Sidney Knox’s long road

WILFRED SIDNEY KNOX, who has died at the age of 98 and is regarded by historian Gerard Besson as being possibly “the most outstanding businessman in TT in the latter half of the 20th century,” was a larger-than-life figure who has left behind a similarly giant legacy.

While today his imprint is strongly evidenced by the continued success of conglomerates such as the Massy Group (once Neal and Massy, a firm he joined in 1953 under Charles Massy and later became synonymous with), it is his intangible managerial sensibility that has arguably had the greatest impact on the ecology of the region’s commerce.

“There cannot be any doubt that Mr Knox’s business model for expansion, and his pursuit of quality service and best practices in management in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean were of significant importance,” Mr Besson remarked in a 2012 publication marking this country’s 50th anniversary of independence.

He noted Knox was among the founders of the regional conglomerate and worked towards the creation of the Caribbean Free Trade Association (Carifta), the precursor to the Caricom single market.

And yet, it was not a straightforward path to business for Mr Knox, who was born into a family whose ancestors are said to include cocoa planters and at least one chief justice, William George Knox, and who once served in the Royal Air Force during World War II.

Upon his return to Trinidad, he had stints working for JB Fernandes and Ray Lange, according to a 2011 biography by the writer Robert Clarke.

Mr Knox’s influence is illustrated by his role in the opening of a vehicle assembly plant once praised by Eric Williams as “a milestone in TT’s industrial progress,” as well as the fact that he was reportedly able to fend off the possible nationalisation of Massy assets in Guyana under Forbes Burnham.

The TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce this week noted the businessman, who was also known as “Bullmoose,” played a transformational role during the recession years that began in the 1980s, including guiding Massy through two restructurings in 1984 and 1994, and during the trade liberalisation period which saw the shutdown of Massy’s motor assembly plant.

Mr Knox was also a strong advocate for businessmen passing on their knowledge to others in education settings. For fellow businessman Arthur Lok Jack, he was a patriot.

“He believed TT would go forward,” Mr Lok Jack said this week. His faith matched his ambition.

“There is risk in expansion,” Mr Knox once mused. “And there’s also risk in not expanding. The easiest thing is to remain small, have a nice salary, and retire happily and never take a risk. That’s one alternative, but it’s not my road.”

It certainly was not.