This is an exciting moment as we continue to build on the foundations and excellent work laid down by the previous publisher, Paul Byles. He is to be applauded for his vision in leading the way. We can surely expect articles from him in the future as a perceptive observer of things financial and economic.

The financial services industry is vital to Cayman’s continued economic success. CFR is the only local publication exclusively focused on the financial services industry in a 360-degree way. With all the challenges, both local and international, now more than ever the Cayman Islands need a strong outlet to present, analyse and put forward solutions to these challenges. This we aim to do both by substantive content and by greatly increased international distribution.

We have put together a strong editorial board of advisors to set the tone and overall approach of the CRF. But we will not be micromanaging the form of submissions, the detailed editing or whose advertising gets put where!

That we leave to the publisher, Brian Uzzell and his team at Cayman Free Press. I therefore welcome to the board Theo Bullmore, Professor Andrew Morriss, Conor O’Dea, Pilar Bush and Dr. Richard Rahn and thank them for agreeing to serve. Needless to say, we look forward to their active contributions (including articles for publication) as we move ahead. We are seeking one more qualified person to join the board and we should be delighted to hear from anyone who is interested in joining the CFR team.

As you will see in this first issue, our goal is to cover relevant issues that arise in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere. And to join the dots, i.e. how does what we do in Cayman impact the outside world and how do international events impact us here in Cayman. We may once have been the “Islands that time forgot”, but no more. We exist in a global economy. What happens in Cayman does not stay in Cayman; and what happens in New York, London and Brussels affects us here, and sometimes in ways we do not first appreciate.

So we hope we can assist in better informing the world what Cayman actually does (rather than what the media and others think we do) and how our financial services industry and our style of regulation benefit rather than harm the world economy, and indeed countries who would like to see us out of business. And that we can help inform the local community how the rest of the world views us, what foreign governments, international agencies and our competitors are doing and planning, and what we can and must do to ensure we survive and continue to thrive.

We will also have some lighter touches with pieces from the overseas offices of Cayman firms and from the journalistic Diaspora in the UK and elsewhere.

So enjoy the read and let us have your feedback as to how we are doing.

 Timothy Ridley, Chairman of the Editorial Board