Ridley was born, Lisa Rutty in the parish of St. Ann and spent her childhood in awe of her aunt’s crisp Air Jamaica flight attendant uniform and worldwide adventures. Unable to become a flight attendant herself, Ridley instead pursued a career in the corporate travel industry, studying travel and tourism at Toronto’s Seneca College. She interned with American Express in the travel department during her studies, and upon her graduation in 1998, secured a full-time position as a travel clerk.
Ridley’s love of travel, zeal for business and the affection for Caribbean is a generational inheritance. The company name and it’s core values originate from the lifelong endeavours of her great-grandfather, Captain Ronald Coy Swire Rutty, who excelled as an agricultural agent, helping to pioneer the cultivation and exportation of Bombay mangoes from Jamaica. Most notably, he owned and operated Jamaica’s luxurious Manor House Hotel, Constant Spring in the 1920s. Captain Rutty was also a member of the Tourist Board and Justice of the Peace for St. Andrew. His legacy of dedication and hard work lives on through Lisa and her vision for the company.
Ambitious and hard-working, Ridley quickly climbed the ranks during her career at American Express Global Business Travel and Vision 2000 Travel Group, while studying Business Management at Ryerson University. Decades later, her career included roles in travel consulting, account management and business development until her departure from the corporate world in 2018.
Lisa’s story is marked with many admirable successes, but they did not come without challenges. Lisa chose to use the difficult circumstances in her life as motivation to work hard, taking on two part-time jobs along with her full-time career to purchase her first home in Canada. Eventually, Lisa purchased her second home in St. Ann. Her personal achievements and pride in her heritage, fuel her passion for helping others make their homeownership dreams a reality.
Rutty Caribbean is a testament to Ridley’s passion for travel and her belief in the importance of leaving a lasting legacy. Along with the growth of her company, Ridley aims to give back to her community in Canada and in her birth nation of Jamaica. Outside of her professional pursuits, Ridley is a loving wife, a mother to beautiful children, and an avid traveller who has visited more than 26 countries across 6 continents.