Dr. Warren Smith, C.D.

Warren is a distinguished Jamaican business leader who has had an outstanding career across various business sectors including energy, banking and finance, tourism and aviation, in both the private and public sectors in Jamaica, as well as in several countries within Caricom. He has a proven executive management track record of leading financial and economic sustainability initiatives, improving business efficiency, and crafting other significant reforms that have delivered good business results. 

Up until his retirement in 2021, Warren served as President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), a role he held since 2011. He has had a long and distinguished career with the CDB, holding several executive positions, including Head of Corporate Policy and Planning, and Director of Finance and Corporate Strategy. As President, Warren chaired CDB’s Board of Directors which was comprised of shareholder Directors from the Caribbean, Europe, China, and Latin America. He also served as a Director on the Board of the Caribbean Disaster Risk Reduction Facility from 2008 to 2011 before his appointment as President of the CDB. 

Prior to joining the CDB, Warren held local and regional executive positions within the aviation and insurance industries, including CEO of the Regional Airline, LIAT, and CEO of Prudential Stockbrokers Ltd, a then subsidiary of the ICWI Group of Companies. Following the sale of that company, Warren was transferred to its sister company, Life of Jamaica, as Vice President of Investments, where he played a leading role in identifying strategies for business sustainability during the financial sector crisis, until its eventual sale to Sagicor Life (Barbados). 

Warren holds a BA degree in Economics (Magna Cum Laude), a MSc. in Agricultural Economics, and a PhD in Resource Economics and Public Policy from Cornell University.  In 2016, he was awarded the Order of Distinction (Commander Class) for distinguished public service, and for service to the Caribbean in the field of Finance.