A place for transparent communications during turbulent times
Mr. Lawrence Duprey of CL Financial
As I poured over the news of the government’s bailout of CL Financial, I didn’t only think about my policies and investments throughout the Group, I also thought about my myriad of friends who work in the various companies. For me, the story behind the story always involves the human element and I would bet that my peers and friends at CLICO, CMMB, CIB and Angostura woke up every day this weekend thinking that tomorrow will not be better then today. How could they?
I can’t claim in this case to be fair or impartial. I love the CL Financial story. It resonates with me the history of its entrepreneurship, bravado, risks and growth. Mr Lawrence Duprey, who I have long admired, didn’t present a picture of hope last Friday. He kept his eyes glued to the speech, his tone was sombre, the jowls, which typically gather around his cheekbones, seemed to droop a bit lower that day.
Still his admittance of making a mistake, his messages of being proactive in his approaches to government, and his desire to be cooperative bodes well. The side effects of CL Financial picture are not going to be pleasant in the next few weeks. Many are scared for their jobs, their investments, their livelihood. It was good that Mr Duprey stoically stood in the in front of the glare of cameras.
I hope he continues to stand solidly. I also wish that he remains visible to his employees and agents as the waters grow more turbulent, and it must before it settles. I hope he relies on his communicators as much as he does finance and legal team.
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Judette Coward Puglisi (MSc, Dip IR, BA), Managing Director. Find out more 
For many they are as elusive as the proverbial Holy Grail. From the
perspective of someone who had to manage fall out as a result of the situation,
it offered an opportunity to practise what we preach. We made sure our
employees got a message from the Group CEO, individual Business Unit heads
sent messages to their staff, we prepared FAQs for worried clients and
policyholders, we did ads regionally, and got our subject matter experts on air.
These things have a ripple effect and the swift decisive action by Government
was great until it began to fall apart at the seams. Panic can cause distress to more companies (Republic?) and, by extension, more families. Still, transparency and
communication remain critical in the drive to contain the contagion.
As in your example Maria, while the free fall continues I consider these cases stand-out PR moments
Maybe you know somethings that I don't Wayne, but I don't think Mr Duprey accumulated wealth on the backs the human resources. I think the best minds were attracted to CL Financial and its companies, many stayed for the compensation, the benefits, the feeling that they were part of something meaningful.
This perhaps a story perhaps of better governance and regulation and a demonstration of how tightly linked we are in a global economy. It's not one about human resource exploitation.