Company Updates
Richard Powell, Chairman
Richard M. Powell is the Chairman of The RMP Group, founded in 2009. In addition to forming RMPG he co-founded AP Capital Partners a leading middle- market private equity firm based in Orlando, Florida. APCP’s portfolio companies have grown to generate annual revenues in excess of US $1 billion and employ over 6000 people around the globe. Prior to forming the firm in 2003, Mr. Powell was an Associate in the Emerging Markets Group at Bear Stearns. He has also had a stint in Corporate Finance at UBS Warburg. Mr. Powell’s key strengths are in finance, management and e-business and he has worked on a variety of transactions including: Leveraged Buyouts, sponsor-backed Management Buyouts, Debt Financings, Initial Public Offerings, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Equity & Credit Derivatives. Prior to his career in finance, Mr. Powell was the Co-Founder and CEO of Fuxito Worldwide, a venture-backed IT firm serving the $300 billion global sports market. He has worked with, or consulted to, leading asset management, insurance and non-profit firms overseas. A serial entrepreneur, Mr. Powell has been involved in creating or enhancing over a dozen successful companies and/or organizations.
Mr. Powell currently serves on the boards of eServices, and the Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS). Mr. Powell is currently, or was in the recent past, a director or advisor to a number of leading businesses including ZeroChaos, RMT Woodworth, New Futuro and MAPEX. He is also a founding board member of ACG Orlando, and has been actively involved with The RMP Foundation, the 1420 Foundation, the Harvard Club of Central Florida, the Andover Alumni Association, The Powell-Bull Scholarship Fund, and the Campion High School Alumni Association. He is a member of the Young Presidents Organization, The Marathon Club, the Council of Urban Professionals, the Leverage Alliance, TiE Florida, and the Archipel Group. He was also named one of the “40 under 40” leaders in mergers & acquisitions by the M&A Advisor, and “40 under 40” executives to watch by the Orlando Business Journal. He was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader (2009) in recognition of his commitment to positive social change. He has also represented Jamaica in four sports (Soccer, Tennis, Track & Field, and Table-Tennis) at the youth-national level, and was the youngest person from the Caribbean ever to be scouted by a professional soccer club (PSV Eindhoven) in Europe.
Mr. Powell has been recognized as one of the rising stars of global finance, and has spoken at Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan School of Business, The Marathon Club, numerous ACG events, and other venues. He has been featured in various business publications including Inc. magazine, the Boston Globe, and the Wall Street Journal. He is also co-author of The Buyout Game, forthcoming in Fall 2011. Mr. Powell graduated with an AB in Economics from Harvard University, as a Robert Winthrop Scholar. He has done research with Professor Jeffrey Sachs on Economic Development, completed coursework at MIT Sloan and management programs at HBS. He resides in Orlando, FL and enjoys travelling internationally.
Zachary Harding, Operating Partner
Zachary Harding is the Operating Partner of The RMP Group, focusing on all aspects of the business including deal sourcing, negotiations and senior client relationship management. Harding is also founder and Managing Director of Agency20Seven - an advertising, marketing and new media company whose major clients include Coca-Cola, Heineken, Cable and Wireless Caribbean (LIME) and National Commercial Bank. His career started out in advertising, working at two of Jamaica’s leading advertising agencies. His depth of experience spans several senior management positions including CEO, Director of Marketing and Conversion Development Manager at companies such as Appliance Traders, Wisynco Group, Red Stripe (Diageo) and Grace Kennedy.
Mr. Harding was seconded to the Jamaican government from 2008 to 2010 where he served as Special Adviser to the Minister of Tourism, and Deputy Director of Tourism at the Jamaica Tourist Board. Harding was part of a delegation who led the Government of Jamaica’s public relations efforts in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games and was recently appointed to the Ministry of Tourism’s Sport Tourism Implementation Committee. He has been interviewed in the media repeatedly for his opinions on strategic Brand Development and Economic Growth Strategy. Mr. Harding is a past board member of the Urban Development Corporation, St. Ann Development Corporation, Montego Bay Freeport Ltd., Harmonization Ltd., Jamaica Football Federation Marketing Committee, The National Gallery, The National Education Trust, The Port Authority of Jamaica and Independent Radio Company Ltd.
Mr. Harding is also a sought after public speaker and has presented on the topics Breakthrough Thinking, Emotional Intelligence and Marketing Strategy to various groups including MBA students at the University of the West Indies and participants at the Richard Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship. The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica and the Gleaner Newspaper, recently named Mr. Harding as one of the top “50-under-Fifty” business leaders shaping Jamaica's future.
Retu Jalhan, Executive Director of Business Development
Ms. Jalhan is involved in all aspects of business development for RMP Global Enterprises as well as communications activities and investor relations for RMP Asset Management funds. Ms. Jalhan is an accomplished sales and marketing professional with specialization in the financial services industry. Her account management, business development and marketing skills are derived from over eight years of experience in the investment and insurance industry. After graduation from York University Ms. Jalhan began her career in Group Insurance on the Property and Casualty side of the business. She progressed from the Manager of Direct Mail Marketing to Account Manager for the Cooperators Insurance Company. Ms. Jalhan is a MBA graduate with a focus in Finance and Marketing from the Crummer School of Business at Rollins College in Orlando Florida. During her academic career at Rollins Ms. Jalhan received the SunTrust Leader of Merit Award and won the first place prize in the Rollins Business Venture Plan Competition.
Ms. Jalhan is active in building better communities and involves herself with organizations to promote change. Ms. Jalhan is the former Vice President of the Collegiate Entrepreneurship Organization at Rollins College and was elected as the student representative on the Crummer Alumni Board as well as the Board for the Office for International Students and Scholarly Services. Ms. Jalhan is a former board member for ASAAP, the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention and continues to involve herself in organizations such as the Risk Management organization and the Network of Indian Professionals Global Community.
David Mullings, Business Development Manager
David P. Mullings brings significant business development experience to The RMP Group. He is managing major projects for RMP Global Enterprises and works closely with senior management to source and negotiate new opportunities for the Group. He was a co-founder of Random Media LLC, an integrated media and entertainment firm focused on the digital distribution of Caribbean content.
Mr. Mullings has contributed a chapter to a McGraw-Hill Publishing book, How To Make Money With YouTube, was a judge for Business.com’s What Works For Business contest in 2009 and is mentioned in the book Upstarts written by former Inc. Magazine contributor Donna Fenn. Mr. Mullings was also asked to endorse The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, a book on entrepreneurship by serial entrepreneur Michael Michalowicz which was also endorsed by Donnie Deutsch from CNBC’s Big Idea. He has presented at schools including Boston College, University of Miami and University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. He was the first Future Leaders Representative for the USA on the Jamaican Diaspora Advisory Board, a board that advises the Government of Jamaica on diaspora affairs through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. He has also served on the planning team and been a presenter for the ICT 2010 Roadshow in Jamaica organized by CITO in the Office of the Prime Minister of Jamaica. He has been writing a weekly opinion column in a national newspaper, the Jamaica Observer, since August 2010.
Mr. Mullings was born in Kingston, Jamaica, completed his B.Sc. at the age of 19 and received his MBA in Marketing and International Business from the University of Miami.