{{Short description|Jamaican businessman (1941–2021)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}} {{Use British English|date=March 2012}} {{Infobox person | name = Butch Stewart | birth_name = Gordon Arthur Cyril Stewart | honorific_suffix = OJ CD | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1941|7|6}} | birth_place = Kingston, Colony of Jamaica, British Empire | death_date = {{death date and age|2021|1|4|1941|7|6|df=yes}} | death_place = Miami, Florida, U.S. | alma_mater = | occupation = Hotelier, businessman | children = 8 | known_for = Founder, Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts | awards = Order of Jamaica<br>Order of Distinction }}
'''Gordon Arthur Cyril "Butch" Stewart''' OJ CD (6 July 1941 – 4 January 2021) was a Jamaican hotelier and businessman. He was the founder, owner, and chairman of Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts, and their parent company Sandals Resorts International, as well as The ATL Group and its subsidiaries Appliance Traders and ''The Jamaica Observer''.
== Early life == Gordon Arthur Cyril Stewart<ref>{{Cite web|last=Allen|first=Desmond|date=27 May 2018|title=Emotional 'Butch' Stewart surprised by Observer staff|url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/emotional-butch-stewart-employees-hail-their-chairman-as-one-of-the-truly-great-men-of-our-times-_134256|access-date=5 January 2021|website=Jamaica Observer|archive-date=7 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907220433/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/emotional-butch-stewart-employees-hail-their-chairman-as-one-of-the-truly-great-men-of-our-times-_134256|url-status=dead}}</ref> was born on 6 July 1941 in Kingston, Jamaica. He grew up along the country's north coast<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Born-big--Jamaica-s-Butch-Stewart-on-defining-success_13713568|title=Born big: Jamaica's Butch Stewart on defining success|date=25 February 2013|work=The Caribbean Voice|access-date=17 November 2019|via=The Jamaica Observer}}</ref> where he came to be known as "Butch", a nickname given to him by an American sailor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://evessio.com/api/v1/events/7a299287-448f-49c9-8b5e-aed826727eda/rebuild|title=Gordon Stewart|website=The British Travel & Hospitality Hall of Fame|publisher=Travel Weekly Group|language=en|access-date=17 November 2019}}</ref> As a child, Stewart helped out at his mother's appliance dealership, and at 12, he bought a small canoe he used to catch fish and sell them to the local hotels.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080401/how-i-did-it-butch-stewart-sandals-resorts.html|title=How I Did It: Butch Stewart of Sandals Resorts|last=Clifford|first=Stephanie|date=1 April 2008|website=Inc|access-date=19 September 2018}}</ref> He then bought a larger boat which he operated until age 17.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/154409c4-3ee8-11e2-87bc-00144feabdc0|title=I rolled the dice and risked my savings|last=Graham|first=Natalie|date=7 December 2012|website=Financial Times|language=en-GB|access-date=17 November 2019}}</ref>
==Career== After completing his education in England,<ref name=":0" /> Stewart became a salesman and eventually rose to become the sales manager of Dutch-owned Curaçao Trading Company.<ref name=":1" /> Stewart later left in 1968 to found his own business, Appliance Traders, Ltd. which specialized at first in importing and selling air conditioning units, water coolers, and stoves, but has grown to sell almost everything.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grenadianconnection.com/blkheroes/blackHistory.asp?headline=3|title=Caribbean Heroes|website=Grenadian Connection|access-date=19 September 2018}}</ref>
In April 1981, Stewart bought two derelict hotels, the Bay Roc and the Carlisle in Montego Bay.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.caribbean-beat.com/issue-13/butchs-baby|title=Butch's Baby: Sandals Resorts|last=Erskine|first=Marcia|date=1 January 1995|website=Caribbean Beat Magazine|language=en-GB|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref> The Bay Roc had been abandoned for more than five years when Stewart hired architect Evan Williams to renovate the hotel for $4 million and reopen it the same year as the Sandals Resort Beach Club, later known as Sandals Montego Bay.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/a-wet-and-wild-cultural-history-of-the-swim-up-pool-bar|title=A Wet and Wild Cultural History of the Swim-Up Pool Bar|last=VanHooker|first=Brian|date=24 June 2019|website=MEL Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref> Stewart founded Sandals Resorts.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/ce5a4fca-77df-11e1-b437-00144feab49a|title=How I made it: Gordon Stewart|last=Wilmot|first=Stephen|date=29 March 2012|website=Financial Times|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref> Stewart is credited with several innovations in the hospitality industry, most notably building the Caribbean's first swim-up bar at Sandals Montego Bay Resort in Jamaica in 1984.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-04/love-it-or-hate-it-the-swim-up-bar-isn-t-going-anywhere|title=Love It or Hate It, the Swim-Up Bar Isn't Going Anywhere|author=Claire Ballentine|date=4 October 2019|publisher=Bloomberg}}</ref>
In 1985, Stewart opened his second hotel as the Sandals Carlisle which was followed the next year by Sandals Royal Caribbean, “the only resort in Jamaica with its own private island".<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=http://www.travelagentmagazinedigital.com/article/SANDALS--Time+Line/788227/75954/article.html|title=Sandals: Time Line|last=Pike|first=Joe|date=25 July 2011|website=Travel Agent|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref> Over the next few years, Stewart expanded Sandals Resort to Negril in 1988 and to Ocho Rios in 1989. In 1991, he opened a second resort in Ocho Rios near the Dunn's River Falls and also opened Sandals Antigua, his first resort outside Jamaica. He added two more resorts to the Sandals chain in Saint Lucia, Sandals La Toc and Sandals Halcyon Beach, which opened in 1993. Sandals Royal Bahamian in Nassau opened in 1996 and, in 1997, Stewart started a second resort chain geared towards children and families with the opening of a Beaches Resort in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" />
Stewart also founded ''The Jamaica Observer'' newspaper in January 1993<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thecaribbeancurrent.com/the-story-of-gordon-butch-stewart-and-sandals-resorts|title=The Story of Gordon Butch Stewart and Sandals Resorts|last=Martin|first=Norvan|date=16 March 2013|website=The Caribbean Current|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119131334/https://thecaribbeancurrent.com/the-story-of-gordon-butch-stewart-and-sandals-resorts/|archive-date=19 November 2018|access-date=19 September 2018}}</ref> and, in 1994, started the Air Jamaica Acquisition Group to buy a majority stake in Air Jamaica.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=txQvAAAAYAAJ|title=Getting it Write: Winning Caribbean Press Freedom|last=Gordon|first=Ken|date=1999|publisher=Ian Randle Publishers|isbn=978-976-8123-97-8|pages=89, 96|language=en}}</ref> The group paid $37.5 million for a majority share of the airline; of which, Stewart held a 46 percent stake<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/10/business/air-jamaica-s-american-problem-small-airline-holds-its-own-against-much-bigger.html|title=Air Jamaica's American Problem; A Small Airline Holds Its Own Against a Much Bigger Rival|last=Zuckerman|first=Laurence|date=10 April 1998|work=The New York Times|access-date=6 December 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and became the new chairman of Air Jamaica.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1994-12-19-9412150637-story.html|title=Entrepreneur Aiming High with Air Jamaica Purchase|last=Kolody|first=Tracy|date=19 December 1994|website=South Florida Sun-Sentinel|language=en-US|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref> Stewart's group sold their shares of the airline back to the Jamaican Government in 2004.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/special-advertisement/air-jamaica-sold_127153|title=Air Jamaica sold|date=1 April 2018|website=Jamaica Observer|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref>
In November 2006, Stewart became chairman of Sandals and Beaches Resorts after appointing his son Adam Stewart as CEO.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Butch-Stewart-names-son-CEO-of-Sandals|title=Butch Stewart names son CEO of Sandals: Travel Weekly|last=Myers|first=Gay Nagle|date=19 November 2006|website=Travel Weekly|language=en|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref> In 2012, Stewart founded Sandals Corporate University, an adult education program for Caribbean nationals employed by Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts and Grand Pineapple Beach Resorts, provided in partnership by Canada-based Ryerson University, Western Hospitality Institute of Jamaica, and the Jamaica Foundation for Life Long Learning.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.sandals.com/article/123/|title=Sandals Resorts Launches Sandals Corporate University|author=Sandals|date=27 March 2012}}</ref> As of 2012, Stewart's businesses employed more than 10,000 people in the Caribbean across various industries including hospitality, restaurant, automotive, retail, and media.<ref name=":3" />
==Personal life==
Stewart had eight children; one of his sons, Jonathan, was killed in a car crash in 1990.<ref name="Sandals family interview">{{Cite web|url=http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/29977/interview-the-stewarts-on-sandals-business-and-family-values|title=Interview: The Stewarts on Sandals, business and family values|last=Baker|first=Judith|date=15 January 2009|website=Travel Weekly (UK)|access-date=17 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/jobs/04boss.html|title=To Sorrow and Back|last1=Stewart|first1=Butch|date=4 May 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=17 November 2019|last2=Tahmincioglu|first2=Eve|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> His son Brian Jardim sat on the board of ''The Jamaica Observer'' and is the owner of Rainforest Seafoods.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Brian-Jardim-named-to-Observer-board_11706056|title=Brian Jardim named to Observer board|date=15 June 2012|website=Jamaica Observer|access-date=17 November 2019}}</ref> His daughter Jamie Stewart-McConnell co-founded the juice company Orijin of Jamaica.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120202/cook/cook2.html|title=Stewart-McConnell gives birth to Orijin|last=Ellington|first=Barbara|date=2 February 2012|website=The Gleaner|language=en|access-date=17 November 2019}}</ref> His eldest son Robert “Bobby” Stewart held various leadership positions at Sandals including running the company's online division and UK operations.<ref name="Sandals family interview" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/btn20153/|title=Exclusive Interview With Bobby Stewart of Sandals all Inclusive Resorts|date=15 November 2001|website=Breaking Travel News|access-date=17 November 2019}}</ref><ref>[https://www.latestnewssouthafrica.com/2021/01/05/iconic-jamaican-businessman-butch-stewart-has-passed-away/tml/ Iconic Jamaican Businessman, Butch Stewart Has Passed Away]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/btn20050127110157320/|title=Exclusive Interview: Robert Stewart, MD Sandals|date=27 January 2005|website=Breaking Travel News|access-date=17 November 2019}}</ref> Adam Stewart was deputy chairman of Sandals, CEO of The ATL Group<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.travelagentcentral.com/people/sandals-names-new-ceo-adam-stewart-remains-deputy-chairman|title=Sandals Names New CEO; Adam Stewart Remains Deputy Chairman|last=Pike|first=Joe|date=15 March 2018|website=Travel Agent Central|language=en|access-date=17 November 2019}}</ref> and founded the Sandals Foundation while serving as CEO of Sandals Resorts from 2006 to 2012.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090320/social/social2.html|title=Sandals Foundation now a reality|last=Evans|first=Hope|date=20 March 2009|work=The Gleaner|access-date=17 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100221040658/http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090320/social/social2.html|archive-date=21 February 2010}}</ref>
Stewart lived in Kingston and Montego Bay, Jamaica, with his girlfriend Cheryl, the mother of his younger three children: a set of twins, Kelly and Gordon, and a daughter, Sabrina.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="Sandals family interview" />
=== Death === Stewart died in Miami, Florida, United States, on 4 January 2021 at the age of 79. He had been suffering from an undisclosed illness.<ref>{{Cite web|date=4 January 2021|title=Full Text {{!}} 'Butch' Stewart chose to keep health diagnosis private, says son|url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20210104/full-text-butch-stewart-chose-keep-health-diagnosis-private-says-son|access-date=5 January 2021|website=jamaica-gleaner.com|language=en}}</ref> A private funeral service was held.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sandals founder Gordon 'Butch' Stewart dies|url=https://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/sandals-founder-gordon-butch-stewart-dies/|access-date=5 January 2021|website=Breaking Travel News}}</ref>
==Honours and awards== Stewart received several accolades and awards including Jamaica's highest national distinctions: Order of Jamaica, and Commander of the Order of Distinction.<ref name=":5">{{cite web|url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Born-big--Jamaica-s-Butch-Stewart-on-defining-success_13713568|title=Born big: Jamaica's Butch Stewart on defining success|date=25 February 2013|website=Jamaica Observer|access-date=7 December 2019}}</ref> He received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from the University of the West Indies (2001) and from the University of Technology, Jamaica (2009). He also received an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree from Johnson & Wales University in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/-8216-butch-8217-stewart-gets-46-sandals-chairman-is-un-8217-s-global-legend-of-the-caribbean-awardee-2017_118714|title='Butch' Stewart gets 46 awards in 30 years|last=Allen|first=Desmond|date=1 December 2017|website=Jamaica Observer|access-date=7 December 2019}}</ref>
In 1992, Stewart was presented with the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Humanitarian Award from the Jamaica–America Society.<ref name=":5" /> Ernst & Young voted him Master Entrepreneur of the decade of the 90s. Stewart was a Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary International's highest award. At the 2000 World Travel Awards, he was voted "Travel Man of the Millennium" for his work in promoting Caribbean tourism. In 2011, The Caribbean American Foundation presented Stewart with the Golden Eagle Humanitarian Award in recognition of his philanthropic contributions to education and entrepreneurship in the Caribbean. In 2014 Stewart was honored with the Most Innovative All-Inclusive Resort Executive by the Travalliance Travvy Awards, Hotelier of the Year at the Cacique Award held by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation and the Invest Caribbean Now Leadership Award presented at its global summit.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsamericasnow.com/investing-in-the-caribbean-is-good-business-says-sandals-resorts-international-chairman/|work=News Americas|title=Investing In The Caribbean Is "Good Business" Says Sandals Resorts International Chairman|date=4 May 2014}}</ref>
Stewart was a recipient of ''Caribbean World'' Magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in Jamaica,<ref name="bsun">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bermudasun.bm/main.asp?SectionID=72&SubSectionID=205&ArticleID=36464&TM=76902.07|title=Lifetime Achievement Award for Jefferis|access-date=10 February 2008|date=1 February 2008|work=Bermuda Sun}}</ref> and was referred to as one of Jamaica's most-admired businessmen by Kamal King, President of Cambridge College and Community Services Jamaica, in an address to graduating students.<ref name="admire">{{Cite web|url=http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060322/business/business1.html |title=Jamaica's Most Admired Business Leaders |access-date=10 February 2008 |date=22 March 2006 |work=Jamaica Gleaner |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413193306/http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060322/business/business1.html |archive-date=13 April 2008 }}</ref><ref name="inc">{{Cite web|url=https://www.inc.com/magazine/20080401/how-i-did-it-butch-stewart-sandals-resorts.html|title=How I Did It: Butch Stewart of Sandals Resorts|access-date=6 June 2018|date=1 April 2008|work=inc.com}}</ref>
He earned Lifetime Achievement Awards from The American Academy of Hospitality Sciences, Travel Weekly and Globe Travel Awards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/in-an-age-of-great-men_18133681|title=In an age of great men Joan Duncan School honours 'Butch' Stewart, Richard Byles|work=Jamaica Observer|date=22 December 2014}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Butch}} Category:1941 births Category:2021 deaths Category:20th-century Jamaican businesspeople Category:Jamaican people of English descent Category:Members of the Order of Jamaica Category:Commanders of the Order of Distinction Category:21st-century Jamaican businesspeople