Ian Neita, ATL Group part ways:
IAN NEITA, assistant deputy chairman of ATL Group, confirmed on Wednesday that May 31 would be his last day at t he appliance and automotive company where he started out as head of business development in March 2012.
The Financial Gleaner understands that he is headed for the publishing company, Global Directories, as its business development director overseeing 12 of the company’s regional markets. Neita will be based in Jamaica.
Publishing is a new track for the University of the West Indies and Howard University-educated business executive, whose experiences have spanned general management, investment banking, telecommunicastions, marketing, sales and distribution. Still, the territory won’t be entirely unfamiliar to Neita as the publishing company is also involved in sales management and marketing and is a business partner to one of Neita’s former employers, telecoms LIME Jamaica.
Global Directories is better known as owner of the Jamaica Yellow Pages and producer of the country’s prime telephone directory on behalf of LIME.
Neita himself declined to speak about his new posting and employer, saying the company would make an announcement. As to his reason for leaving ATL – a company founded by Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart and is now managed by his son Adam Stewart – “its not for me to say,” Neita said.
Later, he commented that the parting was amicable. “My heart remains with ATL,” he said.
ATL Group’s global public relations director, Steven Hector, said Neita had been offered a new opportunity.
“We’re sorry to see him go and naturally extend our deepest gratitude to him for his dedication and expertise, and wish him all the very best in his new chapter,” Hector said.
Before joining ATL, Neita was executive director of t he Tourism Enhancement Fund, an agency of the Ministry of Tourism. Before that he worked with Cable & Wireless Jamaica, now trading as LIME Jamaica; Digicel Jamaica; Life of Jamaica, now Sagicor Group; and Caribbean Cement Company; among other companies.
Global Directories, the company to which Neita is said to be headed, produces 16 directories that are distributed in 30 markets, including Jamaica, as noted on its website. The company distributes half-million print copies of the residential and business directories, and claims 3.3 million annual visits to its online Jamaica Yellow Pages.
Lester Garnett, the country manager for Global Directories, was said to be out when the Financial Gleaner called for comment on Neita’s hire.