Audrey Marks

In the midst of the 1990s financial crisis, Paymaster Jamaica Limited was but a germ in the mind of Audrey Marks.

At a time when virtually no one was investing in new businesses, Ms. Marks sold the assets of her previous entrepreneurial effort to procure funding to start Paymaster Jamaica Limited. Paymaster Jamaica Limited is now a multi-national, multibillion-dollar, multi-transaction agency.

With more than 100 agencies across the region and serving more than a million customers, Paymaster under Marks' leadership has been a pioneer in the 'bill-payment' industry in the region. Among the many citations she has received for her business acumen are Ernst & Young nominee for Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year 2000; the Eubank-Green & Associates Female Entrepreneur of the Year 2000 Award and the Florida International University Business Leader of the Year 2003 - Female. In January 2006 she was appointed the first female president of the American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica. She is also the chairman of the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) board, and serves on other public and private sector boards.

You could say, then, that Ms. Marks is 'multi-phenomenal'.

Beverley Lopez

Beverley Lopez is the most recognisable name in the realm of the Jamaica Exporters' Association. This prominent businesswoman has served on the board for more than 14 years and spent two terms as president. During that time she has championed the cause of the exporting community and has been instrumental in removing many of the constraints and impediments from the export process.

Mrs. Lopez is the immediate past president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ). She has served as vice-president of Desnoes and Geddes Ltd., and is a director of Peak Bottling Company Limited, Big City Brewing Company Limited and manages Kingston Hub Distributors.

She also serves as a director of National Export-Import Bank, First Global Bank and the Jamaica Public Service Company. She was awarded the National Honour, Commander of the Order of Distinction in 2002, for her contribution to the development of the export sector. In 2006, she received the Order of Jamaica for private sector leadership.

Photos by Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer

Becky Stockhausen

Becky Stockhausen is part of the Grants Pen initiative that has seen a sharp decline in murders and other serious crimes that once plagued the community. Perhaps what makes her contribution all the more heart-warming is that she's American by birth, but Jamaican by association.

Mrs. Stockhausen has lived in Jamaica since 1980. She started working with the American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica in 1991. She served as public relations officer and general manager, and then executive director. Apart from her work on the Grants Pen project and other humanitarian efforts, she continues her work in forming business links between Jamaica and the United States.

She was instrumental in bringing the Police Executive Research Forum to Jamaica as part of the first step to peace in Grants Pen, other volatile areas and eventually the island in general. Last year, she was lauded for her efforts by the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston who named her one of their Women Of Excellence.

Photo by Shelly-Ann Thompson

Audrey Hinchcliffe

Audrey Hinchcliffe is a multifaceted individual and a shrewd entrepreneur. Founder of Caribbean Health Management Consultants Ltd., and Manpower and Maintenance Services Ltd., her involvement and influence have spread far and wide. She is a founding member of Women Business Owners (Jamaica) Limited, member-at-large - Jamaica Association of Health Service Executives, and founding member of the Jamaica Association of Commercial Cleaning Contractors.

In 2004, Ms. Hinchcliffe became a director of GraceKennedy Limited. She is also chair of the Nursing Council of Jamaica. She also serves as chair of the University of Technology Advisory Committee on Health. The recipient of numerous commendations, Ms. Hinchcliffe has received the Ernst & Young Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year Award for services. She was selected by the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston in Celebration of Women - Award of Excellence in 2002. She has served on several high-level delegations representing the Caribbean community and Commonwealth secretariats and as a consultant on health matters to regional governments and international health organisations.

Ms. Hinchcliffe has a Bachelor of Arts degree in community health from St. Francis College and a Master of Science in health administration from Long Island University, both in New York. She also has a certificate in health economics from the University of York in the United Kingdom. With such achievements she is indeed a phenomenal woman.