Agenda - Monday 1st July 2024



Registration & Breakfast

7:30am - 9:00am


Tech Hub Islands Summit (t.h.i.s) 2024: BREAKTHROUGH

The annual Tech Hub Islands Summit is one of the ways AMCHAM T&T works toward advancing digital transformation efforts and initiatives in our country and making Trinidad and Tobago a major player in the global tech ecosystem. The theme 'Breakthrough' signifies a powerful convergence of innovation and determination to overcome obstacles and achieve transformative success in the digital age. In an era defined by rapid technological advancements and ever-evolving challenges, 'Breakthrough' encapsulates our collective drive to shatter barriers and propel forward. This theme underscores the importance of breaking through limitations, embracing bold ideas, forging new paths to shape the future of technology, redefining what's possible and leading the charge towards a future where technology knows no bounds.

Welcome & Opening Remarks

9:00am - 9:15am




Title Sponsor Remarks

9:15am - 9:30am

Minister's Address - Senator the Honourable Hassel Bacchus, Minister of Digital Transformation

9:30am - 9:55am


Keynote Speaker - TBC

10:00am - 10:30am


Executive Panel: BREAKTHROUGH - The importance of Leadership

10:30am - 11:30am 

Lunch Break 

11:30am - 12:50pm 


Getting it Done: How companies are adopting and integrating emerging technologies

1:00pm - 2:30pm


Discuss the practical considerations and challenges SMEs face when adopting and integrating emerging technologies into their operations. Topics may include Identifying relevant technologies (e.g., AI, IoT, blockchain) that offer the most value for SMEs. Overcoming barriers to adoption, such as cost constraints, lack of technical expertise, and resistance to change. Best practices for integrating new technologies with existing systems and processes.

Coffee Break 

2:30pm - 3:00pm 


Catalyzing Change: The evolving role of FinTech in driving economic empowerment and inclusive economic growth

3:00pm - 4:30pm


Explore recent developments and emerging trends in the FinTech sector, such as digital payments, peer-to-peer lending, blockchain technology, and AI-driven financial services, and their impact on economic growth and social transformation. Explore the evolving role of financial technology in creating opportunities for underserved populations, enhancing customer and user experiences, and overcoming cross-border payment challenges. We'll also address the complexities of FinTech adoption, examining both its inclusive benefits and potential for exclusion, and discuss how banks and financial institutions are responding to these challenges. This session promises to offer valuable insights into the innovations and strategies shaping the future of inclusive economic development through FinTech.

Conference Networking Cocktail 

4:45pm - 6:30pm 


Agenda - Tuesday 1st July 



Registration & Breakfast Welcome & Opening Remarks Title Sponsor Remarks - Richard Sammy, VP, Republic Bank Limited Minister's Address - The Honourable Dominic Smith, Minister of Public Administration & A.I. Opening Keynote Speaker - Maxine Williams, VP Head of Accessibility and Engagement, Meta Coffee Break  11:00am - 11:15am  Executive Panel: Engage. Execute. Evolve...What's Keeping Executives Up at Nights Lunch Break  A.I. at Warp Speed: Scaling Smart, Fast, & Fearless Coffee Break  3:20pm - 3:35pm  The Data Leap...From Data to Decisions: Unlocking Business Success in the Digital Era Conference Networking Cocktail 

Registration & Breakfast

7:30am - 9:00am

Welcome & Opening Remarks

9:00am - 9:15am

Nirad Tewarie
CEO, AMCHAM T&T

 

Title Sponsor Remarks - Richard Sammy, VP, Republic Bank Limited

9:20am - 9:35am

Richard Sammy
Vice President, Republic Bank Limited



Minister's Address - The Honourable Dominic Smith, Minister of Public Administration & A.I.

9:40am - 10:05am

Senator the Honourable
Dominic A. Smith
Minister of Public Administration and Artificial Intelligence 

Opening Keynote Speaker - Maxine Williams, VP Head of Accessibility and Engagement, Meta

“Creating value and building for accessibility –  how businesses, non-profits and social enterprises leverage Open-Sourced AI to achieve their goals.”

10:10am - 10:55am

Maxine Williams
Vice President, VP Head of Accessibility and Engagement, 
Meta

 

Coffee Break 

11:00am - 11:15am 


Executive Panel: Engage. Execute. Evolve...What's Keeping Executives Up at Nights

11:20am - 12:30pm 
In an era where digital disruption moves faster than strategy can pivot, CEOs are faced with high-stakes decisions that can make or break their organizations. With 70% of digital transformation initiatives failing due to leadership misalignment and execution gaps, the pressure is real. How do today’s leaders balance innovation with risk? How do they drive transformation while ensuring operational stability and sustained growth? This high-impact executive session will pull back the curtain on the real concerns keeping CEOs awake at night—ranging from AI-driven disruption and cyber threats to talent shortages, shifting customer expectations, and the ever-present challenge of executing a future-proof strategy. Join industry leaders as they share unfiltered insights on navigating uncertainty, seizing opportunities, and ensuring their organizations don’t just survive but evolve and thrive in the digital age. This is the conversation every C-suite executive needs to have—are you ready to engage, execute, and evolve?

Houston Ross
Group Chief Information & Digital Transformation Officer
Republic Bank Limited

PANEL KEYNOTE

Julian Belgrave
Country Representative
Inter-American Development Bank
  

PANELIST


Gerardo Rivera Menjivar
General Manager
Digicel Business

PANELIST

James McLetchie
EVP & Deputy Group CEO
Massy Group

PANELIST


Roslan Schofield
General Manager - Non-Operated Ventures

PANELIST


Anna Henderson
President, AMCHAM T&T 
CEO, Amaranth Business Solutions Limited
         

MODERATOR


Lunch Break 

12:35pm - 1:40pm 


A.I. at Warp Speed: Scaling Smart, Fast, & Fearless

1:45pm - 3:15pm

Generative AI has rapidly evolved from an emerging technology to a game-changing force across industries, transforming marketing, customer experience, and healthcare with platforms like Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT. As organizations push AI beyond experimentation, early adopters have navigated challenges like data quality, system integration, and scalability to unlock new
levels of efficiency, personalization, and automation. This session will explore the next wave of AI-driven transformation, including hyper-personalization, AI-augmented workforces, and the rise of multimodal AI by 2026. Attendees will gain insights into prioritizing high-impact AI initiatives, mitigating technical debt, and crafting lean, results-driven AI strategies that maximize ROI and long-term business success. Join us to uncover the best practices, bold investments, and tactical approaches that separate AI leaders from laggards-and ensure your AI roadmap is built for real, sustainable impact.  

Abhinav Aggarwal
CEO
Fluid A.I.

PANEL KEYNOTE


Maxine Williams
VP, Head of Accessibility and Engagement
Meta

PANELIST


Kirk Henry
Group I.T.
ANSA McAL Limited

PANELIST

Tim Cornelius
Managing Director, Corporate Development, PROMAN

 
PANELIST

 

Gerard Rique
Manager - Innovations and Solutions, Ramps  Logistics Limited
   

PANELIST


Griselle Smith
Caribbean HR Leader,
IBM

   

MODERATOR


Coffee Break 

3:20pm - 3:35pm 


The Data Leap...From Data to Decisions: Unlocking Business Success in the Digital Era

3:40pm - 5:05pm

Data has become the driving force behind innovation, efficiency, and competitive advantage in the digital age. With advancements in AI and machine learning, organizations can now harness vast amounts of data to uncover insights, optimize operations, enhance customer experiences, and make more precise, data-driven decisions. This era of digital transformation presents a leapfrog opportunity for businesses and economies, especially in developing regions like the Caribbean, allowing them to bypass traditional growth models and accelerate progress through predictive analytics, automation, and intelligent decision-making. By leveraging data strategically, businesses can personalize customer interactions, improve public services, drive economic diversification, and create smarter, more resilient digital ecosystems. However, with these advantages come pressing concerns and challenges. Data privacy, security, and ethical considerations are at the forefront as organizations grapple with issues of bias in AI models, regulatory compliance, and the risk of over-reliance on automation. The growing digital divide also raises concerns about accessibility and the ability of smaller businesses and under-resourced economies to fully participate in the data revolution. Additionally, as AI-driven decision-making becomes more pervasive, there is a need to ensure transparency, accountability, and the integration of human judgment to avoid unintended consequences. Striking the right balance between innovation and responsible data governance will be critical in shaping a future where data is not just powerful, but also ethical, inclusive, and beneficial for all.

Shazard Mohammed
General Manager - Data Governance & Management Unit
Republic Bank Limited

PANEL KEYNOTE

Tiankai Feng
Director, 
Data & A.I. Strategy
Thoughtworks Europe


PANELIST

Dwight Housend
 Co-Founder & 
Managing Director
 TTRideshare


PANELIST

Alison Cathles
 Senior Specialist, Competitiveness Technology and Innovation (CTI) Division, 
Inter-American Development Bank


PANELIST

Marsha Ramnanan
Partner, Assurance
PwC

PANELIST

Vitra Gopee
Consultant


MODERATOR


Conference Networking Cocktail 

5:15pm - 7:00pm 


Agenda - Wednesday 2nd July 


Agenda - Wednesday 2nd July


.

Start with the customer – find out what they want and give it to them.

Registration & Breakfast Day 2 Opening Keynote Speaker - Tiankai Feng, Director for Data & A.I. Strategy, Thoughtworks Europe Cyber Warfare and the New Digital Battlefield: Defending Against the Unseen Coffee Break  From Bureaucracy to Breakthrough: Accelerating Government Digital Transformation Lunch Break  12:50pm - 1:50pm The FinTech Bridge: Scaling Innovation Through Public-Private Synergy Coffee Break  3:30pm - 3:45pm From Silicon Valley to Trinidad: Building a Thriving Tech Hub - Pipe Dream or Possibility? Closing Ceremony  5:05pm - 5:35pm

Registration & Breakfast

7:30am - 8:50am

Day 2 Opening Keynote Speaker - Tiankai Feng, Director for Data & A.I. Strategy, Thoughtworks Europe

"Data is a team sport” - How Successful Data Management requires Human Collaboration with Technological Excellence.

9:00am - 9:45am


Tiankai Feng
Director, Data & A.I. Strategy
Thoughtworks Europe


Cyber Warfare and the New Digital Battlefield: Defending Against the Unseen

9:50am - 11:05am

Cyber Warfare and the New Digital Battlefield: Defending Against the Unseen" - As digital transformation accelerates, so do the threats that come with it. Cybercriminals are evolving at an unprecedented pace, weaponizing AI, automation, and deepfake technology to breach security defenses, disrupt critical infrastructure, and manipulate data. Governments and cybersecurity leaders are now faced with a rapidly shifting Threatscape - one that demands proactive defense strategies, real-time threat intelligence, and AI-driven security solutions. How can organizations stay ahead of cybercriminals who exploit digital transformation itself? How do we balance cybersecurity with innovation without stifling progress? This session will explore the latest cyber trends, AI’s role in both defense and attack, and the global risks shaping tomorrow’s cybersecurity landscape. Join us as we uncover the tactics, technologies, and policies needed to secure the digital future before the next big breach strikes.

Rory Ebanks
Director of Cybersecurity, Symptai Consulting

PANEL KEYNOTE

Eduard Mouget
Chief Information Security Officer


 PANELIST

JongMin Park
 Principal Incident Response Consultant


PANELIST

Jacob Thankachen
 CEO


PANELIST

Natasha Ashby
Vice President, Law & Corporate Affairs

 MODERATOR

Coffee Break 

11:10am - 11:25am


From Bureaucracy to Breakthrough: Accelerating Government Digital Transformation

11:30am - 12:45pm

  In today's digital age, citizens expect seamless, convenient access to government services…just as they do with online shopping or banking. Yet, governments have struggled to keep pace, often hindered by bureaucracy, outdated systems, and security concerns. This session will explore how governments can modernize services while ensuring privacy, security, and inclusivity. Emerging technologies like AI and automation are reshaping public services, from healthcare and education to benefits administration. But how can governments leverage AI responsibly while safeguarding citizen data? What strategies can overcome legacy system roadblocks and resistance to change? The $10 trillion GovTech opportunity underscores the urgent need for governments to digitally transform - not just to keep up with the private sector but to lead in citizen-centric innovation. This discussion will address key challenges and opportunities in government digital transformation, focusing on how technology can drive efficiency, trust, and inclusivity in public service delivery. Join us to explore what it takes to build the next-generation government - one that is smart, secure, and built for the people.

Chris Reckord

Chairman of Jamaica’s National Artificial Intelligence Task Force, Chairman of the Innovation & Digital Transformation Committee for the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ), and Deputy Chairman of the Jamaica ICT Authority

PANEL KEYNOTE

 

Montserrat Garrido

Head, LATAM Public Sector Sales 

PANELIST


John Outridge

CEO 

​

PANELIST


Greer Quan 

Group COO
 

MODERATOR


Lunch Break 
 12:50pm - 1:50pm


The FinTech Bridge: Scaling Innovation Through Public-Private Synergy

2:00pm - 3:25pm

How FinTech can provide accessible, affordable financial services to unbanked individuals and businesses excluded from the formal banking system. Present case examples of successful Public-Private Collaboration Models in FinTech and strategies for aligning interests between governments, financial institutions, and FinTech startups. Discuss alternative finance and digital payments, exploring mobile money, digital wallets, decentralized finance (DeFi), and micro-lending as solutions to financial access challenges. Addressing the need for infrastructure and digital readiness i.e. secure, scalable digital infrastructure, mobile connectivity, and interoperability between platforms to support FinTech adoption. Explore investment and funding opportunities i.e. the role of venture capital, development banks, and impact investors in scaling FinTech startups and expanding financial services. Discussion must include regulatory and policy support or lack thereof i.e. the role of governments, regulators, and policymakers in fostering an enabling environment for FinTech growth, while balancing innovation with financial stability.

Satish Sundar

Chief Architect, Group Digital Technology Division

​PANEL KEYNOTE

Holland Bronté Tinkew

Co-Operative Credit Union League of Trinidad and Tobago​

PANELIST


Ainsley Andrews

General Manager,
RHAND Credit Union 

​PANELIST 

Zwede Hewitt 

​Acting Managing Director | Kanoo Trinidad & Tobago and Strategic Partnership Advisor for Kanoo Global

PANELIST

Dawn Nelson

Vice President, Financial Sector Transformation

PANELIST  


Kyle Maloney

Co-Founder, Director, Tech Beach Retreat

MODERATOR


Coffee Break 
 3:30pm - 3:45pm


From Silicon Valley to Trinidad: Building a Thriving Tech Hub - Pipe Dream or Possibility?

3:50pm - 5:05pm

From Silicon Valley to Trinidad: Building a Thriving Tech Hub, Pipe Dream or Possibility" - The global digital economy now exceeds $14.5 trillion, with AI alone projected to contribute over $15.7 trillion to global GDP by 2030. Nations investing in tech hubs—leveraging AI, automation, and digital infrastructure—are reaping massive economic benefits, fostering innovation, and securing long-term competitiveness. But how can the Caribbean position itself within this rapidly evolving landscape? This session will explore the foundational elements required to compete in a tech-driven economy, including access to cutting-edge AI capabilities, digital talent development, and business model adaptation. Companies looking to thrive in a tech hub must rethink traditional strategies—investing in AI, cloud technologies, and upskilling workforces to
remain relevant. As automation reshapes industries, businesses must embrace digital transformation or risk obsolescence. Join us as we discuss the roadmap to a thriving Caribbean tech ecosystem and the bold steps companies must take to secure a competitive edge in this high-stakes digital era.

Diya Wynn

Tech Ethicist | AI Advisor | STEM Advocate | Bridge Builder


​PANEL KEYNOTE

Sekou Alleyne

CEO, Global T&T



Shergaun Rosarie

Co -Founder & CEO


PANELIST


Dr. William Huggins

Vice President, Operations


PANELIST


Dmitri Dawkins

Managing Director, Graft Ventures & Commercial Director, MC Systems​

 


PANELIST


Nirad Tewarie

CEO, AMCHAM T&T


MODERATOR


Closing Ceremony 
 5:05pm - 5:35pm


Senator the Hon. Dr. Kennedy Swaratsingh

Minister of Planning, Economic Affairs and Development

Feature Speaker (Closing Remarks)