P B Scott wins EY Entrepreneur of the Year award

PB Scott, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Musson Group, exemplifies the principle of “hard work compounds”, a sentiment underscored by his accolade as the master winner of the Ernst & Young (EY) Entrepreneur of the Year Jamaica award.

“I feel very honoured and privileged to have been chosen. I know that there would have been a lot of options to choose from, and it’s certainly a surprise and something that I’m very pleased to accept,” Scott expressed when asked about his momentous win.

Scott’s humility and appreciation shone through as he spoke to the Jamaica Observer, his win a well-deserved recognition of his tireless efforts and innovative leadership at the helm of the Musson Group.

This latest accolade marks a new milestone for P B Scott, who was honoured with the Order of Jamaica last year. However, this EY Entrepreneur of the Year Jamaica award holds special significance as his first regional recognition.

“Well, it’s very nice to be recognised. I think it means a lot,” Scott said with gratitude. “It’s an honour to be part of something that’s global. It’s going to be incredible to meet other winners, and I’m just very thankful that I could be awarded an award for something I enjoy doing. It’s very kind of them.”

In an exclusive interview with Sunday Finance, P B Scott, chairman and CEO of the Musson Group, reflected on the company’s evolution and shared a pivotal experience from his early 20s.

An English representative from Barbados had visited his company, claiming to represent a prominent regional brand, and announced plans to transfer the brand to a different distributor. Scott was perplexed, as the Englishman seemed to lack understanding of the region. This encounter ignited a desire in Scott to become an expert in marketing and distribution across multiple regions, rather than just one country. He sought to find a solution that would enable seamless distribution across various jurisdictions, breaking away from the traditional model of representing companies in only one country. Today, the Musson Group proudly represents brands in multiple countries, offering a comprehensive and innovative approach to distribution that was unprecedented at the time. This vision was born from that moment, and Scott’s determination has made it a reality.

“It’s taken 25 years to build out that platform, but the platform is excellent,” he said proudly. “It’s seamless; it adds real value to the principles that utilise it, and it exists primarily because we have great people. It’s not a platform that I’ve built alone. It’s a platform that has been built by an incredible bunch of management [personnel] in the company,” he added.

Scott, humbled by his win, deflected the recognition from himself and instead credited his entire team for their contributions to Musson Group’s growth and success, which has 7,000 people in 23 countries.

“I stand here as a winner of this award, primarily on their shoulders,” he acknowledged. “I’m very grateful for the work that they do every single day to build our organisation. We’re all very proud of what exists,” he told Sunday Finance.

Scott outlined further plans for the business, highlighting investments in its IT systems through Productive Business Solutions (PBS). Musson Group recently acquired Xerox’s operations in Ecuador and Peru, which are significant markets.

“The opportunities in these larger markets are quite significant in IT; in Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador we have a very small market share there. So we see that we’re the exclusive distributor of Xerox; we can bring a lot of our other relationships there,” he said.

Scott expressed optimism about PBS’s future growth, driven by increasing digitalisation efforts. With an annual revenue of $360 million across 23 countries, PBS represents innovative technology businesses from Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Jamaica, and Barbados. Scott attributes this expansion to the expertise of 3,000 skilled IT professionals who are qualified and certified in various products.

In addition to PBS, Musson Group also owns Seprod, a leading food manufacturer and health-care business. As the largest health-care distributor in the Caribbean, Seprod’s subsidiaries — including Brighton Pie and Facey Commodity — distribute drugs and health-care products across the region. Furthermore, Seprod’s food distribution companies generate an impressive $800 million in annual revenue.

“We’re building new distribution facilities in Jamaica; we’ve just finished 300,000 of Marcus Garvey Drive. In Trinidad, we’re building a brand new distribution centre in Central. It’ll have facilities with chilled and frozen food and over 35,000 pallet spaces. We’re building 75,000 square feet in Guyana for another brand new distribution centre, so we’re investing very heavily in our infrastructure for more capacity,” he revealed.

Scott expressed his gratitude for the award, acknowledging that it validates his hard work. However, he emphasised that the company’s growth mindset remains unchanged, and attributed the company’s success to the exceptional talent within his team.

“The award is giving an award to me but, really and truly, it needs to be an award, really, to our team. It’s on the back of the hard work of many people. It’s just my name on the tablet, that’s all,” he said humbly.

Source: Jamaica Observer