FIRSTBORN

In this biography/memoir, a son shares the life story of his father, focusing on the man’s role as the pioneering leader of the global conglomerate Grace, Kennedy & Co. Ltd., which started in Jamaica in 1922.

In a prologue set in 1976, entitled “Troubled Times,” Luis Fred Kennedy, the author’s father, discusses the just declared state of emergency in Jamaica and how “the company’s future is uncertain.” The account cycles back to trace the Kennedy family’s roots in Jamaica. The author’s great-grandfather William Kennedy was “of mixed heritage, African and Irish, a progeny who became a member of the first-generation, post-Emancipation of free ‘brown’ men born in Jamaica.” In 1922, when W.R. Grace divested its Jamaican subsidiary, William’s son, Fred, founded Grace, Kennedy, a trading company, with a member of the Grace family. Upon Fred’s unexpected death in 1930, his firstborn son, Luis Fred Kennedy, then 21 years old, stepped up to assume management roles in the company. The bulk of the volume is taken up with Luis’ 50-plus years at the company, guiding its growth and dealing with the rise of trade unions; Jamaica’s transition from a colony to an independent nation; and the country’s political turmoil, including the period highlighted in the prologue. Author Kennedy praises his father for his “genuine desire to build wealth for the common good.” This richly detailed book, which is illustrated with family and corporate photographs and other archival materials, is a tribute that may be of most interest to the Kennedy family and business historians. The author lauds Grace, Kennedy, now “a multinational corporation with shareholder equity valued at over J$65 billion,” for having “withstood the test of time—one hundred years of integrity and prosperity.” But he also provides insightful commentary into the various socio-economic issues that arose during the era covered and makes a compelling case for the “social conscience” capitalism that his father (who instituted various worker benefit programs) practiced.  

This deep-dive celebration of an enterprising executive and company delivers engrossing nuggets of history.