Meet our judges

Jan Sookram, PhD.

Dr. Jan Sookram has been a full-time Faculty Member with the Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago since January 2016. She holds a PhD in Human Resource Management from Coventry University, United Kingdom, with a focus on Entrepreneurship Training for small firms. Jan also holds a Masters in Human Resource Management (specialisation in Training and Development) and a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Sociology (minor in Psychology and HRM).

Jan joined the UWI-ALJGSB in January 2008 as an Associate in the Consulting Unit where she specialised in Training Design. In 2011 she joined the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Academic Unit as a Research Fellow where her research focused and still is focused primarily on Entrepreneurship Training for private enterprises. Jan has worked on several consulting initiatives focused on the private sector and recently managed and led the Social Innovation Lab funded by the IADB.

Dr Sookram has presented papers in several international conferences such as the IRISH Academy of Management and the Manchester Business School Conference.

Mrs. Stephanie Lezama-Rogers

Mrs. Stephanie Lezama-Rogers has over 8 years’ experience in field of Social Science Research. She is currently a Lead Researcher and Lecturer at the Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business, the University of the West Indies. She supports in the development and coordination of research in the areas of family business, clusters and competitiveness. Mrs. Lezama-Rogers holds an MSc. in Development Statistics and a BSc degree in Sociology (Major) and Economics (Minor) Social Policy (Minor) from the University of the West Indies. Mrs. Lezama-Rogers is a member of the “Microeconomics of Competitiveness Network” – Institute of Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School, Harvard University.

Currently, she is a doctoral candidate (Business Administration) at the Grenoble Ecole de Management, France where she is focusing on the sustainability and growth of family business with an emphasis on effective business relationships.

Dr. Miguel Dindial

Dr. Miguel Dindial is an active researcher, academic and consultant in the field of International Business and Strategy. His current research agenda focuses on the developmental implications of International Business and Multinational Enterprise (MNE) activity - from an emerging and developing country perspective.

Dr. Dindial is a three time national scholarship winner and completed his PhD at the Leeds University Business School (LUBS), United Kingdom. His research has received many accolades, including the LUBS faculty nomination for University-wide PhD researcher of the year 2017. This nomination was based on his contribution towards the field of international business and strategy, as well as its potential for societal impact. Dr. Dindial has also taught on the LUBS MSc International Business, consistently ranked as the United Kingdom’s No. 1 International Business Master’s Programme.

Prior to this, Dr. Dindial was responsible for coordinating The Caribbean Pacific Island Mobility Scheme (CARPIMS), the largest South-South Mobility Project funded by the European Union. With a combined funding allocation of over six million euros, the program facilitated the movement of students and staff across the Caribbean and Pacific Region as a means of facilitating Institutional Capacity Building and Socioeconomic Development.

Angélique Parisot-Potter

Angélique is the Group Executive Vice President, Business Integrity & General Counsel - Massy Group and an AMCHAM T&T Board of Director.

For over 10 years Angélique has created, driven and implemented business integrity programmes to protect companies and their brands. As General Counsel of the Massy Group, she oversees the legal affairs globally, including commercial, litigation, industrial relations, regulatory and compliance matters, investigations and corporate transactions.

She is the executive creating and leading Massy’s Business Integrity programme, working with the Board, Executives and senior management to create a Speak Up and Listen Up culture where open secrets cannot thrive so issues are raised and dealt with sooner rather than later. Between 2016 and 2017, in anticipation of the then 2015 Whistleblower Protection Bill becoming law in Trinidad & Tobago, Angélique wrote and implemented a Speak Up Policy and an anonymous reporting hotline across the Group.

Over the last 30 years, she has gained a breadth of multicultural and transdisciplinary experience living and working in the Middle East, UK, Latin America, and the Caribbean. 15 of those years have been spent in the oil & gas sector in senior roles such as Vice President, HR, Business Administration & Compliance in Egypt; Senior Counsel, Ethical, Compliance & Governance in Trinidad & Tobago; Regional Commercial Counsel in Brazil and Commercial Counsel in the UK, where she is also qualified as a solicitor. She has worked in the financial, construction and environmental sectors which complements her oil and gas experience.

Nicole De Freitas

Nicole is the CEO & Managing Director of Innovative Power Systems Ltd. and is an experienced regional Operations, Shared Services, Technology and Business leader with demonstrated success working with diverse people and cultures, particularly in service industries.

She is also skilled in Technology, Human Resource Management, Problem Management, Change Management, Communication, Project Management, Strategic Influencing, Strategic Planning, and Business Process Improvement. Nicole is a strong leader with the key ability to achieve business outcomes through people, operations and technology.