By Ryan Gilkes
The six-month-old gap at the top of Barbados’ main tourism agency was filled Wednesday with the appointment of a new chief executive officer (CEO) and the promotion of a senior officer to a new chief operations officer (COO) post.
Barbadian marketing professional Andrea Franklin has been named CEO of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) while long-time BTMI veteran Cheryl Carter, the agency’s UK director, is to be promoted to COO.
Dissatisfied with a half-dozen candidates who interviewed for the top job, the BTMI board turned to Franklin, the country manager for Chukka Caribbean Adventures, the Jamaican firm that runs Harrison’s Cave, according to Minister of Tourism Ian Gooding-Edghill.
Both women are to take up their positions on April 1, the start of the financial year, the minister announced Wednesday evening at a news conference at the BTMI’s Warrens head office.
The leadership appointments follow the resignation last July of German-Canadian tourism veteran Dr Jens Thraenhart, after being in the post from November 1, 2021. In the interim, Chief Financial Officer Craig Hinds acted as CEO.
Gooding-Edghill said: “The chief executive officer along with the team will hit the ground running as a matter of urgency. The fact that we have such an accomplished professional and the fact we have been able to find such on the island speaks volumes about the human capital and the resources that we have on the island. It is always a good thing when you can find individuals who are capable of leading an organisation on the island.
“My view is that it has more to do with the performance of the individual. It has to do with whether or not that person would be capable of achieving the objectives of the organisation . . . and I am very very confident and satisfied that the candidate that has been submitted I know will do the job. There is no disconnect.”
Initially, six candidates had been shortlisted and interviewed but a BTMI board subcommittee made up of deputy chairman Gayle Talma and directors Jo-Anne Roett, Terry Hanton and Ryan Forde – the CEO of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association — found none of the shortlisted applicants suitable, Gooding-Edghill told journalists.
“The board of directors then agreed that a process of head-hunting for a CEO should be undertaken by the same sub-committee . . . [which] identified . . . Franklin as a prospective candidate. [She] underwent the same process as the previous applicants which included psychometric testing and interviews,” the minister said, adding that the sub-committee unanimously agreed that Franklin was the most suitable candidate.
The new CEO previously worked with the Barbados Tourism Authority, the BTMI’s predecessor, and has significant experience in various sectors of the tourism industry, including airlines, hotels, villa rentals, and attractions. Franklin oversaw the Caves of Barbados’ transition from a state-owned enterprise to a private-public partnership with Chukka, serving as the cave’s CEO.
Franklin, a University of the West Indies graduate in Tourism Management, holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Leicester and a master’s degree in Project Management and Evaluation.
Her contract is set for a three-year term, starting April 2024. Among her primary responsibilities will be developing business planning processes for Barbados, driving sustainable economic growth, and effectively addressing the government’s policy objectives through tourism. Her role also involves advising the government on tourism-related issues, developing strategies to increase tourism value for Barbados, and leading BTMI in achieving its corporate objectives.
Carter’s return from London to Bridgetown as the BTMI’s number two is part of the ministry’s policy for succession planning and operational streamlining, Gooding-Edghill told journalists.
“[She] will manage the operational functions of the organisation to facilitate the streamlining of skills and core functions so that the CEO could focus on the strategic direction of the new entity. [She] will also be responsible for the leadership and performance of all external markets,” he explained.
Carter was tapped to lead the BTMI global market’s office with the departure of then interim chief executive Petra Roach from the role. She was the agency’s vice president for 13 years until she was appointed to oversee the BTMI’s marketing efforts in Britain, the island’s main source market, in 2014. Roach went on to lead the Grenada Tourism Authority.
The tourism minister said: “These appointments of CEO and COO for the BTMI should be seen as one part of my ministry’s policy to be responsive to the dynamic needs of the tourism sector by taking strategic steps to refresh, reposition, redirect and renew how we do business.”
The goal of this strategic policy, Gooding-Edghill noted, was growth that spreads beyond the tourism industry.
“It’s not only by growing arrival numbers, but it’s also increasing the spend on the island because increased spend on the island will redound to those stakeholders who were in the sector and by extension to government,” the minister said.
“So the objective is to make sure that we achieve growth in numbers but more importantly, financial terms . . . . We ensure we maintain air connectivity to Barbados and that we grow our base with the airline and get as many [of them] as possible to come to Barbados . . . and that we basically maintain a product in Barbados; one that can meet the demands and also compete with our competitors.”
(RG)
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