As part of the observance of Organisation Development (OD) Transformation Week 2025, the Caribbean Centre for Organisation Development Excellence Limited (CARI-CODE), in association with the Caribbean Organisation Development Network (CODN), presents the 5th staging of its annual conference.

The week was officially declared by Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen recently.

The event takes place at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, on Tuesday, April 15 and Wednesday, April 16, under the theme “Expand Your Horizon! Creating Synergies Through the Awesome Lens of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Artificial Intelligence (AI)”.

CARI-CODE and CODN Founder and CEO, Ilsa H. duVerney says that as an organisation dedicated to the transformation of the workplace and continuous improvement: “We view as vital the effective incorporation and management of artificial intelligence in the workplace, an objective which we believe is impossible without the recognition and deployment of emotional intelligence. For transformational efforts to be maximized, organisation professionals need to work with the whole system to solidify profound values such as participation, inclusion, collaboration and organisational justice.” 

Pearnel Charles, Jr., MP, JP, Minister of Labour and Social Security will give the opening address focusing on Jamaica – a Nation seizing opportunities to build a future powered by Emotional and Artificial Intelligence. 

Keynote Speaker Dr. William Brendel, EdD, (USA) – Adult Learning & Leadership, will blast off the two-day conference with his thought-provoking topic ‘Human-Centred AI: A Game-Changer for Leaders’. Dr. Brendel’s qualification spans Designer of Organisation Development (OD) Competency Assessment; Professor, OD and Change, Master Facilitator, as well as Coach, Author, OD Consultant, ED OpenSourceOD Inc. USA.  

Among the other prominent speakers are: Dr. Kevin Brown, PhD, President, University of Technology (UTech) Jamaica who will address ‘The Future of Human and AI Collaboration: Enhancing Human Connection In An Automated World; Leslie Lee Fook, Chief Executive Officer, Director AI, Analytics & Automation, INCUS (Trinidad & Tobago) will address AI Innovations Shaping The Future – What’s Next?; Jenea Young, MSODL, CPTD, Chief Executive Officer & Principal OD Practitioner, First Extraordinary Life LLC (NJ), USA; Dr. Luz Longsworth, Senior Corporate Director, Sandals Corporate University, Sandals Resorts International, will speak on ‘Creating Centres of Excellence: Why EI is More Critical Than Ever in a Digital Age and a host of other dynamic speakers.