Chief executive officer (CEO) of GraceKennedy Limited Don Wehby will be the presenter at the 11th Annual Caribbean International Network (CIN) Lecture Series scheduled for New York’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture on October 29.

Wehby, as this year’s presenter, follows in the footsteps of several outstanding Jamaicans who have spoken in the CIN Lecture Series, including last year’s presenter, Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Peter Phillips.

His presentation, ‘Jamaica to the World… The GraceKennedy Story’, will trace the history of GraceKennedy, and outline their strategy to become a global company with more than 50 per cent of its revenues originating from overseas markets.

GraceKennedy’s 2014 acquisition of La Fe Foods is seen as a testimony to its global strategy, as La Fe — a significant New York manufacturer and distributor of Hispanic foods — has opened the door for the Jamaican firm to enter the US$6-billion Hispanic food market.

The CIN Lecture Series has become one of the premier annual Caribbean events in New York, attracting a cross section of diplomats, media, business and religious leaders, and other noteworthy members of the Caribbean community in the tri-state area.

Each year the lecture series attracts large audiences, with each presentation rebroadcast on the Jamaican-owned CIN-TV, reaching the over two million Caribbean-Americans in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. This year CIN-TV will again stream the lecture live for worldwide audiences.

In previous years, three former prime ministers of Jamaica — PJ Patterson, Edward Seaga and Bruce Golding — have delivered compelling lectures to the New York Caribbean audience. Other distinguished presenters have been Rex Nettleford, Robert Hill, Ronald Thwaites, Lowell Hawthorne, Greg Christie, and Douglas Orane.

— Balford Henry