Businessman and philanthropist Joseph M. Matalon was last evening inducted into the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Hall of Fame, at a formal ceremony at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.
Matalon is chairman of ICD Group Limited, a Jamaica investment holding company. He is also a past president of the PSOJ.
President of the PSOJ Howard Mitchell hailed Matalon as a Jamaican business icon and a transformational leader who has worked hard in support of the development of the country.
“Joseph’s contribution to Jamaica’s development is undeniable. The PSOJ has advocated for and will continue to advocate for leaders of substance, both in the private and the public sector; leaders who can truly transform this nation. You need to look no further than Joseph Matalon as a real-life example of a leader who has made an indelible impact without compromising integrity and character,” said Mitchell.
“Little Joe is more than an inductee into the PSOJ Hall of Fame. He is respected by his peers.”
Referencing a Gleaner editorial that called for the adoption of a new type of capitalism, Mitchell pointed to the work of Matalon.
He said that the new type of capitalism referred to was “characterised for correcting its excesses by means of an application of measures that guard over the social well-being”.
“Well, they (The Gleaner) could have searched on the Internet for it, or they could have reviewed some of what Joseph Matalon has been doing for a considerable period of time and they would have found a shiny beacon of new capitalism that many of us could do well with,” Mitchell further stated.
Matalon is the founding chairman of the St. Patrick’s Foundation and remains an active philanthropist whose vision resulted in the birth of the Youth Upliftment Through Employment (YUTE) programme that grew out of the PSOJ’s social and economic response to the Tivoli Gardens 2010 incursion.
Matalon is the 26th inductee into PSOJ’s prestigious hall of fame.
His wife and children, as well as several politicians and business leaders, were on hand to share the moment.
