Why Choose Us
Deborah Newland
CEO
Richard Chen
Consultant
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Deborah is a futurist who understood from the outset of her career, the critical need to develop experience in the niche areas which have in fact become the foundation of today’s business landscape. She is an Attorney-at-Law by profession, of some 27 years in practice at the Jamaican Bar and currently serves as General Manager, Logistics and Corporate Development at the Development Bank of Jamaica.
Over her distinguished career, Deborah has held many senior strategic level roles, both in the public and private sector. Her professional history includes direct litigation and regulatory experience and managing some of the largest commercial transactions in Jamaica from 2012 – 2016 in her capacity as Head of the Commercial Affairs Division of the Attorney General’s Chambers. Notably, in 2016, based on her vast institutional knowledge and experience in Government, Deborah was recruited to serve as Chief of Staff to the Most Hon. Prime Minister of Jamaica between 2016 and 2019.
Deborah’s expertise, experience and deep understanding of bilateral relationships in the region positions her to provide advice at the highest level and with her select team, chooses to focus transactions that will bring the most significant impact on the societies within which LegalSyntax does business.
Deborah is a passionate advocate for the special needs community and works tirelessly to improve educational and career opportunities for this often marginalised society in the Caribbean region
Richard is a businessman and entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in general management and business development.
With his vast expertise and talent for human capital management, equal to his background in ICT development, Richard ventured into the world of Financial Technology, co-founding a mobile money start-up seeking to revolutionise access to finance for the unbanked sector of the Jamaican population. Richard has also consulted on several FinTech projects of varying sizes since 2016 to present.
While managing his own business interests, Richard served on several private and public sector Boards in Jamaica. He chaired the Economic Policy Committee of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) and served on the Boards of the Development Bank of Jamaica and the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission, while also giving of his time many charitable organisations such as the United Way of Jamaica and the Rotary Club. He is a currently a Director of the Jamaica Youth Business Trust – a non-profit micro-lender targeting young entrepreneurs and a Director and Executive of PaperGold Limited, a chain of retail Cambios in Jamaica.