Philipsburg:--- The outgoing General Manager of the Windward Islands Bank Jan Beaujon seems to be an ordinary St. Maartener who is friendly and very welcoming to people that need his advice especially since he has knowledge and expertise from both the banking and private sector. Beaujon who is known for his pleasant personality and love for music can only be described as a people's person and someone who anyone can approach for a word of advice. Despite being a professional Jan Beaujon found time to play his guitar, this is one of the things he plans to do now that he would have more spare time.
In an exclusive interview with SMN News, Beaujon whose full time job with WIB ends on June 28th, 2013 said that while he is going on pension he will still be with the bank for a period of time to serve as an advisor.
Jan Beaujon started his career in banking in February 1972. "My wife and I moved from Curacao and went to Guadeloupe when I secured a job with Bank Antilles which was owned by my brother in law. I am Dutch so I had to learn the French language and the French banking system. At the time, I knew nothing about banking so in the beginning it was difficult. That was very challenging for me because many nights I had to use a dictionary to learn the French words while learning the French banking system at the same time. I was given a book to learn from, it was tough but I managed and was given the task to deal with the foreign exchange and other foreign banks."
Beaujon said a year later he was placed in the credits and loans department. He said he was trained on the job while working. Beaujon explained that he did some major training in Marie Galante, a smaller island off the coast of Guadeloupe. Three years later the owners of Bank Antilles decided to expand and explore so they decided to open a branch office in St. Barths. Of course the man they chose to open and set up that branch from scratch was no other than Jan Beaujon. "I went and I trained another couple over there but shortly after my wife and I got ill and we had to move back to Guadeloupe. Beaujon explained that in those days everything was manual, work was done with typewriters and manually. He said when someone entered a bank on the French side the noise from the machines was very loud but the workers managed and they grew. Not long after that expedition, Bank Antilles decided to venture to St. Martin and again the man chosen to establish Bank Antilles on the French side was Jan Beaujon.
"This is how Bank Antilles created the Ile du Nord" but St. Martin was extremely challenging because he had to set up the building, get a cellar built and have a vault placed underground. Jan Beaujon remembers the details of his experience setting up the Bank Antilles on the French side because he said when he thought the vault was well secured underground, water became one of their major problems so he had to have a well built and install pumps to pump the water out in order to keep the monies and the vault dry. Jan said for him it was challenging but what was astonishing for him to learn and to deal with back then was the lack of knowledge of the people who were doing business on the French side. Banking on the French side of the island was "wild west". "Back in those days there were no notaries, accountants, no lawyers. Basically there was nothing. When I asked business people if they had financials they did not even know what I was talking about. People were just coming from every place and doing business on the French side and they had no administration which is necessary for the French system. In 1978, there was nothing at all and that side of the island was very much under developed. Jan said while things were bad on the French side and business was dormant at the time, the French side began developing and that too happened very quickly.
Later BFC purchased Bank Antilles and Jan was also very instrumental in setting up BFC in St. Martin even getting the land on which BFC is built. One of the things Jan boasts about is the relationship he had and still has with his co-workers at Bank Antilles and BFC. "Up to today they remain friends, some of whom attended the inauguration ceremony on Wednesday." Jan said that on the day BFC was opening its branch in Bellevue he submitted his resignation because he had secured a job in La Reunion. The reason for that was because his children had to leave St. Martin to attend school so he had no choice but to leave the island. However, all of the plans Jan had then changed when he went to one of his very best friends the late David James, the owners of La Samanna Hotel. Jan said he went to see his friend and to inform him that he was leaving the island to go to La Reunion but when he went there he learnt that his friend was very ill and he needed his help more than anything else. As Jan was speaking about his friend who died of cancer he became emotional even though it's been years now since his friend passed. "I asked James to give me two years and then I would come back to St. Martin and help him but when he told me he did not have that much time to live and he desperately needed his help. Jan said he could not do anything but put his children in boarding school in France and work for the La Samanna Hotel. He said that he knew nothing about managing a hotel because he studied tourism but his friend taught him a lot and he grew there too. He said one of his major roles was to deal with the unions who was giving the American owners lots of trouble, but again due to his personality and willingness to negotiate and discuss with other people that too was successful. Jan worked for La Samanna for about one and half years then he lost his friend to the deadly disease of cancer. After that he had to manage the hotel alone, and later assisted the heirs to sell the hotel because of tax inheritance that the heirs could not pay.
While being at La Samanna for his last year he said he began job hunting on the Dutch side because his children were still in school, then one day he got a call from one of his friends, the Curiel's whom he knew from school days. He said his friend offered him a job at WIB and even though he asked for a lot back then he got it and his mission was to change and develop WIB to what it is today. Jan Beaujon gave 20 years of service to the Windward Islands Bank, something he has no regrets about. He said while working tirelessly he did not realize how much his workers meant to him, but now that he is leaving them it is with a broken heart. Jan Beaujon handed over the reins to Derek Downes whom he said is a very talented young man who also believes in innovation and development.
The People Should be Consulted if Politicians wants to change currency --- Inform the people properly and then call for a referendum.
SMN News asked the man who has knowledge and experience what currency he thinks would be best for St. Maarten. Politicians on St. Maarten have been lobbying for dollarization. Jan Beaujon who is also on the board of the Council of Advice said that the discussion is a political one and not one that relates to the currency. He said Curacao and St. Maarten are having problems with the leadership of the Central Bank but instead of dealing with that issue they are blaming the currency. Jan said in 1995 St. Maarten did not have dollars because the hurricanes destroyed the island. "There was no USD coming to St. Maarten and it was the Central Bank that had to print more notes and distribute it so that the island could have survived. He said the Antillean currency worked for years and he sees no reason for changing it. "Yes we do have to get rid of the Antillean Guilder because the Antilles no longer exists, but it can be renamed either Caribbean Dollar or the Guilder but going for the USD is a no no for Jan Beaujon. "If there is a vote in the Council of Advice on this matter I will not vote because my opinion on this matter is very strong and I have made it known to all the politicians. They know what I think and how I feel as a professional banker."
Jan said that if the politicians still want to continue with their ideas then he believes that the people of St. Maarten must have a say, he thinks that the people must be given accurate and enough information then a referendum should be called so that the people could decide what currency they want for their country.
After speaking with Jan Beaujon for about one hour on Thursday, it's clear that Jan Beaujon will be working behind the scenes for his country. Even though he said he has no interest in politics he will continue to give advice and also keep his eyes open after all he is a citizen of this great nation.
