She Is Everywhere. And We Want to Find Her.
She is running a bank. She is closing a deal from a co-working space in New Kingston and Mandeville. She is advising a minister. She is building a SaaS platform that serves customers she has never met, in markets she has never visited. She is mentoring the next generation on a Saturday morning when no one is watching. She is on a board — sometimes three. She is the founder, the fixer, the force.
She is Jamaica’s most powerful and influential businesswoman — and for 2026, Businessuite Magazine is on a mission to find her.
Why This List Matters More Than Ever
Jamaica’s private sector is at an inflection point. The companies generating the most revenue, the most profit and the most jobs are increasingly being shaped — at the executive, founder and board level — by women. Yet the gap between the influence women wield and the public recognition they receive remains stubborn and real.
This list exists to close that gap.
The Businessuite Power and Influence 100 is not a celebration. It is a reckoning — a rigorous, research-driven accounting of where power actually sits in Jamaica’s business landscape, who holds it, how they earned it, and what they are doing with it. It is modelled on the selection framework developed by the editors of Fortune Magazine for their annual Most Powerful Women list — one of the most respected business rankings in the world.
It is also, deliberately, a conversation. Because no editorial team — however well-connected — has a monopoly on knowing where influence lives. That is why, for 2026, we are opening the floor.
We want your nominations.
What Has Changed for 2026
When we published our first Power 50 list, the conversation was largely about who was in the corner office. Today it is far more complex — and far more interesting.
Finance still dominates. Banking, investment management and insurance remain the primary gateways to institutional power in Jamaica. The women who lead these institutions — or who hold the CFO, CRO and Deputy CEO titles within them — command resources, shape capital allocation and influence the economic conditions in which every other business on this list operates.
But the CEO gap is real. Very few women lead Jamaica’s largest corporations outright. What our research consistently shows, however, is that power is no longer exclusively a title. It lives in executive roles, in founder positions, in the ecosystem builders whose networks and knowledge make deals happen. We are watching for all of it.
Technology is the fastest-rising category. The next wave of Power 10 entrants will come from artificial intelligence, SaaS platforms, fintech and digital media. The women building in these spaces today are tomorrow’s top-five nominees. We want to find them before the rest of the world does.
Influence is no longer title-based. A media executive who shapes how two million Jamaicans think about money, entrepreneurship and ambition belongs on this list alongside the CEO of a billion-dollar company. A policy advisor whose recommendation becomes legislation belongs here. A founder with fifty employees and a product that is changing how Jamaicans access healthcare belongs here. We are measuring agenda-setting, consumer influence and economic direction — not just org chart position.
How We Select the Power 100
Our selection process applies the Fortune MPW framework to the Jamaican context, weighted across four criteria:
1. Company Size and Economic Importance The scale of the nominee’s enterprise — measured by revenue, profitability and human capital — and its significance to the Jamaican economy. Where financial data is publicly available through the Jamaica Stock Exchange, the Junior Market or verified published reporting, it is factored directly into ranking decisions.
2. Company Health and Direction Is the business growing? Is it innovating? Is it gaining market share, attracting investment or expanding regionally? A nominee leading a thriving, forward-moving enterprise carries more weight than one maintaining the status quo at a larger but stagnant institution.
3. Career Arc Where has she come from and where is she going? We assess trajectory, not just title. A woman who has risen rapidly, navigated institutional resistance, built something from nothing or taken a meaningful risk in the past 24 months is as relevant to us as a long-tenured executive who has held her position for a decade.
4. Societal and Cultural Influence Does her work extend beyond her company’s balance sheet? Does she shape industry norms, public policy, cultural conversation or community outcomes? We draw on the assessments of key industry insiders, published profiles, board service records, media presence and advocacy work to evaluate this dimension.
A note on financial data: Businessuite is not privy to the financial statements of all companies represented on this list. Where data is unavailable, it is not penalised — we apply our editorial judgement across the remaining criteria. Readers are always invited to debate and enrich our rankings.
The 2026 Power 100 Structure
Tier 1 — Corporate Power Brokers (Ranks 1–25) The definitive nominees. Women heading Jamaica’s largest institutions — companies that appear directly in the Businessuite Caribbean Net Profit Rankings and CEO Performance Index. These are the executives whose decisions move markets, employ thousands and shape the direction of the Jamaican economy. Their power is measurable, documented and unambiguous.
Tier 2 — Influence and Impact Leaders (Ranks 26–50) Sector leaders, policy architects and C-suite executives whose institutional reach extends well beyond their immediate organisations. These are the women who convene, connect and catalyse. They may not run the largest companies in Jamaica — but they often determine who does, what those companies prioritise and how the private sector responds to the challenges of the moment.
Tier 3 — Rising Power and Next-Gen Leaders (Ranks 51–100) The pipeline. Emerging executives, rising entrepreneurs and women building scale on the Junior Market and in the technology, creative, health and impact economy sectors. These are the names that serious readers will want to know before they become household ones. This is where the next Power 50 is being assembled — one deal, one launch and one bold decision at a time.
Nominate a Woman Who Belongs on This List
We know that the most powerful women in Jamaica are not always the most visible ones. They are often too busy building to seek the spotlight. That is exactly why we need your help.
We are inviting nominations for the Businessuite 2026 Power 100 — Jamaica’s Most Powerful and Influential Businesswomen.
To nominate, please provide the following:
Full Name Title and Position Company or Organisation Tier Recommendation (Tier 1 — Corporate Power Broker / Tier 2 — Influence and Impact Leader / Tier 3 — Rising Power and Next-Gen Leader) Rationale for Nomination (Please address at least two of the four selection criteria above — no more than 200 words) Your Name and Contact Information (for verification purposes — will not be published)
Submit nominations to: businessuitemagazine@gmail.com Nomination deadline: Friday, April 30, 2026 Publication date: June 2026 — Businessuite Magazine Print and Digital Editions
One Final Word
Jamaica has always produced women of extraordinary ambition, resilience and vision. What has changed is not the quality of that leadership — it has always been exceptional. What has changed is the scale at which it now operates, the sectors in which it now appears, and the willingness of a new generation to claim its power openly and without apology.
The Businessuite Power 100 is our annual commitment to making sure that power is seen.
Nominate her. She has earned it.
The Businessuite 2026 Power 100 — Jamaica’s Most Powerful and Influential Businesswomen will be published in June 2026 in Businessuite Magazine in print and at businessuiteonline.com. The editorial team reserves the right to make all final ranking decisions. Nominations are welcomed from individuals, companies, industry associations and members of the public.
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Businessuite 2026 Power 100 Jamaica’s Most Powerful & Influential Businesswomen Media Kit
