OUR SPEAKERS

include

At Tech Beach Retreat you can expect world class keynote speakers,
panel discussions, fireside chats, workshops, nightlife and live entertainment.

  • Alan Tetley

    Director, Software Engineering

    As a Software Engineering Director, Alan leads a team that builds the Google App for Android mobile phones.  Alan has been at Google for nearly nine years, and has spent most of that time focused on improving the S... Read Full Bio

  • Annie Jean-Baptiste

    Head of Product Inclusion

    Annie joined Google in 2010 in Advertising Sales and worked on various teams, including the Technology, B2B and Agency teams. She then transition to the Large Customer Sales team and helped top tier companies creat... Read Full Bio

  • Hon. Minister Fayval Williams MP

    Minister of Science, Energy & Technology

    Government of Jamaica

    The Honourable Fayval WIlliams is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) by profession. She has an MBA with concentration in Finance from the Wharton Business School at the University ofPennsylvania and a BA (cum laud... Read Full Bio

  • Irene Arias Hofman

    CEO

    Irene Arias Hofman leads IDB Lab since January 2018. IDB Lab, as the innovation laboratory of the IDB Group, mobilizes financing, knowledge, and connections to co- create experimental projects and ... Read Full Bio

  • Julie M. Wenah

    Community Counsel and Acting Africa Regional Counsel

    Julie Wenah is Community Counsel and Acting Africa Regional Counsel for Airbnb where she is responsible for providing legal support to the Africa business, managing esclated risk, driving legal support of anti-disc... Read Full Bio

  • Kome Emuh

    COO Securities Division Operations and Engineering

    Kome is a Vice President at Goldman Sachs. Kome currently leads the technology risk governance programs, focused on policies and standards, as well as regulatory and audit controls for the firm’s information and cy... Read Full Bio

  • Danielle Skeen

    Sales Excellence & Strategy Manager

    Digital Marketer. Philanthropist. Entrepreneur. Danielle Skeen wears many hats and wears them well. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, this Island girl has always had an innate desire to and ability to connect with ... Read Full Bio

  • Julia Lamm

    Partner

    Julia is a Partner in PwC‘s People & Organization practice, based in New York. She is a specialist in digital workforce transformation, partnering with clients to understand their overall and individual digital... Read Full Bio

  • Rebecca Fannin

    Contributor

    Rebecca A. Fannin is a leading expert on global innovation and one of the first American journalists to write about China’s entrepreneurial boom,reporting from Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Her forward-lo... Read Full Bio

  • Laurie Peters

    Canadian High Commissioner to Jamaica

    Laurie Peters (BA [English Literature and French], Trent University, 1985) joined Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada in 2011 as counsellor and head of public affairs at the Embassy of Canada to Japan, a... Read Full Bio

  • Felicia Gardner

    Partner Sales Executive, Agency Lead

    Felicia Gardner is an award-winning digital marketer.  Recently awarded with one of Microsoft’s highest and most coveted honors as a 2019 Gold Club- Center of Excellence recipient.  Awarded to less than 3% of indiv... Read Full Bio

  • Dr. Deana Anglin

    Senior User Experience Researcher

    Dr. Deana Anglin is a Senior User Experience Researcher at Google, a part-time adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University and founder of the Black UX Network. She has over 10 years of experience as a design re... Read Full Bio

  • Suezette Yasmin Robotham

    Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Program Manager

    Suezette Yasmin Robotham is a speaker, educator, connector, coach, and leading “Black Girl in Tech.” She has more than a decade of leadership experience, with expertise in talent acquisition, diversity & inclus... Read Full Bio

  • Martin Babinec

    Founder/Director TriNet + Entrepreneurs Across Borders

    Martin Babinec, Founder/Director TriNet + Entrepreneurs Across Borders

     

    As founder and 20 year CEO of TriNet [NYSE: Read Full Bio

  • Daniel Myers

    Developer Advocate

    Daniel Myers is a Developer Advocate at Google. He's held roles in engineering, product management, and business development from startups including LiveWire Hosting and PetroCloud to Fortune 500 companies lik... Read Full Bio

  • Abdullah Snobar

    Executive Director

    Abdullah is the Executive Director of the DMZ, a leading accelerator and incubator that helps
    tech startups scale to world-class businesses. To date, the DMZ has accelerated 400
    companies that have raised o... Read Full Bio

  • Diedre Cousins

    CIO

    Deidre has contributed to the improvement of business processes and governance structures for IT, Security and Risk & Compliance in both public and private sector environments. She has held various positions wi... Read Full Bio

  • Yoni Epstein

    Founding Chairman & CEO

    Yoni Epstein had a vision from the start. When he launched itelbpo in 2012, he broke the mold of traditional
    Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) by creating a forward-thinking contact centre built on purpose and... Read Full Bio

  • Christopher Burns

    CEO

    Christopher Burns is Chief Executive Officer of First Atlantic Commerce. He joined FAC in 2004 and was appointed CEO in September, 2011. Christopher also serves and CEO of Powertranz Ltd, a recently launched integr... Read Full Bio

  • James Barrood

    Advisor

    Tech Council Ventures

    James Barrood is among the top leaders of the east coast's innovation ecosystem. Over the past 20+ years he has helped nurture entrepreneurial, innovation and technology communities. For the pas... Read Full Bio

  • Jeff Pulver

    Co-Founder Vonage & Executive Vice Chairman Skrumble

    Known as a globally renowned Internet thought leader. In 1995 defined "VON" to stand for Voice/Video on the Net. From 1997 to 2008 he hosted/produced the VON Conferences. In 2009 started the #140conf even... Read Full Bio

  • Claudette McGowan

    Chief Information Officer

    Bank of Montreal

    Claudette McGowan is a global information technology leader with more than 17 years of
    success leading digital transformations and designing new approaches that improve service
    experiences. She has worked i... Read Full Bio

  • Marlon Hartley Lindsay

    CEO

    TechTrep

    Marlon is an entrepreneur and writer who is committed to helping people reach their full potential. He believes that the stewardship of our young is a biological imperative and thus our ultimate priority. Born in J... Read Full Bio

  • Luciano Canzanella

    Co-Founder & COO

    Luciano Canzanella, Co-founder and COO of SLiC International Ltd. a Bermudian registered company, has experience across a broad range of industries, including, Cryptocurrencies, Information Technology, and  Real Es... Read Full Bio

  • Lily Dash

    CEO

    Lily Dash, the Barbadian born and Caribbean based tech entrepreneur is the Founder of Villabound, and as of latest, CEO & Founder of her newest venture, REXY; a blockchain based, mobile first syndication issuan... Read Full Bio

  • John Koetsier

    Journalist. Analyst. Futurist. Dreamer.

    Forbes and Inc. Magazine

    John studies the recent past for clues on the near future. He writes for Forbes and Inc. Magazine. John consults with companies like Singular, TUNE, Staples, ReadWrite, and SnatchBot, analyzing trends in data from ... Read Full Bio

  • Julie Avey

    SVP People and Culture

    Julie is the SVP People and Culture for the Massy Group (Caribbean Conglomerate with 12,000 employees).  Julie started her career with a marketing consultancy in Aberdeen, Scotland before returning to Trinidad in 1... Read Full Bio

  • Lisa Godwin

    Creative Technologist

    Lisa Godwin is an innovative curator of all things cool in tech. For the last 10 years she’s been producing immersive experiential products for strategic partnerships and opportunities in order to generate brand gr... Read Full Bio

  • Darren Wolfberg

    CEO

    Blockchain Triangle

    Blockchain Triangle is providing a regtech solution to Bermuda for various Investors, Issuers, CSPs, and Gov’t stakeholders to process AML/KYC and registrations in Bermuda. Darren brings over 15 years of institutio... Read Full Bio

  • Michael Dershem

    Founder & CEO

    MAPay

    Dynamic entrepreneur and venture capital acquisition executive. Outstanding track record in strategic business planning and development, capital and financial sourcing, multi-disciplinary problem solving, and techn... Read Full Bio

  • Cindy Yang

    Partner

    Cindy Yang serves as a team lead for the Duane Morris Fintech industry group and is a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice Group. She was recognized by the National Law Journal as... Read Full Bio

  • Peter Adriaens

    Professor of Environmental Engineering, Finance and Entrepreneurship

    Dr. Adriaens is Professor of Environmental Engineering, Finance and Entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan, with appointments in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ross School of Business and the School f... Read Full Bio

  • John Matthew Sinclair

    Agile Transformation Manager

    John-Matthew is a Digital Innovator and Disruptor. He is also an Agile Coach and Agile Transformation Manager at NCB responsible for multiple agile labs charged with improving customer experiences. John-Matthew has... Read Full Bio

  • Learie Hercules

    CEO

    Innovation Muscle

    Learie Hercules is the CEO of Innovation Muscle, an innovation and technology consultancy that works with companies to incorporate Big Data, AI, Analytics in their overall growth strategy to create new revenue mode... Read Full Bio

  • Dustin Jackson

    Founder & CEO

    Dustin is the Founder of SLiC International, a Bermuda-based global blockchain infrastructure data center with interests in several countries. A native of Cayman, and active in tech education in Latin America and t... Read Full Bio

  • Victor Vargas

    Director, Specialist Technology Unit

    As Sales Technology Director at Microsoft, Victor leads a wide team of managers, architects and technology specialists that empowers over 3000 commercial, education and public sector organizations in the Latin Amer... Read Full Bio

  • Trey Grainger

    Chief Algorithms Officer

    Trey Grainger is the Chief Algorithms Officer at Lucidworks, where he drives vision and practical application of intelligent data science algorithms to power relevant search and personalized data experiences for hu... Read Full Bio

  • Adryenn Ashley

    Founder & CEO

    I'm a social influencer with a global reach of over 100M and have mastered the art and science of going viral on social media by starting conversations that matter. I've parlayed that ability to lead diff... Read Full Bio

  • Thogori Karago

    (Former) Head of R&D

    LinkedIn Africa

    Experienced Executive and Advisor with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry. Skilled in Product Management, Software Engineering, UER, UED, Architecture, Databases, ... Read Full Bio

  • Sheldon Powe

    Group Chief Information Officer

    Sheldon a serial entrepreneur with many successful businesses to his credit and is the CEO and Director of Markets and Commercialisation at Innovate 10x. As the former Group Chief Information Officer of Jamaica Mon... Read Full Bio

  • Enrique Martinez

    Chief Executive Officer

    WebCapitalists Corp

    Founder of the crypto and ICO consulting company WebCapitalists Corp. Enrique Martinez was a past research Aerospace Engineer and Strategic Adviser for the administration of two United States Presidents before lear... Read Full Bio

  • Kamilah Taylor

    Co-Founder

    Swaay

    Kamilah Taylor is an entrepreneur, engineer, writer, and a public speaker who hails from Kingston, Jamaica and currently resides in San Francisco.  She’s worked on mobile apps and robotics at Krikey, Hustle, Linked... Read Full Bio

  • Dr. David Walcott M.D., Ph.D (Oxon), MSc. (Oxon)

    Founder & CEO

    NovaMed

    A Medical Doctor and Entrepreneur, David completed his Ph.D. and mini-MBA at the University of Oxford & INSEAD University respectively as a Rhodes Scholar. He has taught himself 6 foreign languages to be able t... Read Full Bio

  • Oliver Sabga

    Founder & CEO


    Founder & CEO, Term Finance

    Oliver runs Term Finance, the Caribbean’s first completely web-based credit business. Before entering the FinTech space, Oliver graduated from LSE with a Masters in Decisi... Read Full Bio

  • Matthew Talma

    Co-Founder M Carnival Manager

    Co-Founder of M Carnival Manager. Engineering Manager at Amazon, Kixeye, Ticktr, Electronic Arts. 12 years in Silicon Valley. Bsc, Computer Science & Electrical Engineering, University of Virginia 2007.

    Read Full Bio
  • Ray Klien

    Group Head, Investment Banking Division

    Ray is the Group Head of the Investment Banking Division for Republic Bank, the leading capital markets advisory in the Caribbean. In his role, Ray is responsible for mergers, acquisitions, and debt capital markets... Read Full Bio

  • Dr. Maria Myers Hamilton

    Managing Director at Spectrum Management Authority

    Maria E. Myers Hamilton is the Managing Director of Spectrum Management Authority (SMA) which is an agency of the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology. The SMA is the national regulator for the radio frequenc... Read Full Bio

  • Dr. Kala Fleming

    CEO of Diaspora AI

    Dr. Kala Fleming is CEO of Diaspora AI, a social innovation platform that unlocks untapped diaspora data to make cities in emerging markets more connected, equitable and livable.  She helps government, corporations... Read Full Bio

  • Audrey Richards

    Consultant with Development tBank of Jamaica

    Audrey Richards is a Consultant with the Development Bank of Jamaica, with responsibility for the
    development of the ecosystem for Private Equity and Venture Capital in Jamaica.
    She has been involved in sev... Read Full Bio

  • Geoff Waddington

    CEO RealDecoy Global Services

    Geoff Waddington is the CEO of RealDecoy Global Services. Under his strategic vision and guidance, RealDecoy has developed into an international leader in the multi-channel e-commerce and mobile space, expanding fr... Read Full Bio

  • Therese Turner-Jones

    Country Representative Jamaica Inter-American Development

    Therese Turner-Jones has been the IDB’s country representative for Jamaica since 2013. In 2017 her portfolio was expanded when she was promoted to general manager of IDB’s Country Department Caribbean Group (CCB). ... Read Full Bio

  • Aldwyn Wayne

    Founder and CEO

    WiPay

    Mr. Aldwyn Wayne, on the surface, is an extremely accomplished Technologist, With 12 plus years’ experience in the technology field. Trained in Computer Science with a bachelor’s degree and master’s in computer tec... Read Full Bio

past speakers

Include

Our past speakers include some of the most prominent individuals and organizations in tech. 

  • Jack Dorsey

    Co-founder, Chairman & CEO

    Jack Dorsey co-founded Twitter, Inc. in 2006 and returned as Chief Executive Officer in September 2015. Jack also co-founded Square, where he serves as CEO and Chairman. Jack also serves on the Board of The Walt Di... Read Full Bio

  • Jeff Pulver

    Co-Founder

    Vonage

    Jeff Pulver is an Internet Pioneer known for his work in growing the Internet Communications (VoIP) Industry. He is a globally renowned thought leader, inspirational speaker and entrepreneur. Since 1997, Jeff has i... Read Full Bio

  • Brittany Johnson

    Creative Strategist

    Brittany Johnson is a Creative Strategist and Instagram Specialist at Facebook’s Creative Shop. She works with global brands, such as Coca-Cola, Estee Lauder, and P&G, to build people-first campaigns that simul... Read Full Bio

  • Learie Hercules

    Vice President Product

    Global Traffic Technologies

    Learie Hercules is the VP of Product Development at Global Traffic Technologies, a leader in the Public Safety and Transit space where he oversees all Product Development functions and is a core member of the corpo... Read Full Bio

  • Jenny Fielding

    Managing Director

    Techstars

    Jenny Fielding is the Managing Director of Techstars New York where she leads the program. She is also the founder and General Partner at The Fund, a first check fund investing exclusively in New York based compani... Read Full Bio

  • Danielle Feinberg

    Director of Photography

    Pixar

    Danielle Feinberg began her career at Pixar Animation Studios in 1997 on the feature film A Bug's Life. She quickly discovered her love for lighting and went on to light on many of Pixar's featur... Read Full Bio

  • Lloyd Carney

    CEO

    Lloyd Carney is the Brocade Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Brocade Board of Directors. As CEO, Lloyd is responsible for executing the company’s vision and strategy to lead the networking industry throu... Read Full Bio

  • Alice Bonhomme-Biais

    Software Engineer & Coaching Social Impact Startups Former Google

    Alice Bonhomme-Biais is a software engineer passionate about using technology for social impact. 

    She earned her PhD from ENS Lyon in France. In 2005, she joined Google in New York as a software engineer a... Read Full Bio

  • Pilar Manchón

    Director of Cognitive Interfaces

    Pilar is the Director of Cognitive Interfaces at AWS AI, and an international public speaker. She has been an active contributor to the world of AI for over 22 years and her background combines arts & sciences,... Read Full Bio

  • Craig Chelius

    Co-founder & CEO

    Mr. Chelius is a co-founder of Kuelap and serves as the CEO. Mr. Chelius is an accomplished software executive with 25 years of enterprise software expertise in strategic positioning, new product launches, and

    Read Full Bio
  • Audrey Richards

    Project Consultant

    Mrs. Richards is a Consultant with the Development Bank of Jamaica, with responsibility for the development of the ecosystem for Venture Capital and Private Equity in Jamaica. She has been involved in

    Read Full Bio
  • Aldwyn Wayne

    Founder and CEO

    WiPay

    Mr. Aldwyn Wayne, on the surface, is an extremely accomplished Technologist, With 12 plus years’ experience in the technology field. Trained in Computer Science with a bachelor’s degree and master’s in compu... Read Full Bio

  • Nic Brathwaite

    Founding General Partner

    Nicholas Brathwaite is a founder and partner of Riverwood Capital. Nicholas has spent over 25 years developing technology and building technology oriented businesses. From 1996 to 2007, he served as the Chief Techn... Read Full Bio

  • Nicole Brown

    Assistant General Manager

    Nicole Brown is the Assistant General Manager responsible for crafting and driving execution of the Information Management strategy of the NCB Group of companies, headquartered in Kingston, Jamaica. Given the criti... Read Full Bio

  • Patrick McKenna

    Founder & Managing Partner

    Patrick McKenna is an American entrepreneur and investor. After successfully co-founding and operating three technology companies, he started HighRidge Global to invest, build and advise early stage companies. High... Read Full Bio

  • Dr. Justin Ram

    Director of Economics

    Justin Ram is Director of Economics at the Caribbean Development Bank. He has over twenty years or professional experience. He has previously worked with WorleyParsons, Jacobs Engineering, Thomson Financial (Thomso... Read Full Bio

OUR TEAM -

THE CATALYSTS

Our Catalysts are an awesome group of Founders, Investors and Executives with industry experience dedicated
to shaping the agenda and ensuring that the Tech Beach experience is exciting, energetic and valuable.
Expect to see them serving double duty as moderators and as speakers on panels during the event as well.

  • Kirk-Anthony Hamilton

    Founder & CEO

    The Infiniti Partnership

  • Kamilah Taylor

    Engineering

    Gusto

  • Nicolas Maloney

    Founder

    ChefMade.Me

  • Kyle Maloney

    Director

    F1RST Media

  • Kyra Barker

    Digital Marketing Consultant

    Kyra Barker

  • Reem Jabak

    Community Manager

    Tech Beach Retreat

  • Javier Agüera Renese

    VP Business Development

    Snips AI

  • Lisandra Rickards

    CEO

    Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship

  • Giovanni Porcellana

    Nuclear Engineer

    CERN

  • Bianca St. Louis

    Founder

    St. Louis Innovations

  • Sheldon Powe

    CEO

    Innovate 10X

  • Gordon Swaby

    Founder & CEO

    EduFocal

  • Max Gousse

    Sr. Vice-President A&R

    Island/Def Jam Music Group

  • David Walcott

    Investor

    KICVentures

  • Dr. Maurice Taylor

    Head of Growth

    First Step USMLE


OUR ADVISORY BOARD

  • Jeff Pulver

    Co-Founder

    Vonage

  • Kamilah Taylor

    Engineering

    Gusto

  • Marlon Nichols
  • Learie Hercules

    VP Data & Analytics

    Lightspeed Systems

  • Zachary Harding

    Group CEO

    SSL Growth Equity

OFFICIAL CONFERENCE

PARTNERS

What Attendees Say About TechBeach Retreat

“It has been great experience and an amazing conference. Thank you and I look forward to Tech Beach II and a more connected Caribbean.”

Gabriel Abed

Co-Founder & CEO at Bitt.com

“"TechBeach conference has been a very strong event. You've gone beyond the need for validation. The FinTech panel content and dynamic was captivating for me. The ideas shared at the event have the power to positively impact life for all in the Caribbean. I look forward to working with you to execute."”

Paul Ahlstrom

Founder and Managing Director, Alta Ventures

“From the unparalleled quality of panelists and guest speakers, to the immense opportunities for building relationships with both peers, mentors, partnerships and investors alike, I am a huge supporter of the conference and will undoubtedly return year after year. Thank you CDB!”

Anya Ayoung

Anya Ayoung-Chee

“Access to tech and venture capital leaders like Nicholas Brathwaite andJack Dorsey is unparalleled. We were able to make significant industry connections with leaders, fellow tech entrepreneurs from across the region and forged partnerships and established collaboration networks, which we continue to tap into as a business.”

Veronica Millington

Co-Founder, Caribbean Transit Solutions

“The TechBeach experience is one like no other. It's the next best thing compared to inviting the world's best entrepreneurs, leaders and investors to your home for the weekend. The connections are authentic and much value can be generated as attendees are open to egoless conversations. The community has helped my company garner interest from global firms including Twitter and Medallia Inc, both of which are actively engaging in promising talks to pilot our technology. It has put us in touch with global opportunities that the average Caribbean entrepreneur wouldn't otherwise be exposed to.”

Dwayne Samuels

Founder and CEO at samelogic.com

GLOBAL COMMUNITY

REACH

The Founders and Catalysts behind Tech Beach Retreat have global community reach and a track record for hosting noteworthy influencer events that attract global business leaders, celebrities, tastemakers and royalty. They are super connectors.

WHO IS TECH BEACH RETREAT FOR?

  • Founders

    As a Founder, your goal is to get from zero to one in the most efficient and effective way possible. Navigating the entrepreneurial journey is not without it's challenges. Tech Beach Retreat for you will be an opportunity to learn from industry leaders and peers on how to leverage the untapped investment that is human capital.

  • Executives

    As an Executive, whether you are part of a high-growth start-up or an established corporate looking to be more intrapreneurial, Tech Beach Retreat offers a unique opportunity for you. Find strategic partnership opportunities and meet various stakeholders in the global tech ecosystem leveraging human capital.

  • Investors

    As an Investor, you have one key objective - identify the next high-growth start-ups to allow you to get in earlier than your counter parts. You recognize that it is not just about venture capital, but human capital; that the difference between a start-up that fails and succeeds is how the Founders and Executives relentlessly execute their plan. Come meet those Founders and Executives at Tech Beach Retreat.

TECH BEACH

IN THE MEDIA
  • "... innovators in the region are working to broaden that viewpoint and have visitors mix business with pleasure. Conferences like the Tech Beach Retreat, held in one of Jamaica’s popular tourism resort areas, brings investors, entrepreneurs and the best of the Caribbean’s tech ecosystem together to exchange ideas, forge partnerships and tap into the often overlooked possibilities in the islands. Executives from LinkedIn, Airbnb, Pixar and Instagram attended the 2018 event, which organizers billed as a dealmaking paradise."

  • Tech Beach Retreat is designed to connect the Caribbean’s tech ecosystem with the rest of the world, creating an international community of like-minded individuals who meet in the region.

  • What a great idea, taking two of my loves technology and the beach and bringing them together. Ron Mckay, President of American Chamber of Commerce Jamaica, CEO of ADS Global.

  • Welcoming participants from all over the world to join this one-of-a-kind experience and get access to this unique international community of like-minded entrepreneurs.


WHO WE'VE

WORKED WITH

The Founders and Catalysts behind Tech Beach Retreat have global community reach and a track record for hosting noteworthy influencer events that attract global business leaders, celebrities, tastemakers and royalty. They are super connectors.