Ramon Small-Ferguson now MD of Barita Unit Trusts and Deputy CEO OF Barita Investments

The Board of Barita Investments Limited has advised of senior management changes in keeping with its succession planning programme.

The changes are meant to further strengthen Barita’s organisational structure, risk management and governance, significantly bolster executive leadership of the core business and deepen sales and service capabilities. 

Barita continues to be deliberate with its human capital management strategies to ensure the acquisition and retention of the requisite depth of talent to support continued robust growth and the delivery of transformative value to all stakeholders.

Effective January 1, 2023, Ramon Small-Ferguson will be appointed to the positions of managing director of Barita Unit Trusts Management Company Limited (BUTMC) and deputy chief executive officer of Barita Investments Limited, consistent with its succession planning programme. 

BUTMC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Barita, consolidates the asset management function for the unit trust business.

Small-Ferguson has extensive experience in investment management and prior to joining Barita, he held the position of chief investment strategist and head of research at the Jamaica National Group.

He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), and Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designations. He also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Finance & Marketing (Hons.) from the University of Technology, Jamaica and is currently a graduate student at NYU Stern Business School where he is pursuing a Master of Science in Quantitative Management.

Accordingly, Jason Chambers has tendered his resignation from the post of managing director for BUTMC, effective December 31, 2022.

Chambers will continue to serve as a board director of both BUTMC and Barita.

Damion Brown has been appointed chief investment strategist and CEO, Real Estate and Alternative Investments at Cornerstone United Holdings Jamaica Limited, an affiliate of Barita, effective November 28, 2022. 

In this role, Brown will assume responsibility for the executive oversight of the strategic development, management, and execution of the alternative investments mandate of the Cornerstone Group. He will also provide critical support to the Chambers, the group chief investment officer, in providing strategic direction respecting the investment strategies being pursued across the Cornerstone Group.

Brown has more than 19 years of extensive executive management experience in the financial services industry, with expertise in investment management, risk analysis and macroeconomic analysis. Prior to joining Cornerstone he served as group chief investment officer at Jamaica Money Market Brokers Limited. He holds a Master of Science in Economics and a Bachelor of Science in Economics & Management Studies from the University of the West Indies. He has also earned designations of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Financial Risk Manager (FRM), Professional Risk Manager (PRM) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).

In announcing the changes, Barita’s chairman and board welcomed the new appointees and said they looked forward to the management and staff “continuing to create sustainable value for all our key stakeholders”.