Dr. Glen Laman
Dr. Glen Laman
A Journey of Learning and Discovery
From attending open-air schools in rural Jamaica to becoming a corporate executive at Coca-Cola and an accomplished author, Dr. Glen Laman’s, DBA, MBA, and BS, journey reflects a lifelong commitment to education, perseverance, and the power of human stories. As a faculty member at the University of Management and Technology (UMT), Dr. Laman continues to share his knowledge and experience through teaching, research, and writing, drawing on the experiences that have shaped his personal and professional life.
After immigrating to the United States, Dr. Laman pursued higher education, earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees through hard work and scholarships. His determination and education helped him build a successful career that eventually led to an executive position at Coca-Cola’s headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Beyond his corporate responsibilities, Dr. Laman remained connected to his Jamaican roots and the community around him. He became a founding board member of the Jamaican Chamber of Commerce of Atlanta, where he also served as vice president of membership. His involvement reflected an ongoing interest in entrepreneurship and the achievements of Jamaican business owners.
As he approached retirement, Dr. Laman decided to pursue another milestone: earning a doctorate. He enrolled in UMT’s Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program, where he developed advanced research skills and explored how behavioral sciences could help explain human motivation and success. “I had long been intrigued by the resilience of Jamaican entrepreneurs,” Dr. Laman’s research journey illustrates. “I wanted to understand how so many small business owners could survive and thrive despite the economic, political, and social challenges facing their country.”
That question became the foundation of Dr. Laman’s doctoral dissertation. He focused on Jamaica, a Small Island Developing State with limited resources but a vibrant community of independent entrepreneurs. To understand what contributed to their success, he interviewed 15 accomplished Jamaican businesspeople and conducted a content analysis of their responses. The result was Jamaican Entrepreneurship, published by Minna Press in 2014. The book examines the varied paths taken by 15 successful Jamaicans, offering insight into the personal experiences and broader factors that helped shape their achievements.
The research also marked an important milestone in Dr. Laman’s academic journey. UMT faculty members recognized the quality and potential of his dissertation and encouraged him to develop it into a book. His research soon reached a wider audience, bringing him opportunities to participate in interviews and lectures for Caribbean communities in the United States and throughout the Caribbean. Through Jamaican Entrepreneurship, Dr. Laman helped bring attention to the ingenuity, determination, and resourcefulness of business owners whose stories offer lessons beyond Jamaica. His work demonstrates how rigorous academic research can preserve valuable experiences while offering practical insights into entrepreneurship and success.
Dr. Laman’s interest in the lives of Jamaicans eventually led him in a new direction: fiction. In 2021, he coauthored The Hero of Fern Gully and Other Jamaican Short Stories with his friend and fellow Jamaican, Dr. Basil Kong. Published by Minna Press in Kingston, Jamaica, the collection features 15 short stories centered on fictional characters and the experiences of everyday Jamaicans. Where Jamaican Entrepreneurship explores the lives of accomplished businesspeople, The Hero of Fern Gully and Other Jamaican Short Stories turns its attention to ordinary people and the rhythms of daily life. Together, the books offer complementary perspectives on Jamaican society—one through real-life entrepreneurial achievement and the other through imaginative storytelling.
The shift from academic research to fiction highlights another dimension of Dr. Laman’s work: his interest in understanding people and sharing their experiences. Whether examining the decisions of successful entrepreneurs or creating fictional characters navigating everyday challenges, he brings Jamaican life and culture to readers through stories grounded in human experience.
Dr. Laman’s accomplishments span education, corporate leadership, community service, research, and publishing. Each milestone reflects a willingness to keep learning and to explore new ways of contributing to the communities and subjects that matter to him. His journey also illustrates the value of returning to the classroom at any stage of life. By pursuing his doctorate at UMT, Dr. Laman transformed a longstanding question into a substantive research project, a published book, and opportunities to engage with audiences across the Caribbean diaspora. His experience demonstrates how professional knowledge, academic inquiry, and personal curiosity can come together to produce work with lasting value.
As a UMT faculty member, Dr. Laman brings that breadth of experience to his academic role. His path—from rural Jamaica to corporate leadership and from doctoral research to published authorship—offers a powerful example of how education can open new possibilities and how the pursuit of knowledge can continue well beyond a single career milestone.
“From my early days in Jamaica to my career in business and journey as an author, I’ve learned that it’s never too late to keep learning, pursue new dreams, and share the stories that shape who we are. I hope my work inspires others to believe in their potential and embrace their own path to success.”
