Speaking & Training
Ria N. Mankee-Sookram is a family business speaker, governance trainer, and succession-planning facilitator who works with corporate boards, professional associations, and family enterprises across the Caribbean and its diaspora.
Book Ria to speak at your event or deliver a family business governance training session for your team.
As a family business speaker, Ria has spoken widely on succession, governance, conflict resolution and the intersection of AI and continuity planning, including panels and workshops for The University of the West Indies, The Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business, the Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute, the Family Business Association of the Caribbean, and other local and regional forums and businesses.
Topics for a Family Business Speaker Engagement
As a family business speaker, Ria tailors each keynote, panel, or training session to the audience, whether that is a governance institute, a professional association, or a family enterprise’s own leadership team. Popular topics include:
- Succession planning without conflict: structures for continuity and stability
- Family business governance and the role of boards, family councils, and advisors
- Conflict resolution and difficult family conversations
- Artificial intelligence, technology, and the future of continuity planning
- Wealth transition and multigenerational legacy planning
Sessions can be delivered as a standalone keynote, an interactive workshop, or a multi-part training series, and are tailored to Caribbean, diaspora, and international audiences alike.
Selected Speaking History
- 2026 — CCIC World SME Day (panelist, Innovation & Human-Centred AI)
- 2026 — CCGI Governance Week (Succession Without Conflict: Structures for Continuity & Stability) — watch
- 2025 — CCGI Governance Week (Succession Planning & AI: Safeguarding Continuity in Family Business)
- 2025 — T&T Corporate Governance Code breakfast session (CCGI, Hilton Trinidad)
- 2024 — CCGI Governance Week (Surviving the Third Generation)
- 2023 — CCGI Governance Week (A Circular World — Governing for Future Generations of Family Businesses)
- 2023 — CCGI Corporate Secretaries Network (keynote speaker, Building Success With Self Knowledge)
- 2023 — Estate Planning & Wealth Protection for SMEs (with Guardian Group)
- 2022 — Featured in the Trinidad Guardian (“How a buy-sell agreement can save your family business”)
- 2021 — UWI Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business webinar (Buy-Sell Agreements as a Risk Mitigation Tool)
- 2021 — Greater San Fernando Chamber of Commerce Forum (Surviving Financially in a Pandemic)
- 2021 — Impact of Covid-19 on the Business Sector (with Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre)
- 2021 — How Strong is your Business – Succession Planning (with Team Corporate 101)
- 2021 — Investing in Yourself: Succession Planning for Medical Professionals (with Guardian Group)
- 2020 — Interaction of Tax Compliance and Governance in Small & Family Businesses (with Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)
- 2019 — Canning’s Employees’ Credit Union Co-Op Society Limited (The Estate Planning and Administration Process)
- 2019 — Estate Planing for Accountants (with Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)
- 2019 — Family Business and Succession Planning seminar – Challenges in the Family Business (with Bob Gopee & Associates, Chartered Accountants)
- 2019 — Family Business and Succession Planning seminar (with Bob Gopee & Associates, Chartered Accountants)
Selected Event Flyers
CCGI Governance Week 2023 — A Circular World (watch)
CCGI Governance Week 2024 — Surviving the Third Generation (watch)
CCGI Governance Week 2025 — Succession Planning & AI (watch)
CCGI Governance Week 2026 — Succession Without Conflict (watch)
World SME Day 2026 — Connect, Collaborate, Prosper
Corporate Secretaries Network — Building Success with Self Knowledge
GSFCC Forum 2021 — Surviving Financially in a Pandemic
Insurance as a Risk Mitigation Tool — Buy-Sell Agreements for Private & Family Owned Businesses
Resource: The Circular Family Business
An original infographic from CCGI Governance Week 2023, framing family business continuity as a circular, ongoing process. Also featured on the Insights page.
Looking for a family business speaker for your next conference, boardroom session, or in-house training? Get in touch to discuss topics, format, and availability.