Speakers - 8th Growth & Resilience Dialogue

M e e t t h e S p e a k e r s

Meet the Speaker

Date April 11-12 2024

Dr. Justin Ram is CEO of Justin Ram Advisory Associates Services (JRAS). He has over twenty-five years of practical, advisory, research, and management experience. He has worked as an economist in over 32 Caribbean, Central Asian, African, and European countries. He is currently Programme Director and Lead Advisor to the Premier for the National Delivery Unit in the Turks and Caicos Islands Government (TCIG), responsible for operationalizing a Delivery Unit in TCIG and implementing the government’s priority projects and policies. Justin has a Diploma in Executive Management from Stanford University and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science. OTHER CURRENT POSITIONS: May 2022 to present: Programme Director and Lead Advisor Premier's Delivery Unit Turks and Caicos Islands Government. September 2021 to present: Visiting lecturer, World Maritime University, Malmo, Sweden, Ph.D. Programme. Focus: Financing Innovation - Exploring subsidies, grants, R&D, securitisation, crowd funding and venture capital

Creative Disruption and Innovation - Pathways for Transformative Change and Sustainable Growth

Meet the Speaker

Date April 11-12 2024

Focus: The enablers and enabling environment for creative disruption and innovation in the Caribbean His commitment to innovation, user-centered design, and ethical practices in his work, demonstrates his passion for using design and technology to positively impact the lives of others. Chavez Procope, from Upper Cayon, Saint Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis, is an accomplished Lead Product Designer at CashApp in Atlanta, Georgia. With a diverse 9-year career, he has made his mark in startups and at Meta, where he contributed to Responsible AI, Facebook app search, and experiences in AR glasses. His significant work in Responsible AI is now recognized and adopted by OpenAI and others in the AI field. As an entrepreneur, Chavez founded Shop Express, an on-demand grocery delivery service, demonstrating his business acumen, and Akses, a platform spotlighting freelancers in Saint Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis, reflecting his dedication to his home country's growth.

Creative Disruption and Innovation - Pathways for Transformative Change and Sustainable Growth

Meet the Speaker

Date April 11-12 2024

Monique Powell is the founder and CEO of QuickCart, an e-commerce and logistics provider based in the Caribbean. Prior to starting QuickCart, she spent 16 years holding increasingly senior technology and marketing related positions across various industries including media, telecoms and financial services. She has always been passionate about web-based technology and the various ways businesses can use it to connect with customers and increase sales. She is now channeling that knowledge and energy into helping restaurants and retail merchants drive sales through QuickCart, while simplifying access to electronic commerce. Monique currently lives and works in Kingston, Jamaica.

Focus: Strategies for Successful Business Innovation in the Caribbean.

Creative Disruption and Innovation - Pathways for Transformative Change and Sustainable Growth

Meet the Speaker

Date April 11-12 2024

Barbadian Dr. Annalee C. Babb is CEO of Intersections, a start-up cluster driver helping to accelerate Caribbean creativity and innovation. She explores these issues in her My Belonging podcast https://www.intersections.digital/mybelonging/ She previously held roles as Digital Transformation Sherpa, Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade, and the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy, Special Advisor, Ministry of Innovation, Science & Smart Technology, Government of Barbados. In the latter role she led the team developing COVID-19 public health emergency management tech solutions; was legislative co-Chair for Barbados' national digital ID/mobile ID; led on creation of a tech accelerator for digital public services; and chaired the Telecoms Working Group. She also chaired the Digital Transformation and Solutions Committee, Prime Minister’s Jobs and Investment Council. She was a member of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Board, co-lead organiser of UNCTAD 15’s Creative Industries Trade Digitisation and a member of the International Advisory Board of Oman’s Research Council.

Focus: Design Thinking - A creative approach to problem solving.

Creative Disruption and Innovation - Pathways for Transformative Change and Sustainable Growth

Meet the Speaker

Date April 11-12 2024

Calvert Jones, a Vincentian-born artist and entrepreneur, pioneered the trademarked movement "Tropical Realism" after a career as a Regional Operations Manager in the telecommunications industry. His self-taught journey led to global recognition, with mixed media pieces like his volcanic ash- infused work part of the collection at the Museum of the Americas in Washington D.C. and in esteemed collections such as Maja Hoffman's. Notable portraits of Che Guevara at the Cuban monument and a gifted portrait of Prince Harry. His piece "The Last Colonial Meal" gained attention on Russian National Television and sparked academic discussions at the University of the West Indies. Passionate about environmental conservation, Calvert collaborates with charities, using art to drive change in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He champions art's role in shaping society, particularly amidst the rise of artificial intelligence, believing in its power to inspire, challenge, and redefine our global narrative.

Focus: The Business Side of Creativity

Creative Disruption and Innovation - Pathways for Transformative Change and Sustainable Growth

Meet the Speaker

Date April 11-12 2024

Focus: Global Innovation Index (GII) and the state of Caribbean Businesses She has helped over 15 NGOs and grew the NGO Barbados Youth Business Trust to sustainability before leaving its helm in 2013, after 15 years. Dr. Brandon holds a First Degree in Public Sector Management with a specialization in Entrepreneurship and Project Management, a Master’s in educational leadership and a Doctorate in Business Leadership. Dr. Brandon has been lauded as a pioneer in the Caribbean for creating techniques and know-how to help women and youth to start and grow innovative businesses. She is a social entrepreneur specializing in entrepreneurship development with a focus on innovative ecosystems and people development methodologies via a gendered approach. She is the co-founder and Managing Director of the Caribbean Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Livelihoods (COESL) and through this virtual organization she and her team work regionally, with approved preferred partners to strengthen the entrepreneurship eco-system in the Caribbean. Dr. Brandon is the co-founder of Caribbean Entrepreneurship Week (CEW) and also the GEN Caribbean Community, which is a part of Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN). She serves as GEN’s Global Advisor in the Caribbean, and has been a member of GEN since 2008. She has helped over 4000 Caribbean and global MSME entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses and has helped to sensitize an estimated 30,000 in school and out of school youth as well as adults to entrepreneurship as a career choice.

Creative Disruption and Innovation - Pathways for Transformative Change and Sustainable Growth

Meet the Speaker

Date April 11-12 2024

Darlington Akogo is a global leader in Artificial Intelligence. He's the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at minoHealth AI Labs, an AI Healthtech company; karaAgro AI, an AI-powered Plant & Pest Disease Detection and Precision Agriculture platform; Runmila AI Institute, an AI and Data Science training institute; and Gudra AI Studio, an organization broadly exploring AI and Exponential Technologies applied various domains including Transportation, Sanitation and Energy. Akogo has been named one of the Global Top 100 Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) in Healthcare. He's the Chair (Topic Driver) of the Topic Group on AI for Radiology under the United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and World Health Organization (WHO) Focus Group on 'Artificial Intelligence for Health' (FG-AI4H). At UN FG-AI4H, Akogo leads the development of global regulations and standards for AI in radiology. He also works with African Union, where he serves as the Chair for the working group on Artificial Intelligence Economy, working towards the development of a Continental African Union (AU) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Continental Strategy that includes legislative, regulatory, ethical, policy, and infrastructural frameworks in consultation with stakeholders such as AU Member States’ governments, private sector, academia, innovators, and consumers. He also serves as a Global Innovation Adviser (GIA) to the International Development Innovation Alliance (IDIA), where he provides advice on how to ensure international development agencies are implementing responsible and localized Emerging Technology across the various countries in which they are based.

Focus: AI in HealthCare and AI in Agriculture.

Creative Disruption and Innovation - Pathways for Transformative Change and Sustainable Growth

Meet the Speaker

Date April 11-12 2024

James is among the most prominent leaders of the NJ/NYC business, innovation and technology ecosystems. Over the past 25 years he has helped nurture the region’s entrepreneurial, innovation and technology communities. James currently leads Innovation+, a curated global community of engaged business leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators. He also serves as an advisor to early stage and growth companies, corporates and higher-educational institutions as well as Tech Council Ventures and JumpStart Angel Network. As CEO of the regional trade association TechUnited (NJ/NYC/Phila, formerly NJ Tech Council 2014-2019), he transformed a fatigued organization into a vibrant and dynamic force. It is now among the largest and most respected membership organizations of its kind nationwide. Prior to this, he led the top-ranked entrepreneurship and innovation center at Fairleigh Dickinson University for over 15 years (1997-2014) which, under his leadership the organization became one of the leading centers (and Family Business Institutes) in the nation and one of the University’s flagship programs. James is host of the popular podcast, A Few Things, author of the book, Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Global Insights from 24 Leaders and co ‑ author of Lessons from the Great Recession. He has written thought leadership articles for Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Grit Daily, Star-Ledger, ROI, NJBiz, Life Sciences Leader and other publications and has been widely quoted regionally and nationally. In addition, he has been interviewed on TV (ABC, MSNBC), many podcasts, and online. He holds an MBA from Texas A&M University and a BA in Economics from Rutgers.

Focus: AI in financial services delivery.

Creative Disruption and Innovation - Pathways for Transformative Change and Sustainable Growth

Meet the Speaker

Date April 11-12 2024

Focus: AI in Education- A look at how The UWI Global Campus has incorporated AI in the delivery of online courses. He is a member of several University of the West Indies, UWI Committees including: UWI Global Campus Council Member; Chair of the University (all five campuses) e-Learning Committee; Evaluation and Promotion Committee; Co-Chair of the UWI Global Campus Online Accessibility Committee; and Disaster Risk Reduction Centre (DRRC), Technical Advisory Committee. Kevin Ramsoobhag is currently the Head of Department (Ag.) Online Programmes Delivery Department within the Academic Programming and Delivery Division (APAD), at the University of the West Indies Global Campus. He is also a member of many university-wide committees. He holds an MBA in Digital Technology Management, and has presented at various regional and international conferences. Research Interests include: e-Learning technologies, with a focus on user support and customer service within an online environment; Business Intelligence with a focus on Learning Analytics; Online Accessibility for Teaching and Learning; The Emerging Ethical Use of AI in Education.

Creative Disruption and Innovation - Pathways for Transformative Change and Sustainable Growth

Meet the Speaker

Date April 11-12 2024

Psyche Southwell is a software engineer and a resourceful problem solver with a deep interest in innovation. She has worked exclusively at AI companies across diverse industry domains, ranging from healthcare to finance. Psyche currently works as a senior customer success engineer at Argyle, a FinTech company democratizing access to income and employment data. She works directly with clients to ensure seamless integrations, automations, and implementations using Argyle’s SDK and API. Formerly at Kontakt.io, an AI-powered location services company, Psyche led a wing of the professional services team, where she designed and implemented the company’s customer success playbook. At Capacity, an AI-powered support automation platform, Psyche founded and led the customer success engineering team, serving as the primary technical solution engineer for enterprise clients. Psyche has a proven track record of using technology to solve problems and of fostering cross-team collaboration to enhance customer satisfaction.

Focus: Leveraging Generative AI to Advance the Caribbean Creative Industry

Creative Disruption and Innovation - Pathways for Transformative Change and Sustainable Growth

R E G I S T E R T O D A Y !