KINGSTON, Jamaica – Seprod Group of Companies, Chief Executive Officer, Richard Pandohie has joined the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for Carifta 49 as Patron.

As Patron, Pandohie will act as a key spokesperson for the event and will use his traditional and social media platforms to promote the Games. The event scheduled for Kingston in just over ten weeks (April 16 – 18) is estimated to have just under 500 athletes competing for supremacy in Junior track and field for the 49th staging of the Games.

Chairman, Hon Michael Fennell, made the announcement at the weekly meeting on Friday. In welcoming Pandohie to the team, he said “it’s a happy day when on behalf of the LOC, we can welcome our Patron. He is one of the brightest minds representing business in the Corporate sector, having transformed the Seprod Group of Companies into one of the most dynamic companies in the region.”

Additionally, the Chairman emphasized that “his association with the Games which seeks to convert the lives of young people in the same way as he has done with the manufacturing and distribution company, makes him a natural fit for this role.”

JAAA President, Garth Gayle in acknowledging Pandohie, thinks the appointment is timely and knows his contribution will be of “tremendous value, not just to the Games, but to track and field in Jamaica.”

The new Patron, in his acceptance “I understand fully the role I have to perform. There is so much that Jamaica that comes with what sport (track and field) has to offer in the process of developing world-beaters.”

He acknowledged the juxtaposition between sport and business and has pointed out that “while track and field is not a difficult sell, it has to be sold differently.”

Pandohie has been Group CEO since October 2014 with the company reporting a revenue base of US$350 million.