Damien King is the Executive Director of the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI), a public policy think tank, and formerly a lecturer in Economics at the University of the West Indies. He has written, supervised, and published academic work and policy papers in the areas of sovereign debt, economic modeling, international trade, and financial inclusion, amongst others. Damien is the author and editor (with David Tennant) of Debt and Development in Small Island Developing States, (Palgrave, New York). He earned his B.A. from York University, Canada, an M.Sc. from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica, and a Ph.D. from New York University, USA. Damien serves on corporate boards in the public and private sector. Recreational activities include watching cricket, hiking, and reading.
Kerry has over 16 years of experience in the financial industry specializing in investments. She has a unique blend of charisma, boldness and wit which one could easily attribute in part to her success. Over the life of her career, she has been instrumental in closing some of the Caribbean region’s largest and most significant transactions in both private & public debt & equity.
Kerry is the founder and director of Amani Consulting Partners; a boutique firm that will guide and represent clients in various capacities. Prior to consultancy, she built her career at two of the Caribbean’s leading financial institutions, the last of which she was a senior executive accountable for wealth management. In this capacity she led the largest team in the organization and was responsible for charting the strategy for sales and distribution of the firm’s investment products. This saw her spearheading sales operations, customer experience, digital channels, wealth marketing strategy, and syndication which expanded across the company’s regional entities. She was also integral in key strategic projects which saw her working alongside renowned international consultants and other leaders across the Group of Companies.
Kerry has a passion for financial literacy and freedom, mentoring, and philanthropy. She has served on the boards of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) and Rotary International (Club TNH).
She’s a firm believer in never allowing one's mindset nor circumstance to limit one's God-given potential; her mantra “if you can dream it, you can do it” ~ Walt Disney.
Kerry is a Certified Financial Planner and holds an MBA (Finance) from University of Manchester, UK and BSc. (Business) from Norfolk State University, USA. She also completed executive education: Canadian Investment Fund (CIFC), corporate finance, and leadership from Stern (NYU) and Chicago Booth Business Schools.
Mr. Steele is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of the West Indies. He also completed a Master of Business Administration from Florida International University and an Executive Program in General Management at Harvard Business School.
He began his finance career at KPMG as a Senior Accountant and later joined the Carreras Group Limited in 1998, where he held various Senior Finance roles such as Finance Planning Manager and Marketing Finance Manager. In 2004, he successfully led the migration of Caribbean legal entities into the regional shared service center as the Country Readiness Manager for the Caribbean at British American Tobacco Caribbean and Central America's Area Office in Costa Rica. He then became Finance Planning and Reporting Manager for BAT's operations in the Caribbean and Central America in 2005.
Mr. Steele was appointed to the Carreras Board of Directors in 2007 and served as Finance Director and Company Secretary until 2011. He was later seconded to Carisma Marketing Services Limited, a BAT company in Trinidad, as Country Manager, where he managed the company's businesses across 24 markets in the English, French, and Dutch Caribbean. He returned to Carreras in 2013 as Managing Director, serving on the Board of Directors until 2020.
Currently, Mr. Steele serves as a Director of Proven Wealth Limited and is a member of its Audit Committee. He is also a Director of Catherine Peak Bottling Company and Spike Industries Limited, where he serves as Chairman of their Audit Committees. Previously, he served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors at Demerara Tobacco Company Limited in Guyana until February 2020. In 2014, Business Suite Magazine recognized Mr. Steele as the Top CEO in Jamaica and 3rd in the Caribbean. When not working, he enjoys reading, dancing, cricket, football, and athletics. He has two children, Marquis and Sonique, and lives by his personal motto, "My today's best should be my tomorrow's worse."Dr. Germaine Spencer is a Cosmetic-Gynaecologist and Laparoscopic surgeon practising in Montego-Bay Jamaica. He is the CEO/Founder of Baywest Wellness Hospital and Clinics, GetWell Medical Solutions Ltd, Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation of Jamaica and 876 Beach Club in Trelawny, Jamaica. He is the medical director for BHI Therapeutic Sciences Jamaica and Hook Diagnostics Lab in San Diego, California. He is a graduate of the University of West Indies, where he earned MBBS and Doctor of Medicine degrees. He completed several post doctorate programs including a gynae-oncology fellowship at TATA Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, a diploma in sonography and
minimal access surgery from the world association of Laparoscopic surgeons. He is a fellow of the International Society of Cosmetic Gynaecology and Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Institute of America.
CEng, PE, PMP, LEED AP, FASHE, EDAC
Garold Hamilton is a Senior Vice President and Healthcare Practice Lead at WSP, one of the USA’s largest engineering and infrastructure firms. He is a licensed professional engineer in the USA as well as in Europe. He has over 26 years of experience in the design of healthcare facilities in the USA, Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean. He has designed and constructed over 5 billion square feet of healthcare facilities globally. He is a Healthcare Thought Leader and has written over 30 articles in multiple healthcare and engineering publications. He is also a seasoned presenter and has presented nationally and internationally at several engineering conferences and seminars. His work has been recognized with several design honors, including the American ASHRAE Technology 1st Place Award for Healthcare Engineering design for several hospital designs. In 2015 he was named 40 under 40 (best engineers in USA under 40) by the Consulting-Specifying Engineer Magazine for engineers who stand out in a variety of personal and professional aspects in their lives. He has a passion for real estate investments and is a director and partner for Real Equity Ltd and is an owner of Hamilton Estates Residential Ltd.
Kevon McIntosh is a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica and a Certified Public Accountant in the United States through GUAM. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Management Studies with a Major in Accounting from the University of the West Indies, and is currently pursuing the Certified Financial Analyst designation. Kevon has over 5 years of audit experience working at KPMG Jamaica and KPMG Cayman Islands. Within that period, he focused on the Financial Services industry, working with Asset Management Companies such as Hedge Funds, Mutual Funds, Funds of Funds and Private Equity Funds. He has worked with various teams and clients across the United States of America, The Cayman Islands and South America. Kevon is the SLP and YCPO Chairman for The Kiwanis Club of Young Professionals of Western Jamaica and is a member of the Cornwall College Old Boys Association. He is currently on the Board of Directors at Cornwall College. Kevon is a firm believer in financial literacy and spends a great deal of his spare time sharing his financial knowledge with his colleagues.
Vyktor Drum, the Chief Legal Officer for Dequity Capital has a Bachelor’s of Law (LL.B) from the University of the West Indies and a Legal Education Certificate from Norman Manley Law School. Vyktor started his practice at a boutique law firm in Kingston, Jamaica where he benefited from having conduct of a wide variety of civil law matters, including Corporate & Commercial Law, Company Law, Conveyancing and Real Estate, and Employment and Labour Law matters. Vyktor is currently a Partner at the law firm Base Legal, a firm which he co-founded in 2022. Since joining the Dequity team, Vyktor has provided legal guidance to Dequity and its portfolio companies in several merger and acquisition matters, including the successful acquisition of Winchester Surgical & Medical Institute through Dequity’s portfolio company Royale Medical. He also serves as Corporate Secretary in several companies in Dequity’s portfolio whilst providing day-to-day legal guidance in several regulated industries. He was awarded the NCB Nation Builder Award in 2016. Vyktor’s personal statement is to utilize his disciplined work ethic, keen attention to detail, analytical thinking and strong research skills to contribute to an organization’s growth and realization of its goals.
Vyktor Drum, the Chief Legal Officer for Dequity Capital Management Limited has a Bachelor’s degree in Law, LL.B from the University of the West Indies and a Legal Education Certificate from Norman Manley Law School. He has years of experience as a Legal Intern and Company Secretary for National Housing Trust and as an Associate Attorney-at-Law for Depass & Co. Attorneys-at-Law, one of the most prestigious law firms in the Country. At Depass & Co., Vyktor practiced a wide cross-section of civil law with special focus on Corporate and Commercial Law for large and medium-sized corporate entities, Company Law, Conveyancing, Real Estate Law and Employment and Labour Law. He has managed and had conduct of in excess of 200 files over a 2 year period during which time he lead development of new practice areas within the Firm, including Restrictive Covenant Discharge and Civil litigation amongst other aspects of law. He was awarded the NCB Nation Builder Award in 2016. Vyktor’s personal statement is to utilize his disciplined work ethic, keen attention to detail, analytical thinking and strong research skills to contribute to an organization’s growth and realization of its goals.