Thought leaders in business, finance, sport and entrepreneurship will lead a series of discussions next week on how Trinidad and Tobago can develop a sustainable and profitable entrepreneurial sport industry. The discussions will take place at the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee’s (TTOC) 3rd Sport Industry TT Conference on March 8th at the Hyatt Regency.
Among the speakers who will bring their knowledge and expertise to the conference are Nigel Baptiste, President and Chief Executive Officer of Republic Financial Holdings Limited and Managing Director of Republic Bank Limited; Darryl White, Managing Director of RBC Royal Bank Trinidad and Tobago Limited; Australian Vickie Saunders, an international athlete sponsorship expert, and founder of The Sponsorship Consultants, and attorney at law, Carla Parris, who specialises in entertainment, sports and intellectual property.
Entrepreneurs Kathryn Nurse, cosmetic chemist and owner of the Caribbean cosmetic brand Immortelle Beauty; Jules Sobion, CEO/ Commander in Chief of Caesar’s Army, and Kerdyn Moe, founder and managing director of Dignitariez Entertainment will also participate in the panel discussions.
Senator the Honourable Paula Gopee-Scoon, Minister of Trade & Industry will deliver the keynote address to open the conference.
TTOC President Brian Lewis says the aim is to ‘fire up’ the local sport sector. “We are trying to advocate for, encourage and stimulate conversation as to how we can develop a sustainable, viable, and profitable entrepreneurial sport industry. We really tried to put together a group of speakers who will drive thought leadership on this topic. They include some of the key drivers and decision makers from the banking sector and some innovative and creative entrepreneurs.”
The theme of this year’s conference is: “Youth, Young People and Women: Raising Awareness and Encouraging Entrepreneurship”. Lewis believes that these groups are key to the diversification of the Trinidad and Tobago economy.
He says the conference is also timely given the technological developments impacting the global sport industry.
“The sport industry cannot be divorced from culture, music, art, fashion and entertainment. There is a good argument for clustering the sport sector and sport industry in the creative sector. Digital technology is transforming sport, for example, with eSports. There’s a lot of innovation taking place in sport globally – artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR); there’s so much for us to discuss as we strive to have a Trinidad and Tobago Sport Industry that is innovative and entrepreneurial.”
Registration for the Sport Industry TT Conference remains open until March 5th. Interested participants can check www.ttoc.org for further details. The list of contributors and panellists for the Conference includes:
- Nigel Baptiste – President and Chief Executive Officer of Republic Financial Holdings Limited; Managing Director of Republic Bank Limited
- Darryl White – Managing Director of RBC Royal Bank Trinidad and Tobago Limited
- Jason Julien– Deputy CEO, Business Generation, First Citizens Group
- Rory Jitta – General Manager of Mayaro Initiative for Private Enterprise Development (MIPED)
- Kathryn Nurse – Cosmetic Chemist & Owner of the Caribbean Cosmetic Brand Immortelle Beauty
- Cassandra Patrovani-Sylvester – Founder and Managing Director, LaMP International
- Vickie Saunders – Athlete Sponsorship Expert, Founder – The Sponsorship Consultants
- Carla Parris – Entertainment and Sports Lawyer, Creator of "The Business Of Carnival" Web Series
- Nneka Luke - General Manager, FilmTT
- Jules Sobion – CEO/ Commander in Chief of Ceasar’s Army
- Kerdyn Moe - Founder of Dignitariez Entertainment, Co - Founder Young Veterans Football Academy, Football Coach at Fatima College U13 & U16
- Nadine Liverpool – TV Presenter and Branding and Digital Marketing Strategist
- Sean Riley – Managing Director, Flow Sports Networks
- Ephraim Serrette – Programme Coordinator, Monitoring and Evaluation, Ministry of Planning and Development
- Conference Moderator – Nicole Duke-Westfield, Corporate Communications Consultant and President of Public Relations Association of Trinidad and Tobago (PRATT)