Business View Caribbean - Feb 2024

avenues to deploy their savings. Dr. Marlene Street Forrest, the Managing Director of Dr. Marlene Street Forrest, the Managing Director of the JSE, elucidates the exchange’s core mission and operational dynamics with clarity and passion. “We celebrate 55 years of operation this February,” Dr. Street Forrest begins, highlighting the exchange’s journey since its inception. The primary goal, she explains, remains unwavering: to serve as a conduit for capital mobilization, enabling businesses to access necessary funds for expansion while offering investors a reliable and efficient means to invest their savings. The JSE encompasses several subsidiaries, which include the Jamaica Central Securities Depository (JCSD), the JCSD Trustee Services Limited, and the innovative Jamaica Social Stock Exchange (JSSE). This diversified group of companies underscores the JSE’s multifaceted role in the financial ecosystem, extending beyond traditional stock trading to include securities depository and social impact initiatives. INNOVATIONS AND RESILIENCE IN CHALLENGING TIMES In the ever-evolving landscape of global finance, the ability of a stock exchange to navigate and thrive during economic fluctuations speaks volumes about its resilience and forward-thinking approach. The JSE is a prime example of such agility, especially in the challenging economic climate of 2023. Dr. Street Forrest shares insights into how the JSE has not only weathered the storm but has also taken significant strides to enhance its internal competencies and expand its services, ensuring sustainability and relevance in the modern financial ecosystem. “While the markets did not perform as well as in the previous year, the stock exchange continued to be sustainable,” she explains. This sustainability was not a product of stagnation but a result of deliberate efforts to bolster the exchange’s internal competencies and resilience. Dr. Street Forrest emphasizes critical areas such as cybersecurity, enterprise risk management (ERM), and data privacy. “We spent a lot more time on cybersecurity, ERM, and data privacy issues, essentially shoring up and strengthening our internal environment,” she notes, 51 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 11, ISSUE 02 JAMAICA STOCK EXCHANGE (JSE)