Who were the newsmakers in 2013? Who were the people making a difference in the Caribbean in 2013? We’ve put together our list of the Caribbean’s 25 most interesting people this year. And whether you like what they’re doing or you don’t — you’re probably talking about them, and that makes their stories fascinating. Here’s our list of the region’s most interesting people this year (in no particular order).
Stephanie Villedrouin
You may think developing tourism in Haiti is a wonderful idea. You may not. But either way, the fact that you’re even thinking about tourism in Haiti is a testament to Villedrouin, who has taken a long-neglected sector and made it internationally relevant. We look forward to seeing what happens next.
Ralph Gonsalves
The St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister has become perhaps the official spokesperson for the Caribbean region — from taking on the United Nations on the cholera issue to strong criticism of the Dominican Republic’s controversial citizenship ruling. St Vincent isn’t a large country, and yet, Gonsalves continues to be heard.
Gregor Nassief
Nassief, a native of Dominica, is among the most innovative hoteliers in the Caribbean — helping transform the Fort Young Hotel and make the boutique Secret Bay one of the hottest destinations in the region. (Not to mention his regional commentary on the ongoing issues with LIAT).
Roberto Treviño
It was not a coincidence that two of Trevino’s San Juan eateries made Caribbean Journal’s list of the top 50 restaurants in the Caribbean. In San Juan’s Condado, one of the most innovative neighbourhoods in the Caribbean, Trevino is a pioneer.
Mario Joseph
Taking on the United Nations is no small feat, but Haiti’s Mario Joseph is up to the challenge. Joseph, who has become one of the region’s leading human rights lawyers, is leading the lawsuit against the UN for its role in bringing cholera to Haiti.
Lemuel Pemberton
The Caribbean’s sea turtles are critically endangered. And on one of the Caribbean’s smallest islands, Lemuel Pemberton is working to change that. The Nevis native has created a culture of conservation on Nevis, regularly drawing crowds to his evening turtle walks, with help from the Sea Turtle Conservancy and the Four Seasons Resort. The creatures had few friends in the region like him — and, in time, he will help to change their plight.
Tyrone Wilson
Wilson, CJ’s Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year in 2012, is one of the leading media innovators in the Caribbean, with his eMedia Interactive, Ltd company. He’s trying to change the way the Caribbean watches television, and, so far, he’s suceeding.
Usain Bolt
You can’t really make a list like this without including Bolt, perhaps the greatest sprinter of all time. Bolt continues to create headlines with his track and field prowess, and even more with his marketing acument. Right now, he’s the closest thing the Caribbean has to a brand ambassador.
Ajmal Khan
Gerard Butler. Mark Wahlberg. These aren’t names you typically associate with cricket. But thanks to Ajmal Khan, who founded Verus Capital and spearheaded the brand-new Caribbean Premier League, you do. The first season of the CPL was deemed a major success, with raucous crowds and celebrity owners (like the aforementioned Hollywood celebrities). Khan is working to make cricket relevant in an entirely new way. Can he do it? We’ll see.
Beverly Nicholson-Doty
Can the Caribbean market itself as a regional destination? US Virgin Islands Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty is working to make that happen. As CJ Contributor Vincent-Vanderpool-Wallace often says, “Caribbean” is the world’s largest unowned brand name. It will be up to Nicholson-Doty, the current Caribbean Tourism Organization Chairman, to make that a reality.
Adam Stewart
The Sandals CEO has helped lead a significant expansion for the company in the region, from Grenada to Barbados. And he also created a rather clever response to the now famous Volkswagen Super Bowl ad earlier this year. Stewart is a young, dynamic leader in Caribbean tourism — how Sandals continues its regional expansion will be fascinating to follow.
Rihanna
Like Bolt, Rihanna has become synonymous with the Caribbean. The Bajan superstar continues to be at the centre of most music industry conversations, whether you like her music or you don’t. And she continues to market Barbados tourism.
Ricky Skerritt
You may not be aware of it, but the tiny twin-island federation of St Kitts and Nevis is in the midst of a hotel construction boom. And at the centre of it is Tourism Minister Ricky Skerritt, who is helping to draw a new wave of foreign investment to the smallest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere, from a Park Hyatt resort to a series of condo-hotel properties.
Peter Phillips
Jamaica’s Finance Minister almost single-handedly negotiated what may be the most crucial economic agreement Jamaica has signed in a generation. The jury’s still out on whether Jamaica can implement it (and whether it will save a stagnant economy), but Phillips remains crucial to the country’s near and long-term plans.
Michelle Brown
It was the most significant regional case in the Caribbean this year, and perhaps the most important case in the history of the Caribbean Court of Justice. Michelle Brown helped Jamaican native Shanique Myrie win her lawsuit against the government of Barbados in a landmark immigration dispute.
Laurent Gerville-Reache
The Caribbean is a long, winding chain of islands, each with a different culture and history. But Guadeloupe native Laurent Gerville-Reache wants to unite them, through fashion. His “Caribbean Coat of Arms” brand seeks to bring together the Caribbean by highlighting the region’s shared heritage and history.
Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce
While her countryman, Usain Bolt, gets much of the attention, Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce remains the world’s greatest female track and field athlete, following another spectacular summer in the Diamond League. And for a country suffering from a doping scandal, the clean Fraser Pryce is a breath of fresh air.
Tessanne Chin
CJ’s Artist of the Year made headlines earlier this month in winning the NBC show “The Voice,” uniting the Caribbean in a way largely unseen before. Chin was another reminder of the evergreen power of “Brand Jamaica,” and of the region’s talent for punching far above its weight.
Gary Foss
Will Seaborne Airlines be the Caribbean’s next great regional airline? It may not have seemed possible a few weeks ago, but with the company’s move to San Juan, anything is possible. And for a region facing a continual airlift challenge, Seaborne’s move could prove crucial, and Foss, Seaborne’s President and CEO, will be a major part of it.
Ingrid Riley
One of the Caribbean’s best-known entrepreneurs, the Jamaican native is trying to help connect the region’s information and technology sector — and doing a rather good job of it. ICT is a major prong of the region’s push to diversify its economy beyond tourism — and the kind of awareness Riley is promoting will go a long way toward improving that.
Andrew Holness
He was briefly Jamaica’s Prime Minister in 2011, and remains one of his country’s most articulate and press-savvy advocates internationally (and, some would argue better than current Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller).. After surviving a hard-fought party leadership challenge from former Finance Minister Audley Shaw, Holness proved that he’s a pretty tough politician, too.
David Ortiz
From his outspoken support of Boston in a time of need following the Marathon bombings in the spring to his seemingly superhuman efforts in helping the Red Sox win their third World Series title since 1918, the Dominican Republic’s Ortiz dominated the headlines in 2013.
John de Jongh
The US Virgin Islands Governor is working to steer the US territory through perhaps its most serious crisis ever — the closure of the HOVENSA refinery last year. Whether he can succeed remains a question, but de Jongh has been fearless and outspoken in his advocacy for the islands.
Amanda Coulson
Nassau may be known primarily as one of the region’s leading cruise ports. But thanks to Bahamian native Amanda Coulson, it’s developing into a destination of a different sort. Coulson, who took over as Chief Curator of the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas in 2012, is helping make downtown Nassau one of the leading lights in the Caribbean art world — and a major destination for the creative arts.
Dana Leibovitz
The Resorts World Bimini President has turned a long-under-the-radar Bahamian island into a major regional talking point, with a high-profile casino and an even more famous cruise. While the project has generated some controversy locally, what can’t be ignored is this: Bimini is an international tourism destination again.