Roger Lawrence (centre) with Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) President Michele Paige (second left) and Port St. Maarten representatives Ton van Koten, Adam Cesarano and Lela Simmonds at the 2019 Seatrade Europe Cruise and River Cruise Convention in Hamburg, Germany. (Port St. Maarten photo)
By Jacqueline Hooftman
PHILIPSBURG--His curriculum vitae in hand, wearing business casual attire, Roger Lawrence (39) leads me to the back of Chesterfield’s restaurant. Warm greetings are heard from behind the bar, he smiles back at the customers, shakes an outstretched hand, answers questions, then pauses to greet the waitress. We take a seat at the last table on the waterfront.
“So, it’s true? You will be the new minister of tourism?” I ask.
Lawrence smiles broadly. “You heard right,” he says happily. “I recently found out that the screening is completed and that I have been confirmed to sit as Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Telecommunication and Transport (TEATT).”
He does not know yet when he will be sworn in. “Thursday, 26 August, has been mentioned as a tentative date. I am in consultation with the port about my notice period.”
Lawrence is currently senior manager of Port St. Maarten and was previously an acting managing director since 2019. He acquired the position thanks to his broad knowledge and experience as a senior management member at the port, serving as manager of the Terminal Operations Division in the previous eight years.
Leading coordination of terminal logistics and overall operations, including ship berthing schedules, vessel clearance operations and stevedoring, Lawrence worked in close cooperation with government agencies such as the Maritime Department, Customs and Immigration Department.
He is known as an excellent communicator, motivating employees to exceed operational goals, benchmarking and meticulously reporting on the progress of day-to-day operations to internal and external parties. As an intermediary seeking opportunities for business improvement and expansion, he was selected in 2019 for the position of acting managing director of Port. St. Maarten.
Why did you want to become Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT)?
Lawrence: “I had been weighing the offer for several weeks, when Keith Franca, who I have known since I was young and consider to be someone I regard highly, told me not to accept it. I asked: ‘Why not?’ He said: ‘You have a wonderful career ahead of you at the port, you have already made such an impact, and you will do so much more.’
“I looked back at my life, at what had happened since my return home, living here in St. Maarten, and as ironic as it may sound, that ‘No’ made me decide to say ‘Yes’ to this new journey.”
Keith Franca held up a mirror to you. What did you see?
Lawrence: “Things that have come my way, the meaning of which I did not know at the time, but in retrospect know it should have been so.
“I want you to understand that I am not a politician; I am a professional. Seeing that we are at a very critical juncture as a country, things need to move, and that is what I do: I am a mover and a starter. I believe in self-actualisation as the pinnacle in our development. I am always looking how we can assist each other to succeed and grow, how we can evolve. I will always speak of ‘we’, as I believe in the collective.”
You are described as an accomplished leader.
Lawrence: “July 1, 2021, I made 10 years at the Port. That itself, the journey itself, is nothing short of magical. Ups and downs, you know what I am talking about; the port was all over the news. Through it all we stood our ground. I have colleagues that are like family, like Mr. Hector Peters who is not only a mentor but a father figure, people that are rooting for each other.
“When I came to the port, in 2011, we were just starting to define the true meaning of operational excellence in all aspects of the word. We only had two crane operators. Now there are seven! And they are all locals. Some have academic backgrounds but love to operate these two- to three-million-dollar machines, they are passionate about their work. From a cargo standpoint we are now able to meet our obligations on a monthly basis.
“It is a self-fulfilling prophecy: build an efficient team and you will get desired results.”
What do you consider your biggest accomplishments?
Lawrence: “My daughter Liberty (9) and my son Justice who will celebrate his 11th birthday in October.”
After a decade working and studying in the Netherlands and the United States, what made you decide to come back?
Lawrence: “My son. His mother and I had talked about moving back to the island before, but having a child made it definitive, we wanted him to grow up at home. My friends and family thought I was crazy; how could I give up my career working for a multinational? My father was the only one supporting my choice with enthusiasm; for selfish reasons, it turned out – his health was ailing.
“I have never regretted going home; it was the right choice at the right time.”
You are clearly someone who doesn’t let himself be defined by what others think.
Lawrence: “I was raised with a lot of discipline. Politeness. Respect. Gratitude. Those are values that I grew up with. I knew early on that hard work pays off. My mother’s faith is deeply rooted, she is full of conviction in life.
“As a boy, I was packing bags at Cake House and Food Center during school holidays as my parents would not have it any other way – as a way to instil responsibility at an early age. Even some summers at my mother’s job at St. Martin’s Home, I would go with her to help take care of the elderly.
“In life you have to make sacrifices, that is what my father used to say. I don’t think as a young boy I really understood what that meant, but his words have stayed with me.”
Your father was a humble man?
Lawrence: “He was. I can still hear him speak to me about how to respect other people’s wishes. He used to talk a lot about how to treat people with dignity, to listen and be kind. His mother left him when he was a child. He and his first cousin were raised by their grandmother. One of them had to learn a trade, while the other would have the opportunity to follow an academic study.
“I don’t know if he chose it himself, or if it was decided for him, but my father went to work in construction, and he loved it, he took great pride in his job. He was born in Grenada and came to St. Maarten at a young age to work in the construction and development of Pelican Key area. He must have been in his late 20s at the time.”
Same age as you when you came back to the island.
Lawrence: “The synchronicity in my life is striking. After I completed my studies at Haarlem Business School – I have a Bachelor of Economics in Tourism and Recreation Management – I landed a job at Diageo, one of the world’s largest producers of spirits and beers. Working from Amsterdam, I managed several accounts for Africa and Latin America.
“One of my accounts happened to be Philipsburg Liquor Store in St. Maarten, now International Liquor and Tobacco Trading N.V. (ILTT Duty Free). I would come to the island after business travels. When I returned to St. Maarten in 2011, the liquor distributor wanted to hire me.
“Meanwhile I had sent an open application to Port St. Maarten. That letter landed on Keith Franca’s desk. He gave it to Iris Scot, Port St. Maarten’s Human Resource manager. Coincidentally, she had worked at Diageo. I kid you not, you just can’t make these things up. She asked me about three people she had worked with, and I knew all of them well.
“Iris Scot then arranged a job interview for me with Keith Franca, Chief Operating Officer of St. Maarten Harbour Holding Company. The last interview I had was with Mark Mingo, CEO [Chief Executive Officer] of the St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies. He wore khaki pants, and I remember thinking I was overdressed for the interview. But I got the job. After two weeks as a Business Development and Purchasing Director at Antillean Liquors, I quit and started working as manager of Terminal Operations Division at Port St. Maarten.”
How relevant is the fact that you are a millennial?
Lawrence: “During my tenure at the port I focused a lot on being ‘a smart port’. The digital transformation covered several processes, interactions, transactions. The use of innovative technologies increased productivity. To become more competitive, we focused on collection of data for benchmark analysis.
“Understanding data is key. To attract investments, you need to have a good understanding of your contribution to the trade sector. You must know what you are selling, and how you are perceived by the world.”
As a tourism destination, St. Maarten is presented as “Two Nations, One Island.”
Lawrence: “Are we really one? At times and with all due respect, I think there is a lot of competitiveness between the French and the Dutch side, as opposed to being complementary to one another, and I may be wrong with my analysis, but that is just what I feel at times.
“I understand that may stem from our complex histories, but we have to change the way we look at things and start looking at St. Maarten the way the world sees us. In order to move forward, we have to know our strengths and weaknesses, what we have to offer compared to other destinations, understand what our role, our contribution to the world is.”
You want to benchmark St. Maarten?
Lawrence: “We keep track of arrivals and departures at the airport. We know how many cruise passengers come off the ships and what their average expenditure is; we can specify that with ease. But we haven’t done a thorough survey of the yachting industry yet. We don’t know how much passengers and crew of mega-yachts spend on average, or how competitive we are as a port of call for charter boats and liveaboards.
“We haven’t detailed tourist movements from both sides of the island and how we are viewed as a destination by different age groups. To attract tourism, investments, create more jobs, we must study what we are offering. Understanding ourselves is the first step.”
As a politician you may find it hard to gain public trust.
Lawrence: “Trust is earned. This is what my team and I will work towards.
“I am not naïve to the fact that once you reach to the Ministry there will be revelations. The first month, or two, will be focused on gaining perspective and understanding. I am aware of that. I think I have come full circle, from a Tourism Management student to Minister of Tourism.
“During my thesis, I worked for the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau. At the end of my internship, then-managing director Regina Labega wrote me: ‘Roger, you did such a formidable job, I would like to hire you.’ I still have that email.
“I went on to work in the Netherlands to gain international exposure and travel. My journey has brought me here, to this point, and I come prepared. I am ready.”
