From left: COCI Treasurer Mirurgia Brown, Vice-President Annuska Friday, President Jennifer Carty and Secretary Ife Badejo.
PHILIPSBURG--Women are showing their prowess on the new board of the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry (COCI).
An all-female executive board was elected on Wednesday evening with Jennifer Carty leading the team as the new President. Completing the executive board are Vice-President Annuska Friday, Treasurer Mirurgia Brown and Secretary Ife Badejo. Carty succeeds Benjamin Ortega, the immediate past president.
As the newly elected president Carty told The Daily Herald that she is “excited and eager” to get to work alongside a fully female executive board and a diverse group of board members, all of whom are experts in their fields.
“As the incoming president, my core focus will be re-establishing the Chamber to its original mandate, which is keeping an accurate registry of all businesses on the island and providing information and advice to government in relation to business development in St. Maarten,” Carty said.
Her theme for the year is: Becoming Data-Driven. “I strongly believe that data regarding our economic activity will empower us as a country and will be of huge added value to the business community. Through data we can draw important conclusions on economic activity, identify trends and identify diversification and investment opportunities.
“In order to become data-driven we will need to focus on automation and ensuring that our organisation is operating at an optimal level. I firmly believe that together with the newly appointed director, Mr. Jude Houston, who we all have full confidence in, we will be able to obtain this high level of operation,” she said. “Additionally, and in no way secondary, we intend to establish dialogue and create a platform for business owners to be heard and represented.”
Carty is owner of the business Branding Agency, a brand identity development agency with a diverse portfolio of local and international clientele. She first joined the COCI board in January 2019 as a representative of big businesses.
Also on the board are Ortega, Louis Bute, Bertaux Fleming, Vinod Kotai and Charlise Philip.
