Those lessons never left me. They shape how I lead: providing clarity, showing people that their work matters, offering support, and trusting and expecting them to deliver.
My “Formal” Journey of Learning
My career has been one long education.
At PwC in Trinidad and later in the United States, I learned professional rigour. At McKinsey, global experience and an environment of excellence sharpened my ability to solve complex problems. At Aveva, I saw firsthand how software and technology could transform entire businesses and industries.
And now at Massy, I carry the privilege and the responsibility of leading a company that is both deeply tied to the region’s history and charged with preparing for its future. No organisation gets to 100 years without people, resilience and innovation. We will invest in our people, we have seen our resilience, and we will begin a journey toward a new 'generation of innovation'.
The lesson through it all is clear: adaptability matters more than certainty. Hard work matters more than titles. And people—always people—make the difference.
Technology and Our Generation’s AI MomentAll this learning matters even more today because disruption is unfolding at a historic pace.
In 2010, the world created enough data to fill 8 trillion iPhones (256MB each), enough to cover Trinidad & Tobago 18 times over. Just 15 years later, in 2025, global data production will require over 700 trillion iPhones—enough to cover more than 1,500 T&Ts.
The speed of adoption of AI is just as striking. The internet took seven years to reach 100 million users. ChatGPT did it in only two months.
These are not just statistics. They are signals that we are living through a historic moment where disruption and opportunity are accelerating together. Therefore, as leaders, we cannot afford to stand still. We owe it to the organisation we lead to get going.
In my own journey of learning, I continue to explore how data and AI will reshape leadership, decision-making, and amplify human creativity. For us in Trinidad & Tobago and across the region, we may lack global scale, but we have no shortage of innovation or ingenuity. The opportunity lies in using technology not to replace our strengths but to amplify them.
This moment calls for new learning, new leadership, for me and for all of us. And I believe we can seize it to amplify our people to compete and win globally.
Continuing the Journey
As I reflect on AMCHAM’s theme for the THIS conference—Engage, Execute & Evolve—I don’t see a checklist. I see a journey.
Engagement means real connections, active listening, and ensuring People know their work matters. Execution is about grounding ambition in disciplined action, a standard I continue to hold myself to. And evolution is about embracing the fact that I will always be unfinished—that change is constant, and the only mistake is standing still.
Looking back, a thread runs through it all: disruption will keep coming, mistakes will keep happening, but if I keep learning, keep listening, and keep stepping forward over that threshold, that line in the sand, there is always opportunity waiting to be unlocked.
That is how I intend to keep leading. Not as someone with all the answers, but as someone unfinished, committed to growth, grounded in people, and open to the opportunities hidden in someone else’s disruption.