MEET OUR SPEAKERS | Keynote & Special Guest Speakers
We are happy to present a dynamic group of persons who make up the keynote speakers and panel presenters at the Enterprise Development Forum & Marketplace for 2018. Meet our two keynote speakers and Special Guest Speaker. Our keynote speakers are Dr. James Fletcher, Sustainable Development Specialist and Author, the Keynote Speaker for Day 1 speaking on 'Sustainability Defined' and Dr. Richard Brown, Director at CARICOM for Single Market and Sectoral Programmes at the CARICOM Secretariat, presenting the keynote address on Day 2 on 'Regional Business & Trade Facilitation'. Our Special Guest Speaker is Mr. Wes Hall, Executive Chairman and Founder, Kingsdale Advisors. Our speakers have led illustrious careers in their respective fields, representing their countries and the Caribbean at large
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Dr. James Fletcher
Sustainable Development Specialist/Author
James Fletcher is a former Minister for Public Service, Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology in Saint Lucia. He served in that position from December 2011 to June 2016. During his tenure, he led Saint Lucia on an aggressive path toward the modernization of the energy sector, with an emphasis on legislative reform and the use of renewable sources of energy. He oversaw efforts to improve the water sector, with major new water system redevelopment projects started on the east coast and in the south of the island. He also played a pivotal role in the thrust toward making information technology widely available across the island, through the establishment of community information technology centres in under-served areas, the commencement of free broadband wi-fi service and the development of a comprehensive government information network.
James Fletcher is perhaps best known for his work in international climate change negotiations. He led the Caribbean’s delegation to the negotiations on the Paris Agreement in 2015 and was an integral part of the region’s ‘1.5 to stay alive’ climate change civil society advocacy campaign. He was a member of a small, select group of ministers who were charged with the responsibility for achieving consensus among the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change on the elements of the Paris Agreement.
He also played a key role in negotiations on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) on the sensitive subject of Loss and Damage. Prior to his stint as a Cabinet Minister, James Fletcher served as the Director of Social and Sustainable Development at the Secretariat of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, the Cabinet Secretary in the Government of Saint Lucia, and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Currently, James Fletcher manages his own company, SOLORICON, which provides consulting services in sustainable energy, climate change, water policy, information and communications technology, agriculture, and public policy development. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of Ottawa, Canada and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Crop Physiology from the University of Cambridge, England. He is the author of the book Governing in a Small Caribbean Island State.
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Dr. Richard Brown
Director,
CARICOM Single Market & Sectoral Programmes
Dr. Richard Brown is a career Diplomat and International Trade Specialist with over 14 years of experience. He has served in the Permanent Mission of Jamaica to the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies in Geneva, Switzerland, where he represented Jamaica in multilateral negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), on a range of issues, including the trade in services, trade and development and intellectual property rights.
He has also served as Deputy Director for Bilateral and Regional Trade in the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, as well as Director of Trade in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF) where, among other things, he provided general oversight on the national Trade Facilitation Reform Programme, and also led the initiative towards the development of a national services industry policy.
Currently, Dr. Brown is the Director for CARICOM Single Market and Sectoral Programmes at the CARICOM Secretariat, overseeing the implementation of the regional single market and integration arrangements, as well as the development of regional sectoral policies, including in the area of Private Sector and Industrial Development.
In 2013, Dr. Brown received a PhD in International Economics (Summa Cum Laude), from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies/University of Geneva, Switzerland, specializing in International Trade. He is also a graduate of the University of Oxford, where he pursued a Postgraduate Certificate in Diplomatic Studies, as well as the University of the West Indies, where he obtained both a Masters degree in Economics, as well as a BSc. in Economics and Management.
Wes Hall is an established innovator, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. As Executive Chairman & Founder of Kingsdale Advisors, he has been named one of Canada’s most powerful business people.
He is the owner of QM Environmental, a leading environmental and industrial services provider, and Titan Supply, a top manufacturer and distributor of rigging and wear products serving industries in the oil, construction and transportation sector. In 2009, Wes was recognized with the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for Ontario, Canada and, in 2011, Wes received the designation ICD.D from the Institute of Corporate Directors’ (ICD) in partnership with the Rotman School of Management of the University of Toronto.
Wes is also known for generosity, leveraging his business success to benefit others with a number of impactful charitable initiatives, including Sick Kids Foundation, where he serves as a Board Member. Wes has also changed the lives of thousands of children in the Caribbean, donating both his money and time.
In 2015, Wes was the recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s Award and in 2017 received an honorary doctorate, both from the University of the West Indies.