Rita Humphries-Lewin

Rita Humphries-Lewin OJ CD (born 1936) She was the first woman to chair the Jamaica Stock Exchange and the first woman to chair a stock exchange in the Caribbean. She founded Barita Investments Limited in 1977, which was the oldest stock brokerage firm in Jamaica by the time she retired in 2021. She attended the Immaculate Conception High School. Upon graduating, she joined the Gleaner Company as a secretary. In 1962, while working as a secretary for the local branch of Canadian stock trading firm Annett & Company, she responded to a solicitation for new traders. The company required all new traders to spend six months as trainees at the head office in Canada, and she saw that male candidates did not want to "go back to school".

When the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) opened in 1969, Humphries-Lewin was Annett's designated trader on the exchange floor.

Humphries-Lewin was chair of the Jamaica Stock Exchange in 1984 and again from 1995 to 2000. During her tenure, she led the establishment of the Jamaica Central Securities Depository Limited (JCSD) in 1998 and the development of electronic trading in 2000. She was chair of the Development Bank of Jamaica from 2001 to 2006, participating in the development of Highway 2000 and a planned resort in Trelawny Parish. She entered talks to sell a controlling stake in the company around 2017; as the largest shareholder, she owned 76% of the company. In 2018, Cornerstone Investments Holdings Limited paid $3B for a 75% stake from her and a minority shareholder. As part of the deal, Humphries-Lewin agreed to hold at least 2% of the company for two years afterward, and remain on the company's board of directors. She announced her retirement from Barita in January 2021.

Recognition In 2000 she received the Order of Distinction, Commander Class from the Government of Jamaica for her contributions to the country's financial industry. She also received an honorary doctorate in educational leadership from Mico University College for her contribution to early childhood development.