The road to stockbroking - Rita Humphries-Lewin

Rita Humphries-Lewin is an entrepreneur who has distinguished herself at the forefront of Jamaica's stockbroking industry for more than 45 years. She is the founder and chairman of Barita Investments Limited, which was formed in 1977 and today has the distinction of being the oldest stockbroking company in Jamaica - testimony to the company's sound management and financial stability.

Working straight out of high school, Rita started employment as a secretary, where she encountered an opportunity to train in stockbroking with Annett & Company in Canada for six months in 1962. During training, she became fascinated with the industry, and upon returning to Jamaica, she knew she had found her 'niche'. When the Jamaica Stock Exchange was launched in 1969, Rita was designated the Trader on the Floor of the Jamaica Stock Exchange representing Annett & Company.

One of the first women in this hemisphere to become a stockbroker, she went on to become the first female chairman of a stock exchange in the Caribbean, leading the Jamaica Stock Exchange in this capacity in 1984 and again 1995 to 2000. Today, Barita is a public company with head office in New Kingston and branches located in Mandeville and Montego Bay. The company's suite of products includes stockbroking, fixed-income trading, foreign-exchange trading, portfolio management and corporate financing.

Well respected by her fellow countrymen for her sterling contribution to the development of Jamaica's financial industry, Humphries-Lewin was conferred with the Order of Distinction Commander by the Government of Jamaica in 2000.

A philanthropist in many areas of the Jamaican society, her passion rests in the field of early-childhood development, as she believes there is a direct correlation between positive early-childhood programmes and the social and economic development of a country.