Dr Marlene Street Forrest, Managing Director of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), takes the lead as the first speaker at the JSE’s auspicious blue-ribbon conference, now in its 18th year. The JSE’s 18th Regional Investments and Capital Markets Conference is now the buzz of the markets and set to be hosted over three days, January 24 -26, 2023, at The Jamaica Pegasus Hotel and online. The theme, “Capital Markets Redefined: Achieving the Impossible”.
Dr Street Forrest stands tall as a leader among leaders and is chief conceptualizer of this premier regional investments and capital markets event, which continues to educate the markets and listed companies on being resourceful, resilient and permanent. As Dr Street Forrest continues to lead the markets with daring leadership, this hybrid conference continues to attract powerful business leaders and participants from across the Region and the globe, from Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Asia. On Day 2, Wednesday, January 25, she will again join her counterparts, heads of stock exchanges, to discuss the main purpose of the stock market, “Stock Exchanges: Mobilizing Capital, Creating Wealth”.
Dr Street Forrest’s bold visionary strides has seen the JSE evolve into a diversified group of companies, achieving much acclaim and many first recognitions. This includes being twice designated by Bloomberg as the world best performing stock market, 2015 and 2018.
Meet Dr. Marlene Street Forrest
Dr. Marlene Street Forrest is the Managing Director of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) and Director of both its subsidiaries. Her mandate is to continue the process of developing the JSE Group and particularly the Exchange, in an atmosphere of transparency and fairness while utilizing appropriate technology in providing the greatest possible efficiencies to the market.
She has a wealth of experience having worked in senior management positions at varying private and public sector organizations here in Jamaica and overseas.
It is under her stewardship that the JSE became demutualized and the US Denominated Market and the Junior Market were launched. She also spearheaded the Registrar Division of the Jamaica Central Securities Depository (JCSD) when she served as General Manager for this subsidiary of the JSE.
Today, Dr. Street-Forrest, a speaker in demand, has given presentations in many local, regional and international conferences and seminars for the securities markets and financial services industry.
In 2016, Dr. Street Forrest was conferred with the honour of the Order of Distinction in the Rank of Commander (CD) in recognition of her outstanding leadership in the growth of the Jamaica Stock Exchange. In that same year she received the Afroglobal Excellence Award for Global Impact from Canada for exhibiting great leadership, vision, integrity and commitment to excellence.
In 2017, she was celebrated by the Institute for Gender and Development Studies of The University of the West Indies as a woman pioneer and in 2018 she received the Rotary Club of Kingston East and Port Royal Vocational Services Award.
Mrs. Marlene Street Forrest, on July 18, 2021, was conferred with an Honorary Doctoral Degree in Public Policy by The University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC). On December 8, 2021, Dr. Street Forrest received the Stellar Gregory Award for her role in encouraging female leadership in Jamaica.
Marlene Street Forrest attended the University of the West Indies, Mona, where she read for the Bachelor’s Degree in Management Studies and later gained her Master’s in Business Administration at the Barry University in Florida.
Dr. Street Forrest is an avid reader, who is committed to the principles of volunteerism and community service. She is a Justice of the Peace and serves as a Director for the Good Samaritan Inn, a Christian outreach aimed at uplifting the poor and marginalized. She is married to Franklin and has two daughters, Francia and Keena.
