Kathryn Silvera elected first woman to lead JMEA

The Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) has reached a historic milestone with the appointment of its first-ever female president, Kathryn Silvera, following the association’s annual general meeting held yesterday at Summit Kingston.

Silvera will serve in the role for the 2025-2026 term and is joined at the executive level by Deputy President Cecil Foster, managing director of FosRich Group of Companies, and returning treasurer, Damion Dodd, chief financial controller and corporate secretary at Seprod Limited.

A respected figure in Jamaica’s manufacturing and distribution sectors, Silvera currently serves as director at Caribbean Foods Limited, the producer of the iconic Foska Oats, and as director of sales and marketing at Chas. E. Ramson Limited, where she leads brand strategy, advertising, and the management of more than 40 distributed brands across the local market. She succeeds outgoing President Sydney Thwaites, who served for two consecutive terms from 2023 to 2025.

In her inaugural address, Silvera presented a bold, forward-looking mandate aimed at modernising and strengthening Jamaica’s manufacturing and export sectors. Among her key strategic priorities is a national push for improved industry data collection and intelligence.

“Too often, our ability to advocate for trade agreements, investment incentives, or policy reform is undermined by the absence of hard evidence,” she stated. “We cannot continue to operate in the dark. Data is not a threat to competitiveness – it is the foundation of it. It is how we attract capital, negotiate trade deals, shape policy, and prove our sector’s capacity and potential. Without it, we will continue to be overlooked in national development priorities.”

Silvera announced the JMEA’s intention to launch an Industry Intelligence Platform that aggregates critical performance data from members to support evidence-based advocacy and stronger private-public sector alignment.

STRENGTHENING SECTOR LINKS

She also underscored the importance of strengthening linkages across sectors such as tourism, agriculture, and the creative economy. With more than 20,000 new hotel rooms expected to come online over the next decade, she urged national stakeholders to embed Jamaican manufacturers, artisans, farmers, and creatives into every layer of the tourism supply chain.

“This is not just about import substitution. It is about building national wealth by ensuring Jamaican inputs are at the centre of every guest experience and major development,” she said.

Other top priorities outlined include energy policy reform, addressing workforce productivity and the skilled labour shortage, and cultivating civic pride and cultural confidence. Silvera emphasised that Jamaica’s global identity must be reflected in both the products it exports and the pride it instils in its people.

“This presidency is not about me,” she said. “It is about us – the producers, the exporters, the innovators who believe in Jamaica’s potential. Let us not just export products, but export excellence, proudly stamped with the Jamaican identity.”

Seven director positions became available during the election of the new board. The following individuals were successfully elected: Richard Coe, managing director at Fleetwood Jamaica; Sandra McLeish, managing director at Sankhard Company Limited; Angella Fletcher, chief executive officer at Xsomo International; Roger Lyn, director of corporate affairs and strategic partnerships at Rainforest Seafoods; Robert Scott, general manager at Lifespan Company Limited; Rhona Morgan-Burchenson, head of legal and compliance Anglo-Dutch Caribbean region at Nestlé and Dwaine Williams, general manager at Berger Paints Limited.

In addition to the seven newly elected directors, other members retained their positions on the JMEA Board for the 2025-2026 term. They are Andrew Wildish, general manager at Grace Foods Processing (Canning Division); Christopher Powell, director and factory manager at P.A. Benjamin Manufacturing Company Limited; Dave Fairman, vice president – Best Dressed Chicken Division at Jamaica Broilers Group Ltd; Maizine Porter, senior strategic and commercial business controller at Red Stripe Group (part of the Heineken Group) and Tamii Brown, general manager at Salada Foods Jamaica Limited.