As Jamaica continues to recover from Hurricane Melissa, human resource leaders are being called to play a more visible and decisive role in national rebuilding, according to the Human Resource Management Association of Jamaica (HRMAJ), which on January 28 launched its 45th Annual Conference.

The media launch of Conference45, held at the Audi Showroom at ATL Automotive on Oxford Road, signalled a recalibration of the conference agenda to reflect the growing demands placed on HR leaders in times of crisis, ranging from workforce safety and morale to business continuity and ethical decision-making.

Dr Cassida Jones Johnson, President of HRMAJ, said Hurricane Melissa forced organisations to confront how prepared they truly were to protect their people.

“When disaster strikes, employees don’t look to systems or policies, they look to leadership,” she said. “HR is often the bridge between uncertainty and stability, and this conference is about strengthening that bridge.”

Conference45 will take place February 4–5, 2026, at Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston, under the revised theme, “Resilient Leadership, Strategic Impact: HR at the Heart of Jamaica’s Rebuilding.” Conference45 comes amid ongoing labour market pressures, including workforce disruption following the hurricane, employee well-being challenges, and the need for stronger crisis communication within organisations.

A major highlight of the conference will be a keynote address by Lisa Soares Lewis, who served on the Joint Private Sector Emergency Operations Centre (PS-EOC), which coordinated private-sector disaster response efforts across the PSOJ, JCC, and JMEA.

Reflecting on HRMAJ’s decision to reposition the conference in response to Hurricane Melissa, she commended the association’s leadership and responsiveness.

“The Human Resource Management Association of Jamaica demonstrated agility, alignment, and an anti-fragile approach in how it responded,” she said. “The decision to make in-the-moment changes to the conference theme reflected a clear understanding of what the country needed at this time.”

She added that the conference is intended to deepen understanding and strengthen leadership capacity across the HR profession.

“My hope is that when the conference concludes, participants will leave with a deeper understanding of what resilience truly means,” Soares Lewis said. “Resilience operates at the home, company, community, and national levels, and I believe HR professionals already have the tools to lead effectively across all of them and to do even more.”

Conference45 will feature keynote sessions from Soares Lewis, who will open Day One with “From Strategy to Impact: The Evolving Role of HR and HR’s Role in National Rebuilding,” and George Roper, Deputy Governor of Finance, Technology, and Administration at the Bank of Jamaica, who will headline Day Two with “Change Management Excellence – The BOJ Story,” examining leadership and transformation within the central bank.

The conference will also focus on the new Code of Ethics and National Registry for HR practitioners, reforms aimed at strengthening governance and professional accountability within Jamaica’s HR sector. Discussions will explore how these changes could elevate trust and consistency in people management at a time when organisations face heightened scrutiny from employees and the public.

The media launch also highlighted strong corporate backing, with Diamond Sponsors including MC Systems, Triblock HR, and GiftMe supporting the initiative.

GiftMe’s Latoya Newman said the company’s continued involvement reflects its commitment to supporting HR-led solutions.
“Every year we make an effort to be a sponsor, and we’re happy that this year we’re a diamond sponsor,” she said.

She added that GiftMe’s alignment with Conference45 speaks directly to its role within the HR ecosystem.

“One of the things that GiftMe prides itself on is providing HR solutions to companies. We are a digital gifting platform, and we believe it offers organisations an opportunity to uniquely retain talent and reward, engage and incentivise team members,” Newman said.

HRMAJ said Conference45 is designed not only to reflect on lessons from Hurricane Melissa, but to prepare organisations for future disruptions, positioning HR as a strategic driver of recovery, trust, and sustainable growth.