Dennis Lalor, ICWI Group founder and Jamaican business leader, dies after illness

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Dennis Lalor, the chartered insurer who founded ICWI Group Limited, died on Wednesday night. He had been ill for some time.

Colleagues and industry watchers regarded Lalor as one of Jamaica’s foremost business figures. He grew ICWI into one of the Caribbean’s largest full-service financial institutions, with operations in Jamaica and across the region.

Throughout a long career, he served on many boards. These included Air Jamaica, Freemasons Association (Jamaica) Limited, Jamaica Association for the Deaf, Lister Mair/Gilby School for the Deaf, the Betting, Gaming & Lotteries Commission, and the Jamaica Racing Commission.

Lalor also advanced sports administration and financial-sector development at home. In 1983, he was awarded the Prime Minister’s Medal for his contribution to business and sports.

Horse racing formed another strand of his public record. In 1989, he was inducted into Jamaica’s Hall of Fame of Thoroughbred Racing and received the Thoroughbred Breeders Regency Award for services to the horse racing industry.

In 1990, he was appointed a member of the Privy Council of Jamaica. That same year, he joined the Council of the University of the West Indies and served on the University Audit Committee.

From 1990 to 1992, Lalor was president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica at a time when the body worked closely with the Jamaican Government on the country’s programme of economic liberalisation.