Team Jamaica Bickle celebrated its 20th year of service at the annual Penn Relays this year??. As part of this celebration and in keeping with its commitment of outreach to the Diaspora, the Jamaica Stock Exchange was invited to be its guest at the Penn Relays. The Jamaica Stock Exchange team included General Manager, Marlene Street-Forrest and Marketing Manager, Neville Ellis.
Both arrived during Penn Relays week and were met at the Philadelphia International Airport by Team Jamaica Bickle representative Christopher Chaplin on Wednesday April 23, 2014. The first order of business for the Jamaica Stock Exchange team was Team Jamaica Bickle’s annual Community Forum; they were the main presenters. Other substantive business meetings were arranged for the Jamaica Stock Exchange Team including a tour of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange and an investor briefing at FIS Group.
The tour of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange was conducted on Thursday April 24, 2014 and included the Jamaica Stock Exchange team and Team Jamaica Bickle’s Christopher Chaplin. The tour was conducted by Michael Blackson, Senior Director, Options Exchange Official and Senior Director of On-Floor Surveillance at Nasdaq OMX PHLX. The tour included the exchange’s trading areas as well as executive offices.
After the tour, a meeting was held with Mr. Blackson and Mr. Ricardo Hunter, Senior Manager at NASDAQ OMX. The meetings centered on the ways the Philadelphia Stock Exchange might assist the Jamaica Stock Exchange with regulatory and new product development initiatives. The JSE team also attended an investor briefing at the offices of the FIS Group in Center City, Philadelphia, just across the road from the stock exchange.
The FIS Group manages approximately $4.2 billion in assets and was founded and is owned by Jamaican born Tina Byles-Williams. The meeting was hosted by McCullough Williams, President of FIS Group and Jamaican born Annette Allison, Vice President of FIS Group. Interestingly, Ms. Allison had been a previous winner of a scholarship from the Jamaica Stock Exchange when she lived in Jamaica.
The meeting included the owners of several money management companies, investment analysts and senior members of the Jamaica Diaspora in Philadelphia. The meeting, moderated by Ms. Allison, began with a welcome and introduction of the FIS Group by Mr. Williams. Mr. Irwine Clare, Founder and CEO of Team Jamaica Bickle then discussed the origins and work of Team Jamaica Bickle.
Street-Forrest provided a broad overview of the Jamaican economy and potential investment opportunities. She then discussed the Jamaica Stock Exchange and the opportunities available. She fielded several questions and clearly impressed the gathering. The meeting ended with lunch, a tour of the FIS Group headquarters and networking.
