PH Veira – a transformational business figure

There is a special place in Vincentian business history for Sir Philip Henry Veira, the founder of the PH Veira and Co Ltd empire. Universally called “PH”, he was a transformational business figure who ventured into the uncharted territory of manufacturing in the 1960s and was the king of a distinguished crop of businessmen.

This king had no hereditary entitlements. Born August 14, 1921, Philip began his primary school journey at the Dorsetshire Hill Government School and completed his formal education at the St Mary’s Roman Catholic School at only 13 years old.  

In fact, PH got his first taste of business when he was still in school, selling chive from his very own home garden. He became an apprentice tailor at age 15, but soon abandoned tailoring to work in his father’s small grocery and liquor store in Kingstown. 

On June 25, 1942, PH’s father suddenly died, and the 20-year-old PH took charge of the market shop with a small amount of cash. He would spin this meagre inheritance into a large fortune.

PH Veira was highly skilled in inventory management. He ordered merchandise to arrive at times of scarcity and sold quickly at a premium price. He maintained a frugal lifestyle and accumulated funds for investment. This prodigious thrift may have given him a decisive advantage over other retailers. PH acquired Kingstown properties bit by bit until he would own an entire block in the city. The little market shop bloomed into a leading full blown supermarket, with several outlets across the country. He also became the local agent for several foreign companies and products and established a successful lumber yard in Paul’s Avenue.

Manufacturing flour in St Vincent would become his greatest challenge.  Between 1966 and 1971, his first attempt to set up a flour mill failed. The original proposals had government support. PH had invested $781,000, but his foreign partner supplied him with junk machinery, which left the buildings idle for years.

Notwithstanding the limited appetite in the private sector for “risky” manufacturing investments, Veira persevered. His company eventually forged a strategic equity partnership with Maple Leaf Mills Ltd and the SVG government. They created the East Caribbean Flour Mills Ltd. Hence, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 11, 1977 – more than 10 years after the genesis of his flour producing idea, PH Veira turned on the switch that set the manufacturing wheels in motion.  Indeed, he would serve as chair of the East Caribbean Flour Mills (ECFM) until his death in 1991.

Veira’s family, however, would carry on his extraordinary legacy. In fact, by the 1990s the Eastern Caribbean Group of Companies had investments in animal feed, rice, and plastics.

PH Veira’s companies shouldered their corporate responsibilities. They sponsored many important events within the OECS. Veira made substantial donations to the Catholic Church and the St Mary’s Roman Catholic School. He built the PH Veira stand at the Arnos Vale Playing Field.

Such extraordinary achievements deserved public acknowledgement.  Hence, on July 27, 1988, for his invaluable contributions to SVG, Queen Elizabeth knighted PH Veira.  Undoubtedly, Sir Philip had changed our business history. He went beyond the private sector comfort zone and found investment ideas outside of the box. He made the transition from a services oriented business to a producer of goods.

In 1991, at the time of his death, his companies were responsible for 600 jobs at home and abroad.  Indeed Ken Boyea’s eulogy is quite apt: PH’s life stands as a powerful and permanent case study for students of business and management.

(This article was condensed and adapted from an article by Luke Browne in the series Entrepreneurs of St Vincent and the Grenadines, which was first published in SEARCHLIGHT on March 21, 2014, on pages 18 and 19)