We are very pleased to announce that the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award in Financial Services will be conferred upon Mr. James Smith at BFSB’s Financial Services Industry – Excellence Awards on November 3rd , 2017 at The Atlantis Resort. This prestigious award recognises individuals who have reached the pinnacle of their career within the financial services industry and who have made an outstanding contribution over a sustained period.

Mr. James H. Smith is currently in retirement since June 2007. Before then, he served in Parliament as a Senator and in the Cabinet of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas as the Minister of State for Finance during the period 2002 to 2007.

He served as the country’s Ambassador for Trade for five years up to April, 2002. Between 1987 and 1997, he served as Governor of The Central Bank of The Bahamas in charge of conducting monetary policy for the country. Mr. Smith also held positions as Secretary for Revenue and later as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and was involved with the development and implementation of fiscal policies. He has led or was a member of numerous Bahamian delegations for investment promotion and trade missions throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, Central and South America, the Caribbean, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, China, Africa, Dubai and New Zealand.

Mr. Smith served as Chairman of The Bahamas Development Bank (1986), The Bahamas Maritime Authority (1997 – 2002), and The Paradise Island Bridge Authority (1987 – 1997). He was a member of the Board of Directors of many public and private companies including several banks and the Bahamas International Stock Exchange. He also served as the Chairman of the Negotiating Group on Services in the Free Trade Area of The Americas (FTAA) process (2006 -2007).

Mr. Smith was educated in Canada at the University of Alberta, University of Windsor, and Ryerson University where he obtained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics as well as a Diploma in Financial Management. An Honorary Doctorate (Humane Letters) was conferred on him in 2003. He was also sworn in as a Justice of the Peace (JP).

His community involvement included membership on the Board of Trustees for the Governor General’s Youth Awards Program and the Anglican Diocese Pension Fund. Mr. Smith was named to Her Majesty, the Queen of England’s Honour list as a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000.

Outlined below are the Lifetime Achievement Award recipients granted since 2007:

Previous Recipients of Lifetime Achievement Award 2016 Mr. Yves Lourdin 2015 Ms. Betty Roberts 2014 Ian Fair, Butterfield Trust (Bahamas) Ltd./BFSB Founding Chairman 2011 Hugh Sands, CMG, Retired Chairman, Bank of the Bahamas 2008 Ruth Millar, Retiring Financial Secretary, Ministry of Finance 2007 T.B. Donaldson, C.B.E.

TICKETS for the event are $200 per person and available at BFSB’s office. Please contact us at 242-393-7001 or info@bfsb-bahamas.com to reserve your tickets.