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The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) elected its first woman President following its 135th Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Mrs. Kathy Smith was elected to the post of President of the Chamber during the first statutory meeting of the GCCI on March 21, during which the election for the Executive Management Committee was held. This election followed the elections for the Chamber’s 21-member Council for the year 2025/2026 which was held during the AGM on March 19, 2025.

The Executive Management Committee also includes Senior Vice President, Mr. Gavin Ramsoondar; Junior Vice President, Mr. Brian Edwards; Treasurer, Mrs. Melisa McRae-George, and Secretary, Mrs. Kristia Ramlagan-Prescott. The Council also invited Councillors, Immediate Past President Mr. Kester Hutson, Past President Mr. Timothy Tucker, and Past Senior Vice President Mr. Richard Rambarran to serve on the Executive Management Committee as Ex-Officio Members.

Together with the members of the EMC, the Council comprises Ms. Dee George of Herdmanston Lodge; Mr. Delmar Walcott of Pinnacle Solutions; Mr. Devon Seeram of Payless Variety Store; Mrs. Evie Kanhai-Gurchuran of Envisage Marketing and Technology Company; Mr. Eusi Evelyn of Green State Oil & Gas Services Inc.; Mr. Keon Howard of Electric (Guyana) Inc.; Mr. Komal Ramnauth of Kojac; Ms. Mary Nagasar of Hand-in-Hand Group of Companies; Mr. Navin Prashad of M.P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Ltd.; Mr. Orson Ferguson of Vista Holdings Inc.; Mr. Paul Archer of Loss Control and Risk Management Guyana; Mr. Rayad Boyce of Sonic Business Services, and Mr. Rosh Khan of Social Rank Media.

In her first address to the media following her election to presidency, Mrs. Smith spoke about some of her focal areas during her term—including the development of women entrepreneurs.

“This focus and commitment to building the capacity of our members continues with this new role. But as the first woman president of the GCCI, I want to utilise this privilege to positively contribute to the development of women entrepreneurs. Because of my background and the strong and confident women like my grandmother who was a businesswoman in her own way, their influence moulded me, and the assertiveness and confidence that I have in approaching not just business but life—I want to see that inculcated in all the women entrepreneurs in this country,” she stated.

The new President affirmed her objectives of advocating and fostering opportunities for women entrepreneurs to ensure that their businesses are sustainable and profitable. “It does not matter whether it is a micro-business—that is a one-woman operation—or a small firm. The GCCI wants to see our women-owned and MSMEs thrive and succeed,” she reiterated.