Jamaica’s Minister of Education Fayval Williams has been appointed as the new Minister of Finance, taking over from Nigel Clarke, who resigned to assume the position of Deputy Managing Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the appointment on Wednesday, coinciding with Clarke’s departure from Jamaica to begin his tenure at the IMF.
To fill the vacancy at the Ministry of Education, Prime Minister Holness has appointed Senator Dana Morris Dixon as the new Minister of Education and Youth. Additionally, Matthew Samuda will return to the Cabinet as Minister without portfolio for Water.
“These appointments are designed to maintain stability and minimize disruptions in the functioning of the government, but at the same time, pivot toward a growth-oriented economic policy,” Holness said in his announcement.
Fayval Williams, who is also a Member of Parliament for St. Andrew Eastern, brings an extensive background in finance to her new role. A Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), she holds an MBA with a finance concentration from the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a cum laude BA in Economics from Harvard University.
Her professional experience spans both the public and private sectors. Before her political career, Williams was Executive Director of Kingston Properties Limited and served as Chief Investment Officer at JMMB Limited, overseeing investment research, trading, and pension portfolios. Williams also consulted with JMMB on market risk management and investment research, helping to shape the company’s investment research strategies and lead valuation efforts for public offerings. Her advisory work extended to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) in Jamaica, where she contributed to policy and research initiatives.
Williams’ investment expertise was honed through leadership roles in the U.S., where she served as Senior Vice President at Putnam Investments in Boston, managing equity portfolios and spearheading the development of a market-neutral hedge fund. Earlier in her career, she held positions at Wellington Management Company, where she focused on fixed-income investments, and Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, where she helped manage a $3 billion fixed-income portfolio. Williams’ professional foundation also includes roles at Equitable Real Estate Investment Management and Morgan Stanley, where she specialized in valuation analysis and information systems.
Williams’ political journey began in 2016 when she was appointed State Minister in the Ministry of Finance under then-Finance Minister Audley Shaw. She was later promoted to full minister in 2018, joining Clarke at the Ministry of Finance before taking on the Science, Energy, and Technology portfolio in 2019, following the resignation of Dr. Andrew Wheatley. She is the first female to be a minister in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, and also the first female minister of science, energy and technology.
She has served as Minister of Education and Youth since 2020.
