New President of BCCI, Mr. Eddy Abed, hosted a select group of CEOs of Barbados at the inaugural Private Sector CEO Forum held on Tuesday, 8th March, 2016 at the BCCI Headquarters.
Several distinguished businessmen attended as the main attraction of the forum was to have a discussion with the Central Bank’s 3rd Distinguished Visiting Fellow Dr. Simon Johnson. Dr. Johnson is a Ronald A. Kurtz (1954) Professor of Entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management and Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. In his discussion, Dr Johnson suggests that “Digital currencies will replace cash as the new form of payment in a short time. He added that Barbados could become a world leader in digital currency brands by creating its own digital dollar. Such an initiative would create jobs, and open a myriad of other opportunities for the country.”
The business men representing commerce, banking, ICTs, financial services and distribution welcomed this discussion and engaged Dr. Johnson on the various permutations and possibilities of digital currencies and reflected on the role of Entrepreneurship in advancing an economy.
Executive Director Lisa Gale reflected on this inaugural CEO’s forum and added that it’s a first in a series where several CEOs will be invited to the Chamber to meet with the President and discuss key issues. From time to time we will also be inviting subject matter experts to share on various areas of interest to our membership. On reflecting on the fruitfulness of the discussion Lisa Gale cited that it was interesting to hear that cheques can become obsolete with the advent of digital currencies thereby reducing the risk and leading to a more robust ecosystem. She thanked the Central Bank for its foresight admitted that the subject is relatively new to many and much more dialogue was still needed.
Dr. Simon Johnson thanked the Chamber for its organisation of such a session. He follows on from Dr. Peter Blair Henry, Dean of New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business who was the visiting Professor in 2015.
