Dr. Yesu Persaud chronicles life in gritty autobiography

May 11, 2014 News

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His life is a story that tells how one man made a phenomenal rise from humble beginnings to becoming one of Guyana’s top businessmen.
With the award-winning El Dorado 15-Year-Old Special Reserve rum, he has placed the country on the world map.
Dr. Yesu Persaud’s role also as a key negotiator in the critical 1970s overseeing the nationalization of Bookers, one of the most powerful companies in Guyana, and his establishment of several advocacy bodies and businesses in other sectors, have left an indelible mark not only because of the jobs he created under his watch, but because of how far-reaching his vision was.
Today, there seems to be no slowing down for Dr. Persaud or ‘Yesu’, who at 85, remains ramrod straight in both his posture and purpose.
Dr. Persaud is now set to launch the first of a two-part book he has written on his life’s work.

Titled “Reaching For The Stars – The Life of Yesu Persaud”, the book is expected to hold no punches. And there is a reason for that.
Dr. Persaud, long seen as the “El Dorado Man”, is one of the most outspoken of the business leaders in the country.
The first volume of the autobiography will be launched later this month, and will tell the story of Guyana, through the eyes of the business magnate, up to May 23, 1976, when Guyana nationalized its assets. The final part is expected out later this year.
Speaking with Kaieteur News, Dr. Persaud said that he started serious work on the autobiography more than 15 years ago, at the constant urgings of relatives and friends.
“People were telling me, informing me, begging me to write my autobiography so that the young Guyanese can be left something. They said that I have accomplished so much…done so much…have led an exemplary life that I must share it.”
The businessman was quick to point out that the book is a piece of history, through his eyes.
It would have covered the difficult 1960s up to the 1980s.
The back of the book cover itself said it is an account that tells a “wonderfully vivid and honest account of Dr. Persaud’s private life within the family circle and among his relatives and friends. We read in straightforward and intimate detail – his remembering of events and impressions deep in the past is nothing short of extraordinary – how he felt about and related to the people close to him.”
There are agonising episodes that are harrowing to read and others in which “honest intimacy comes across almost as a shock. But in the telling the tone and substance of complete authenticity is never missing.
“This is a life which has been, and continues to be, extraordinarily full and active and a career replete with widely varied achievements in any number of fields including business, banking, enterprise development, public service and philanthropy.”
Dr. Persaud, born in 1928 at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, returned home after studies abroad to join the public service as an Inspector of Taxes.
He was to join the Diamond Liquors Limited and the Demerara Sugar Company later building the iconic Demerara Distillers Limited, one of the most modern distilleries in the world with its El Dorado range of rums.  The company also has subsidiaries in Holland, UK, USA, St. Kitts and distribution arrangements in Asia.
Yesu also pioneered Demerara Bank Ltd., Diamond Fire and General Insurance Inc. and Trust Company (Guyana) Ltd.
He has received several international and national awards including the Gandhi Organisation Plaque, the Cacique’s Crown of Honour, the Glory of India Award and Certificate of Excellence by the India International Friendship Society in 2005.
In 2006 India honoured him with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman for his outstanding contributions to business and Indian history and culture. Persaud is a founding member of the Indian Arrival Committee. He is one of the main persons responsible for creating the Monument Garden which marks the arrival of the first batch of Indian indentured labourers to Guyana in 1838. He is one of the founder members and life member of the Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO).
Dr. Persaud is also credited with contributing to the restoration of democracy in Guyana. He was involved, in the 1990s, in the pro-democracy movement, GUARD, and campaigned tirelessly for international human rights organisations to observe elections in Guyana.
He is also involved in a number of charitable institutions including the University of Guyana’s endowment fund, the Cheddi Jagan Children’s Fund, the Cheshire Home for Disadvantaged Children and others which help needy children obtain an education.
He also served as President of the Guyana Manufacturers Association, Vice President of the West Indies Rum and Spirits Association, and a member of the Advisory Group to the Caribbean’s Chief Trade Negotiator on CARICOM international negotiations.
He was also granted an honorary doctorate by the University of Warwick for his work in  helping the restoration of democracy in Guyana in 1993 plus his skills as a businessman in making ‘El Dorado’ into a quality world brand and the creation of the Institute for Private Enterprise Development. The University of Warwick has renamed its Centre for Caribbean Studies after business tycoon, Yesu Persaud.
Persaud holds chairmanship in a number of business initiatives including Trust Company (Guyana) Limited, Guyana Trust Unit, Consultative Association of Guyanese Industry, BEV Processors Inc., Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED), an institution that stimulates and finances entrepreneurs and small and micro businesses.
IPED has been responsible for the establishment of some 40,000 businesses and the creation of some 50,000 jobs in Guyana. He is also the Chairman and driving force behind Demerara Bank Limited that was the first indigenous Private Sector Bank. Persaud is also Chairman of the Guyana Youth Business Trust, providing funding for young men and women (18-30) who are unemployed or under-employed.
Dr. Persaud retired from the DDL Chairmanship last year but remains part of the Board of Directors.

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