In a sharp, no-frills encounter at Ideal Securities Broker Ltd., renowned business magnate and investment strategist Donovan Lewis engaged students from St. George’s College’s Entrepreneurship Club in a dialogue that veered far from textbook platitudes and deep into the architecture of wealth, legacy, and ambition.
The meeting—part of the lead-up to St. George’s capstone lecture in their Pioneers of Tomorrow series—was designed to stretch the thinking of sixth formers and aspiring entrepreneurs. But Lewis, true to form, did not deliver a lecture. He issued a challenge.
Drawing from decades of strategic positioning across finance, real estate, and enterprise development, Lewis dissected the anatomy of sustainable wealth. The students sat face-to-face with a man who started with little but now influences boardroom decisions across some of Jamaica’s leading financial institutions. His message? Start now. Map everything. Wait for nothing.
From Inspiration to Execution
For Jerome Hayles, the session redefined urgency. The idea that time could either be a tool or a trap struck a chord. “You can’t coast and expect to land somewhere specific,” he noted. “By the time you’re ready to choose a goal, you might’ve already missed the window.”
Jordon Hyman walked away with a new dimension added to his dream of becoming an architect. “Real estate isn’t just buildings,” he remarked. “It’s capital, leverage, and access—if you know how to move.”
Moya McGaw zeroed in on the precision with which Lewis plans: goals in ink, deadlines with teeth, and accountability stitched into the strategy. For Shamaria Campbell, it was the sheer scale and diversity of Lewis’ investment activity that sparked something deeper—a hunger not just to succeed, but to innovate.
Meanwhile, Deontae Allen locked onto a foundational truth: work ethic. “Nothing in that room was built overnight,” he said. “It was built daily—by values, by habits, by not folding.”
A Message Without Filters
Lewis did not sanitize the journey. He emphasized grit, structure, and—most critically—succession. Build for more than yourself, he urged. Build systems that outlive you.
The students left not just with admiration, but with a framework. A shift had occurred—from seeing success as abstract, to realizing it’s engineered.
And if Lewis left them with only one takeaway, it was this: the future won’t wait for you to be ready.
