Compiled By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. June 9, 2017: There is no denying the contribution of Caribbean immigrants and their children and grand children to the fabric of the American society. This National Caribbean American Heritage Month, here are 12 top corporate executives who were born in the Caribbean or of Caribbean roots that you should know:
1: Damien Hooper Campbell
Damien Hooper Campbell is eBay’s first Chief Diversity Officer. He was born to a Guyanese-born father. Hooper Campbell is based in the company’s San Jose, CA headquarters and has a B.A. in economics from Morehouse College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
2: Ralph Victor Gilles
Ralph Victor Gilles, the New York-born son of Haitian immigrants, is currently head of design for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Before that, he was the President and CEO of Chrysler’s SRT brand and Senior Vice President of Design at Chrysler. Gilles, 47, styled the North American Car of the Year-winning 2005 Chrysler 300 after joining Chrysler in 1992 and also led the design team that created the 2014 SRT Viper. Gilles attended the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan, and in 2002 received an Executive MBA from Michigan State University.
3: Melissa Proctor
Melissa Proctor is chief marketing officer of the National Basketball Association’s Atlanta Hawks. Her father and mother are from Jamaica and Belize, respectively. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Wake Forest University and a master’s degree in design studies/branding from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design at The London Institute. Proctor joined the Hawks in 2014.
4: Catherine Toppin
Catherine Toppin is the senior patent counsel and manager at General Electric. She is the daughter of Barbadian immigrants and a graduate of The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in Maryland. She lives in Westport, Connecticut.
5: Christian Archibold
Christian Archibold is the VP of Information Security for the BBNP Paribas Corporate and Institutional Banking. Archibold was born to a Jamaican mother and a Panamanian father and is a graduate of Columbia University.
6: Jermaine Daw
Jermaine Daw is currently the director of HR Business Partner for the National Basketball Association. Daw was born in Guyana and is a graduate of Stony Brooke University.
7: Philip Rigueur
Philip Rigueur is VP and head of Joint Venture Markets Sales Effectiveness and Distribution at Aetna. His parents are both immigrants from Haiti. Rigueur holds a degree from Cornell University and lives in Hartford, Connecticut.
8: Chalon Clark
Chalon Clark is a partner in the Husch Blackwell legal firm and is a litigator on the firm’s Financial Services & Capital Markets team. She assists clients in contracts disputes, contract and lease risk mitigation, employer/employee relations, collection-related matters, foreclosures, fraud, banking, partnership, real property, mortgage lending, construction and brokerage/securities issues. She is a graduate of the J.D., University of Texas at Austin School of Law, 2006 and was born to a Bahamian father.
9: Aubreana Stephenson Holder
Aubreana Stephenson Holder is the chief operating officer of Federal Management Systems, a financial management firm. As COO, she works with the Human Resources and Payroll Department to streamline communication regarding employee relations as well as assists in all aspects of Business Development. She was born to immigrants from Guyana and has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Juris Doctorate from the David A. Clarke School of Law.
10: Moya O’Connor
Moya O’Connor is the trial counsel for Liberty Mutual Insurance and is Jamaican-American.Moya O’Connor is the trial counsel for Liberty Mutual Insurance and Founder & CEO of Caribbean Attorneys Network, Inc. (CAN). Her roots extend to Jamaica. She is a graduate of the Brooklyn Law School.
11: Dr. Haydée Brown
Dr. Haydée Brown is the founder and owner, Foot and Ankle Orthopedics of New York. She is also an assistant clinical professor in Orthopaedic Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital. Her paternal grandparents hailed from Jamaica and Martinique. She graduated from Wellesley College, and received her medical degree from New York University.
12: Dr. Vanessa Baptiste Griffith
Dr. Vanessa Baptiste Griffith is an associate medical director with Northwell Health and an assistant professor of Pediatrics for Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine. Dr. Baptiste Griffith was born in Haiti and is a graduate of Thomas Jefferson University Medical College.
