CARIBBEAN

Executive Director, Inter-American Development Bank for the Caribbean Constituency

Quinton C. Lightbourne, CFP

Executive Director for the Caribbean Constituency at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), where he champions sustainable growth, resilience and inclusive development across the region. A CFP with a background in wealth management and development finance, Quinton is focused on turning Caribbean potential into lasting prosperity through strategic investment, stronger institutions and regional collaboration. Based in The Bahamas, he brings deep experience at the intersection of finance, policy and international development.

CEO, Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator

Racquel Moses

CEO of the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator and a UNFCCC Global Ambassador, Racquel brings nearly two decades of Caribbean business leadership — including senior roles at Microsoft — to the work of making the region the world's first climate-smart zone. Based in Port of Spain, she connects governments, funders, investors and technologists behind projects spanning clean transit, food security, plastic remediation and the blue economy, and has represented the Caribbean at COP26 through COP28.

Innovation Ecosystem Builder — FutureBARBADOS

Tamaisha Eytle

Caribbean innovation ecosystem builder helping awesome people build extraordinary things. Principal of The Possibilities Agency, an innovation design firm in Bridgetown, and driving force behind FutureBARBADOS — small states, big ideas, real execution. Born in Guyana and educated across Jamaica, India, Canada and Barbados, she has spent nearly two decades designing programmes that turn regional talent into working ventures.

Events Manager, Cricket West Indies

Dario Barthley

Events Manager at Cricket West Indies, Dario brings hands-on experience producing large-scale sporting and cultural experiences across the Caribbean. His work sits at the intersection of logistics, fan engagement, and storytelling — turning major events into memorable moments for regional audiences.

Carnival Producer & Band Leader — 4x Band of the Year Winner

Valmiki Maharaj

A four-time Band of the Year winner, Valmiki Maharaj is one of the creative forces reshaping Trinidad & Tobago Carnival as a world-class cultural industry. He builds mas presentations that fuse design, storytelling and large-scale production, and champions Carnival as a serious engine of Caribbean creative enterprise and cultural export.

Founder & Executive Director, Explaining The Caribbean

Gianni Love

Founder and Executive Director of Explaining The Caribbean [ETC], a digital intelligence platform making the region more understandable, discoverable and accessible through research-driven data and content. Since launching in January 2026, ETC has reached audiences across 180 countries and generated more than 20 million views. Gianni brings over a decade of experience across media, publishing, television production, strategic communications and creative direction, and is focused on advancing Caribbean culture, innovation, entrepreneurship and opportunity through storytelling.

Founder & Cultural Strategist, Carib Biz Network

Nicole K. Grimes, Ph.D.

Founder of Carib Biz Network and a strategist with 25+ years across education, business development, branding and marketing. Nicole is on a mission to close the racial wealth gap by equipping Black and Caribbean small businesses in North America and beyond with education, opportunity, and community. A former NYC educator and school leader, she now builds ecosystems that connect founders to capital, AI tools, and the networks they need to scale.

Founder & CEO, EcoWash Global

Dareem Jeffrey

Founder and CEO of EcoWash Global, a Trinidad-born innovator building a near-waterless, portable car wash system that conserves millions of liters of water while creating jobs and franchise opportunities across the Caribbean. A TEDx speaker, investor and youth entrepreneurship advocate, Dareem couples clean technology with social impact — from skills-training programmes to regional expansion — proving that sustainability and scale can grow from the Caribbean outward.

3x Olympian | Sports Business & Partnerships Strategist

Mikel Thomas, OLY

A three-time Olympian and sports business strategist who helps athletes, brands and sports properties turn stories, IP and attention into commercial success. Mikel's work spans athlete-led storytelling, sponsorship strategy, brand partnerships and revenue growth — bridging the lived experience of elite sport with the business models that make it sustainable. He has worked across Olympic and Commonwealth sport, fintech, startups and media, and is passionate about community, culture and impact-led brand activations.

Sr. Data Scientist, NVIDIA

Mark Moyou, Ph.D.

A customer-facing data scientist at NVIDIA helping North American retail and CPG clients put machine-learning models into production on the world's most advanced computing platform. Mark is also the founder of the Optimized AI Conference and host of the AI Portfolio Podcast, Progress Guaranteed, and Caribbean Tech Pioneers Podcast. A Florida Institute of Technology Ph.D., he specializes in distilling complex AI topics into implementable solutions, training enterprise data scientists, and scaling teams through technical content and mentorship.

Former Elite Gymnast • Entrepreneur • Founder, Thema Williams Athletic Academy

Thema Williams

A former elite national gymnast for Trinidad & Tobago with fourteen years of international competition at the CAC Games, Pan American Games, World Championships and Olympic Trials. After earning a BSc in Statistics and Economics (Hons) from UWI St. Augustine, Thema channelled the discipline of sport into entrepreneurship — founding the Thema Williams Athletic Academy, serving as Founding Director of the Sugar Rush 5K Run, and building a verified social-media presence that reaches more than 100,000 followers. She is passionate about inspiring youth, advancing health and wellness, and showing how athletes can translate performance into lasting impact.

Engineer, Energy Executive & Social Entrepreneur

Donald Baldeosingh

An experienced engineer, energy executive and social entrepreneur, Donald serves humanity through innovation and partnerships. He is Founder of the Carbon Zero Institute of Trinidad & Tobago (CZITT), President of ENMAN Group, and President of Southern Caribbean Cable Company — working at the nexus of energy transition, food security, water resource management and waste management in relation to climate change. A UWI St. Augustine engineering graduate, he has held leadership roles spanning the state, private and non-profit sectors, including Chairman of Petrotrin, and continues to champion climate action, youth empowerment and regional economic development.

International Caribbean Leader • Programme Director, Conecta Caribbean

Audrey Joachim

A Guadeloupean executive who has built ventures and institutions across four continents — from Guadeloupe to Silicon Valley, Bangalore, Paris and now Barbados. Audrey is Programme Director of CARIBEquity's Conecta Caribbean, a regional initiative co-funded by IDB Lab and the European Union that unites 27 entrepreneurship support organisations across 15 Caribbean countries under one shared methodology. Formerly Chief Operating Officer at Unite Caribbean Group and Director of Business Development at Island Innovation, she works at the intersection of business, government and international development, opening markets and closing government deals. Bilingual and multicultural, she believes small island states deserve to own their future.

Entrepreneurship Program Manager, Bridge for Billions • PhD Candidate, UWI SALISES

Ermine Christopher-Salino

Entrepreneurship Program Manager (Caribbean) at Bridge for Billions and PhD Candidate in Economic Development Policy at UWI St. Augustine's Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES). Ermine's research and practice focus on inclusive entrepreneurship for women and persons with disabilities across the Caribbean, and she currently helps deliver Conecta Caribbean — a multi-year IDB Lab/EU-funded initiative strengthening entrepreneurship support organisations across the region. Her work spans policy design, incubation systems, programme implementation and ecosystem-building, with previous roles at the University of Trinidad and Tobago and UNDP Accelerator Labs.

Founder & CEO, Wam

Mark Pereira

A passionate fintech entrepreneur dedicated to driving digital transformation and financial inclusion in the Caribbean. Mark is the Founder and CEO of Zed Labs, a leading software development agency, and the visionary behind Wam, a mobile money app empowering individuals and businesses across Trinidad & Tobago. He is also the Innovation Instigator at The Worx, a Port of Spain coworking space fostering collaboration and startup growth. Through initiatives like the MVP Program, he nurtures local tech talent and builds ecosystems that help Caribbean founders scale. Mark is on a mission to create opportunities and lead the charge in shaping the future of finance in the region.

Chairman & Cofounder, EOG — Entrepreneurs Of Greatness

Sebastien Celestine

Chairman and Cofounder of EOG - Entrepreneurs Of Greatness, a community-wealth-building venture engine focused on the Greater Caribbean and West Africa. Sebastien is also the Caribbean Ambassador for Seedstars and an Included VC Africa fellow, with a background in entrepreneurship, corporate finance and ecosystem building. From his first startup as a teenager in Guadeloupe to scaling ventures across Europe, Africa and the Caribbean, he now champions inclusive entrepreneurship, B2B/B2G innovation and the infrastructure that lets local communities own their economic future.

Owner & Designer, Chandra Maharaj Designs

Chandra Maharaj

Owner and designer of Chandra Maharaj Designs, a Trinidad-based fashion and lifestyle brand she founded in 2011 after graduating fashion design school. Chandra creates adjustable, size-inclusive pieces that help women feel beautiful and powerful at every stage of life, and expanded into a lifestyle line with her Healing Tools Collection — hand-poured candles, body sprays, jewelry and perfumes infused with natural fragrances, essential oils and crystals. Her clothing is produced by her own small manufacturing facility in Brazil, while her Healing Tools are crafted in Trinidad and Tobago.

Caribbean Innovation Ecosystem Builder — Founder, McIntyre Consulting Services

Damian McIntyre

Founder of McIntyre Consulting Services Ltd. and a leading voice in Caribbean innovation ecosystem development. Damian led the on-the-ground research behind the CARIBEquity Digital Ecosystem Tool — a partnership with Startup Genome, IDB Lab and the European Union that mapped startup ecosystems across 15 Caribbean nations. Based in Saint Lucia with deep ties to the Canadian ecosystem, he connects international networks and capital to the region's founders, funders and policymakers, building the data infrastructure that makes Caribbean innovation visible and investable.

Stage Management Consultant & Cultural Producer, LG Stage Management

Gabrielle Le Gendre

Owner and Head Stage Management Consultant at LG Stage Management. An educator and experienced stage manager with an MA in Cultural Studies from UWI St. Augustine, Gabrielle brings technical production discipline and cultural insight to the TEDxUWI experience.

CEO, Head Producer & Sound Engineer, Precision Productions

Kasey Phillips

A founding member of Precision Productions, Kasey Phillips has grown from being seen as his legendary father Kenny Phillips' heir apparent to being lauded as a top producer and music-mixing specialist in the Caribbean. From his first production at age 12 to now, his resume includes Grammy winner Chaka Khan, regional icons Machel Montano and Tessanne Chin, and R&B superstars Carl Thomas and Toni Braxton. His work has captured Soca Monarch and Road March titles across Trinidad, Grenada, St. Lucia, Antigua and St. Kitts/Nevis, shaping Caribbean music for years to come.