Glen Christian to receive Order of Jamaica

August 11, 2015 12:13 pm

Mr. Glen Christian, Chairman of Cari-Med Limited, Kirk Distributors Limited, and FP (2014) Limited, will receive the Order of Jamaica ‘for contribution to the pharmaceutical industry’.  Mr. Christian is one of eight persons who will be conferred with the title at the national honours and awards ceremony on National Heroes Day.

Mr. Christian entered the pharmaceutical industry in 1971, as a general sales representative with H.D. Hopwood Limited. He later worked with the company as a medical representative, before being promoted to the position of sales manager.

In 1986 he started his own pharmaceutical distribution company, Cari-Med Limited. Nine years later, the company announced its entry into the consumer goods industry with the launch of its Consumer Sales Division. In 2002, the HMED Division was formed as an offshoot of the Pharmaceutical Division, responding to the need in the marketplace for a more diversified range of competitively priced, high quality medical equipment and supplies. Today, Cari-Med is one of the leading Jamaican distributors of pharmaceutical and consumer goods, with a workforce of over 400 employees.

Another affiliate company – Kirk Distributors Limited – was formed in 2006 following Glen Christian’s acquisition of the assets of Colgate Palmolive Jamaica Limited and the distribution rights for their products. Kirk Distributors employs over 224 persons and represents several leading international brands.   The company’s portfolio includes major brands such as Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson, Listerine, Clorox, Voortman, J. P. Foods, Farco Rapid Kill, Coffee Traders, Crystal Spring, and Lovable Diapers. In 2012, Kirk Distributors purchased the Kendel brand with its extensive range of food products. In late 2014, Kirk Distributors acquired Federated Pharmaceutical, a company founded in 1958, as the first manufacturer of ethical pharmaceuticals in the English-speaking Caribbean. Federated Pharmaceutical manufactures a range of over- the- counter pharmaceuticals, with the main categories being analgesics, cough, cold and allergy medications, antacids and vitamins/supplements. The company employs some 70 persons.