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Guyanese business magnate Lyla Kissoon, AA dies at 95
Guyanese business magnate Lyla Kissoon has died
Kaieteur News – Guyanese business magnate Lyla Kissoon has died at the age of 95. Mrs. Kissoon was credited for building one of the largest group of companies in the country, as well as A, H &L Kissoons. As the news of her passing became public, tributes poured in.
Her grandson, Dax Kissoon shared a touching tribute in her honour.
He said “My grandmother was the most amazing person I’ve ever met in my life; even more so than my own father, because I know she is what made him, as with myself, what we are. She is the matriarch who fostered and carried on a legacy that we must never forget or withhold reverence.”
Leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC), Nigel Hughes at the party’s weekly press conference described Mrs. Kissoon as one of the most outstanding citizens of Guyana.
“Aunty Lyla as she was known to me, was a most outstanding citizen; I would say master class. [She] was one of the most outstanding women particularly in business. For those of you that don’t know here is a bit of history; Main Street used to be the street in which the governor and people of the governor’s ilk lived, and were allowed to own property so if you weren’t in that class, you couldn’t actually own property there. But in a time of exclusion, Lyla Kissoon with her tremendous business acumen, was able to own several properties on Main Street which was unprecedented,” the AFC leader said.
Hughes praised Kissoon as a visionary ahead of time.
“Also, another piece of history, Takuba lodge where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is located, was built and constructed in the sixties by Lyla Kissoon, before the government took it over. So, every time you look at Takuba Lodge and think it’s a modern edifice, understand that Lyla Kissoon had the brilliant foresight ahead of her time to do that. We want to say to her family our most profound sympathies and on behalf of Guyana, express our gratitude to her family: Thank you for sharing Lyla with us,” he said
Mrs. Kissoon has not only been influential in business but rubbed shoulders with every powerful personage in the country’s history.
She was very close to the late Viola Burnham because she and Mrs. Burnham not only went to school together, but their children attended school together.
In her role as one of the driving forces behind the Kissoon Group of Companies, Mrs. Kissoon spent over 50 years in the business sector; she received countless awards and plaques in recognition of her sterling contribution to the sector and the nation at large. She was subsequently awarded the Golden Arrow of Achievement by President Desmond Hoyte for whom she worked as an advisor.
In an interview with Kaieteur News, Mrs. Kissoon had stressed that Guyana is an absolutely beautiful country with enormous potential, she noted “we should be the gemstone in the Caribbean crown,” and expressed hope that, that potential can be tapped into and the proceeds shared honestly in an effort to bring the country to the standard it deserves to be at.
The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GGCI) in a brief statement, noted that Ms. Kissoon will be remembered for her entrepreneurial and visionary leadership, leaving a lasting legacy on the Guyanese business community.
The GCCI expressed heartfelt condolences to the Kissoon family and loved ones in their time of grief.
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