GNNL Chairman Keith Burrowes says ‘Au Revoir’

AFTER rendering a decade of yeoman service as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Guyana National Newspapers Ltd (GNNL), the State-owned media company that prints and publishes the Chronicle (Daily and Sunday) newspapers, Mr. Keith Burrowes is preparing to demit office soon, effectively bringing an end to more than ten rewarding years at the helm.Mr. Burrowes was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors on November 14, 2003, vice his predecessor, Attorney-at-Law Hubert Rodney who remained a Board Member under his leadership

Having served in various managerial capacities, Mr. Burrowes brought to the task in hand, a wealth of experience in management, with astute leadership qualities, gleaned through his postings as: Chairman of the Guyana National Co-operative Bank (GNCB); General Manager, GAI Bank/GNCB; and Financial Administrator, PAHO Guyana Office.
Mr Burrowes’ present concurrent portfolios include: Chairman of the Board of Directors of Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest); Head of the Health Sector Development Unit (HSDU); Advisor to His Excellency the President of Guyana; Commissioner of Enquiry into the Operations of the Mayor and City Council and Head of the Debt Recovery Unit.
In announcing his appointment as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the GNNL, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon outlined that, the appointment was subject to agreements made by a dialogue process between the President of Guyana and Leader of the Opposition, on recommendations from the Bi-partisan Committee on Media and Monopoly.
Shrewd financial management
More recently, on Mr. Burrowes’ appointment as Head of the Debt Recovery Unit, Dr. Luncheon credited him as being ‘highly skilled and experienced in the field of financial management’, attesting to the fact that, as Chairman of Go-Invest and Head of the Presidential Secretariat, both agencies rely considerably on his skill and experience in those areas.

In retrospect, Mr. Burrowes’ appointment as Chairman of the GNNL Board in 2003, came at a crucial and challenging time: A time when the company was badly run down and in dire economic straits, having experienced loss for several years. In one particular year, losses amounted to some $20M. Thus he embarked on the onerous task of salvaging the ailing company on the brink of economic disaster and executed this task creditably.
Visionary, confident and indefatigable, Burrowes proceeded to mobilize his Board of Directors and the staff of Chronicle for increased production and productivity. Employing his known resonant leadership style, he was able to bring out the best in them, and together they combined all the skills and energies they had, hence success was inevitable.

RETROSPECTION
Looking back over years and reflecting on his tenure as Chairman of the Board of Directors of GNNL, Burrowes, buoyed at achieving a reputation for having set and met goals, while surpassing targets, modestly asserted:
“On my assumption of the Chairmanship, the Company was badly run-down and in dire financial straits. In addition to realising a loss in that year, chaos and indiscipline reigned with regular late press being the norm. Productivity was well below the budgeted levels, while wastage (spoils) in the production department was very high – over 15% of normal output. Coupled with these problems were the obsolete equipment with which staff had to work; the dilapidated furniture in all the departments and a floor level which was so low that it was prone to flooding on every occasion that it rained. A staff audit revealed that practically all the departments were overstaffed.”
To compound problems, the then Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Sharief Khan, proceeded on prolonged sick leave and his immediate successor had the misfortune of being faced with a law suit against the Chronicle, almost weekly, during his sojourn.
The Chairman now recalls: “Our task was not easy due to the environment in which we operated. Our every decision and action was viewed with hostility and perceived in political circles as favouring our major shareholder. We were even subjected to attacks and criticism from other journalistic entities. Moreover, it was at a time when the Opposition Leader had sounded a call for the readership to boycott the Chronicle newspaper.
“This notwithstanding, we have continued to provide unbiased coverage of the news and enjoy a cordial relationship with our competitors, giving and receiving assistance at certain crucial times,” the Chairman now proudly asserts
The Chairman recalls that, faced with a plethora of problems, the Board and Management had a herculean task to turn around the fortunes of the company and at the same time, provide a habitable working environment. But amidst all that prevailed, there were positive outcomes, and GNNL has been able to rise above circumstances, surge ahead and set a record for itself, commanding the respect of other media houses and the public at large.

FINANCIAL BREAKTHROUGH
The very next year after assuming Chairmanship of the Board, a profit was realised. Since then, this has been the trend except for two years when, because of high raw material prices, we were unable to attain our budget, he recalls.
Burrowes now takes pleasure in announcing that the company has been able to reduce the percentage of waste (spoils) to under 5% of production levels and, at the same time, eliminate the perennial bugbear of late press. “For this, we have to thank the former and current Presidents for their understanding and willingness to support us,” he acknowledged.
“If anything, the quality of our newspapers has improved enormously with the acquisition during the year of a computer to plate (CTP) device. This equipment would also enhance our production time, enabling us to go to press much earlier,” he added.

MORE SUCCESSES
For the period under review, Burrowes says things have been considerably better and the company has enjoyed a successful 2013. This, he said, was only possible “ … with the hard work and dedication of its management and staff, since we continue to operate in a fiercely competitive and challenging environment, with a number of new radio stations coming on stream and competing for the same advertising dollars.”
Notwithstanding, the GNNL’s production costs have also been affected by the world market prices for newsprint and other raw materials, which are steadily rising, but despite these challenges, the company has continued to maintain its high standards in terms of content and quality.
Before very long, a Business Unit was set up within the company, generating increased cash flows. Commending the initiative, the Chairman is strongly urging the company to purchase a new Hydleburg Press, the equipment which proved instrumental in generating income under the business plan.
The company has its eye on taking the circulation of the newspaper to Miami and Maryland in the USA as well as Toronto Canada, projected to increase cash flows considerably.

CONTENT
The GNNL has continued to embrace the development approach to journalism, hence its focus on people-centric stories and development projects. Its coverage of activities and village life in various parts of the country has been phenomenal and this trend will continue.
“Our coverage of activities and village life in various parts of the country has been very successful and we plan to make it a permanent feature in our Sunday Pepperpot,” Burrowes stated.
The Chronicle, in a major step in its drive to be technologically competitive, has also upgraded its web-site to make it more user-friendly, and launched its E-paper, enabling internet users to read the entire Chronicle newspaper online.

ADVERTISING
Advertising with the Chronicle is on the upswing, with more and more businesses expressing confidence and satisfaction with the quality of service; the spread and reach of the newspaper and the fact that the paper is today out into the streets much earlier than hitherto.
Meanwhile, one of its newest features ‘The Mastermind Quiz Game’ continues to be a common source of competition for Grade 6 and lower level students, while providing a platform for children to be computer literate. The response to this competitive game was boosted exponentially, with the implementation of the President’ s ‘One Laptop per family’ initiative.

WORKING CONDITIONS
Placing a high premium on enhanced ‘employee working conditions’, Mr. Burrowes liaised with some donor funding organisations, and was able to attract funding and so, refurbished almost all of GNNL’s departments, installing spanking new cubicles to make employees more comfortable. The quota of computers for the newsroom and other offices was increased in an effort to expedite work performance in a stress-free working environment. The Sports Complex was also renovated in 2012 in order to make for improved ambience and the comfort and satisfaction of employees, while attracting a larger clientele.

REMUNERATION
Every year, regardless of the company’s financial situation, Mr. Burrowes has always ensured staff were paid an increase in salaries at the end of the year, or a ‘one-off’ payment, not funded by the major stakeholder. And more recently, staff welfare was boosted with the payment of a 5% bonus in 2013 and the further payment of a salary increase in the New Year. That apart, the company continues to enjoy cordial relations with the CCWU- the Union representing its employees, and to provide free space for the CCWU’s Canteen and workers’ Sports Club.

STAFF RELATIONS
Through the years, staff at GNNL have enjoyed fruitful but professional relationship with the outgoing Chairman of the Board, to the extent that they have repeatedly lobbied for his services to be retained, even as it approached the imminent end of his tenure. Commenting on his relationship with staff, Mr. Burrowes asserted: “I’ve always had a very excellent working relationship with the staff, especially the current Editor-in-Chief (Mark Ramotar), Financial Controller (Moshamie), former General Manager (Nandkumar Puran), and former Sunday Editor (Michelle Nurse)…all the staff basically.”
During his tenure as Chairman of the Board, two General Managers went into retirement and a third is now at the helm. Mr. Compton Peters who was serving General Manager when Mr. Burrowes took up appointment in 2003, retired in 2004 and was succeeded by Mr. Nandkumar Puran. In March 2014, Mr. Puran retired and was recently succeeded by Mr. Michael Gordon, former Chief Executive Officer (Ag) of the National Communications Network (NCN) with effect from April 1, 2014.
A general staff meeting was held last Monday, for the dual purpose of introducing and installing the new General Manager and announcing the resignation of Burrowes as the Chairman.
Bidding an emotional farewell, Mr. Burrowes thanked the Board, Management and Staff for their cooperation and support throughout the years and expressed the hope that they continue their hard work to maintain and even surpass the level of efforts in past years. He said the Board and management also look forward to the continued support of all our customers and friends as well as the company’s major shareholder.

THE KEY
And just how did he manage to accomplish all this in a working environment previously rife with problems? Key to Mr. Burrowes’ success, was his employment of ‘Emotional Intelligence’, which basically refers to how a leader handles his own emotions and the emotions of others. Simply put, if a leader is insensitive to the needs and emotions of his employees, is interested only in maximising profits at the expense of the workers’ welfare, and employs only ‘top down’ approach to communicating with them, he is doomed to fail.
American Pyschologist and Science Journalist, Daniel Goleman, in his book on ‘Primal Leadership’ dwells at length on the ‘Secrets to Effective Leadership’.
Says Goleman:“Understanding the powerful role of emotions in the workplace sets the best leaders apart from the rest – not just in tangibles such as better business results and the retention of talent, but also in the all-important intangibles, such as higher morale, motivation and commitment.”
Goleman continues: “A cheerful, warm atmosphere spreads more easily than a depressing mood. There’s a reason for that: Depression doesn’t help us get things done. It has less survival-value. Evolution has created an emotion called ‘cheerfulness’ and the fact that we enjoy feeling it, has clear advantages, since it motivates us to get things done.
When a leader elicits positive emotions in those he leads, it is known as resonance. If the impact of leadership is negative emotions, it is known as dissonance. Dissonance does not make for a healthy and productive working environment. The key to creating resonance lies in the Emotional Intelligence of the leader.
This was the approach that charted the ‘way forward’ as Mr. Keith Burrowes, the vibrant and innovative new Board Chairman, in 2003 set out on his salvaging and recovery mission, ultimately realizing an incredible measure of success. GNNL wishes Mr Burrowes ‘all the best’ in his future endeavours!

(By Shirley Thomas)