St. Lucia Business Focus 91 by AMS St. Lucia

Issue No. 91

Comes to Saint Lucia www.businessfocusstlucia.com

May/Jun 2017

C&W Business Solutions Future-Proofing the Caribbean Tourism Sector with Winning Technology More than 750 hotels across the Caribbean, including many world-famous brands, are powered by Cable & Wireless Business Solutions technology, to deliver their own distinct hospitality services to their customers. C&W showcased its award-winning technology to more than 900 hoteliers at the recently held Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association’s annual Marketplace (CTM) in The Bahamas. The annual event is one of the region’s largest and most significant Hotel and Tourism marketing conferences. The Company provides end-to-end full IP networks, fixed and mobile telephony technologies and IPTV/Hotel TV services complete

with compelling programming. These solutions enable CHTA members and hospitality clients to pursue new revenue opportunities, reduce costs and enhance their guests' overall hotel experience. “Most of our markets depend on tourism to drive their economies,” said Garry Sinclair, President C&W Caribbean. He added, “as such we C & W Business invest in world-leading business solutions technology that enables the hotel and tourism sector to provide products and services that are on par with international standards, meets customers’ changing life-style needs and enhances their visitor experience. This ultimately attracts more business to the region.” CHTA members – including top

chains like Bahia Principe Hotels and Resorts, Couples Resorts, Super Clubs Collection of Hotels and Resorts, The Crane Resort and Residence, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, Le Meriden, Royalton, Marriot, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Hilton and Sandals among others – are clients of C&W Business Solutions. The delivery of services through C&W Business solutions results in happier guests and greater value for CHTA members and hospitality clients. C&W Business Solutions is a Platinum partner of the CHTA and will be hosting stakeholder sessions at the CHTA’s upcoming Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum “CHIEF” and Taste of the Caribbean, set to take place in Miami between June 2nd and 4th.

C & W Business

Leader in Hospitality Technology & Solutions

â&#x20AC;&#x153;connecting your guests to an unstoppable experienceâ&#x20AC;?

No. 91

MAY/JUN 2017

CONTENTS FEATURE 32. Royalton Comes To Saint Lucia 34. Welcome To Royalton Saint Lucia 36. What Makes Royalton Saint Lucia World Class? 38. Diamond Club - A New Level Of Luxury Service 40. Hideaway At Royalton - An Adults’ Luxury Vacation 42. Royalton Kids’ Clubs - A Vacation Haven 44. Corporate Philosophy 46. Congratulations And Welcome From The Saint Lucia Hotel And Tourism Association 48. Setting New Standards For The Hospitality Industry 50. Purpose Built For Major Events And Conferences 52. Grand Opening - A Message 54. Building A New Cadre Of Hospitality Professionals 56. Meet The Team 60. Who We Are & What We Do

4. 6.

Editor’s Note Business Briefs

8. Get Rid Of Your Executive Committee! 10. Snapshot of Transformational Leadership

Money Matters

Youth In Focus

16. 18. 20. 24.

Card Fraud: What To Look Out For And How To Prevent It Generic Business Systems Revisited Financial Investment And Consultancy Services Limited Celebrating 25 Years Millennial Investors: Female-focused Digital Advice Is Needed

78. 78. 79.

26. 28.

NAGICO Opens New Building & Appoints New General Manager Blue Waters On A New Course In Social & Educational Initiatives

Economy & Trade 66. Cost Cutting When The Chips Are Down 68. TEPA’s First Specialty Expo Showcased OECS Talent

Tourism 70. 71. 72. 72. 73.

Saint Lucia To Welcome Mega Cruise Ships This Year World Bank Fund Development Of Tourism Infrastructure St. Lucia Hotel & Tourism Association Upgrading To Tri Farm Online Portal Task Force To Make Recommendations On LIAT People And Partnership Needed To Keep Caribbean Competitive, Says CHTA Head

Must Reads Business Tech 12. 14.

C&W’s Garry Sinclair Showcased Flow Lend App At ICT Symposium Digicel Partners With ZTE To Expand 4G Lte Networks

74. It’s Not an Easy Road

Environmental Focus 75. 75. 76.

UK Funds GeoThermal Energy Project Promising Zika Vaccine Moves To Next Phase of Huma Trials Diving To Greener Heights Dive Saint Lucia Is World’s LEED Platinum PADI School

Junior Achievement Directors Meet With The Patron Saint Lucian Students Benefit From The Sandals Overseas Internship Programme CIBC FirstCaribbean Maintains Partnership With UWI

80. Alternative Security - Excellence, Integrity and Excellence

In The Know 82. Three Signs Your Brand Image Is Hurting Your Business 84. The Life Of An Entrepreneur Is Not Plain Sailing Sir Richard Branson’s Tips For Never Giving Up 86. Harris Paints Introduces New Brand For Professionals 87. Suicide: Do Caribbean Businesses Have A Responsibility For Prevention 88. The Client/Lawyer Relationship 89. Travel Saint Lucia: A Millennial’s Playbook 90. Saint Lucia looks for ‘100 Men Who Give A Damn’

Health & Wellness 92. 94. 96.

Healthy Eating on a Budget Ozone Therapy ... A new Treatment Now available in St Lucia Sacred Workspace

97. Events 98. Major Moves 102. Advertisers Index 103. NEW COMPANY REGISTRATIONS

A Warm Welcome to the Royalton Resort! Tourism Investments Set to Drive Economic Activity. In today’s Caribbean environment, the competition to attract major investments in our island economies is fierce. With the economic challenges being experienced in the first world, this has compounded the problem for us, where we are forced to give more concessions to investors to confirm their investment in Saint Lucia. Government is also caught between attracting new investment and being challenged to protect our patrimony and symbols of national pride. We have been fortunate to have attracted a significant investor like the Sunwing Group from Canada investing more than US$200 million with the construction of their Luxury Royalton Resort comprising some 446 rooms and now being the largest single hotel operating on the hotel. Their investment has generated several hundreds of construction jobs and the employment of several hundreds of our people to work on the property.

Lokesh Singh Editor / Managing Director

We warmly welcome the Royalton Resort and look forward to their growth and success with the personal development of the hundreds of Saint Lucians employed at the property. The Government has recently announced several other hotel investment and development projects which are expected to come on stream with our regional Caribbean brand – the Sandals Group constructing their Over the Water Suites at the Sandals Grande and soon embarking on construction of the new six star, 350-room Sandals LaSource Saint Lucia Resort. Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart needs to be commended for his confidence and continued significant investments in the Saint Lucian economy. The DSH Mega Project earmarked for Vieux Fort to include horse racing track and stables, hotel and casino will be transformational with major positive impact on the people and Southern landscape providing we can find common ground between the developers and the community. Other approved projects scheduled for construction are The Fairmont Hotel project in Choiseul, additional rooms at the Coconut Bay Hotel in Vieux Fort. In addition the Apple Leisure Group are in discussions for a hotel project at Canelles in Vieux Fort and Government is currently in negotiations with Range Developments for a Ritz-Carlton Resort in Vieux Fort and re-launch of other dormant projects.

BUSINESSFOCUS Business Focus magazine is published every two months by Advertising & Marketing Services Limited (AMS), Saint Lucia. Editor / Managing Director: Lokesh Singh - lokesh@amsstlucia.com Editorial Assistant: Dee Lundy-Charles

Editor’s Note

Graphic Designer: Tannel George | Carlisle Searles Advertising Sales: Cennette Flavien - cennette@amsstlucia.com Cleopatra Jules - cleopatra@amsstlucia.com Webmaster: Advertising & Marketing Services Photography: Ashley Anzie | Royalton St. Lucia | Jamaica Observer Trinidad Guardian | Invest Saint Lucia Caribbean News Now | Caribbean Business Report Contributors: Lokesh Singh | Dee Lundy-Charles | Dr Chris Bart Oliver Bottois | Brian Ramsey | Kezia Preville Lyndell Halliday | Trudy O Glasgow | Hanna Fitz Dr Basil Springer | Samantha Turner-Girard Dr. Tanya Destang-Beaubrun | Jamaica Observer Caribbean News Now | St. Lucia Times Caribbean Business Report | The Gleaner St. Lucia News Online | Caribbean 360 Editorial, Advertising, Design & Production: Advertising & Marketing Services P.O. Box 2003, Castries, Saint Lucia Tel: (758) 453-1149; Fax: (758) 453-1290 email: ams@candw.lc www.amsstlucia.com, www.stluciafocus.com Business Focus welcomes contributions from professionals or writers in specialized fields or areas of interest. Reproduction of any material contained herein without written approval, constitutes a violation of copyright. Business Focus reserves the right to determine the content of the publication.

Finally, the redevelopment of Port Castries to accommodate Mega Ships and Pointe Seraphine will bring significant benefits to the commercial community and other tourism stakeholders. We welcome these initiatives which augur well for re-energising the local economy and positioning tourism as the leading and vibrant economic sector we need it to be.

Happy reading!!! On The Cover: Royal St. Lucia Resort

BusinessFocus May/Jun

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Issue date: November, 2016

BusinessFocus

May/Jun

Business Briefs

BUSINESS BRIEFS Taiwanese Ambassador Reassures Banana Industry Of Continued Support The Third Stakeholder Project Completion and Evaluation Workshop of the Saint Lucia-Taiwan Black Sigatoka Management Project was held at Orchid Centre, Union Propagation Station on March 29, 2017. At the ceremony, His Excellency Douglas Shen, Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Saint Lucia, gave assurance that his government would continue supporting efforts to revitalize the banana industry in Saint Lucia. Ambassador Shen said, “Last week, on behalf of the Government of Republic of China (Taiwan), I handed over the Aquaculture Project, to the Government of Saint Lucia, which made Saint Lucia the leading aquaculture country in the Eastern Caribbean region. Today, I am more than happy to witness again another successful completion of our bilateral agricultural cooperation project, Banana Black Sigatoka Management Project (BSMP).” Ambassador Shen noted that the project has not only effectively controlled the banana disease, but has already doubled the growth in the export of Saint Lucia’s bananas. The successful implementation of the BSMP programme has become a WTO case study, currently serving as a model for international agriculture cooperation. John Calixte, Permanent Secretary in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, Natural Resources and Co-operatives, spoke on behalf of the Minister for Agriculture, Honourable Ezechiel Joseph, and expressed that the Government of Saint Lucia was pleased with the positive impact of the BSMP project in controlling and managing the black sigatoka disease. He stated further that the project created the platform for farmers and other industry stakeholders to focus on the recovery and revitalization of the banana industry, with emphasis on increasing farm yields and productivity levels. Attending the workshop were representatives of producer organisations, exporters and supporting agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Cooperatives. Participants overwhelmingly expressed their appreciation of the project, and called on the governments of Saint Lucia and Taiwan to continue their support for the agricultural sector, given the undeniable impact such investments have on employment and rural economy in particular. BusinessFocus May/Jun

Interest In CIP Starting To Pick-Up As Changes To Regulations Take Effect The Chief Executive Officer of the Citizenship by Investment Programme Cindy McClean has provided details of the performance of the programme, noting growing interest since changes to the regulations were announced. Five significant changes were made to the regulations of the CIP, making it more competitive. Among them was the lowering of the qualifying investment in the National Economic Fund to $100,000. The cap of 500 applications per year was also removed along with other requirements that were considered inconvenient to applicants.

Payment can be made by notes, coin, credit or debit card, visa or MasterCard, tokens or a pay-by-phone system. Members of the public can expect more sensitization on the installation of the parking devices, as the Office of the Mayor will undertake a comprehensive public education drive in the coming months. The Mayor of Castries, His Lordship Peterson D. Francis, says the new terminals are more about managing limited parking spaces. The parking terminals should arrive by July of this year.

USAID funds support networks in Saint Lucia to reduce crime

However the regulations relating to due diligence were not changed. Ms. Cindy McClean reported that to date the Citizenship by Investment Unit had received a total of 35 applications from 11 individuals. Three had been denied and 14 are pending. Eighteen applications had been accepted resulting in 57 individuals The United States Agency for International becoming citizens of St. Lucia via the CIP. Development (USAID) funded Community, Family and Youth Resilience (CFYR) program Applications came from the Middle-east, supports family networks, communities, Russia, Asia and the rest of the world. service providers and government agencies to implement successful approaches to After a slow start the CIP Unit has received reduce crime and violence and increase indication of increased activity and is opportunities for youth in St. Lucia, St. responding by hiring more staff. Kitts and Nevis and Guyana.

Parking Meters Coming to Castries in July 2017

Pay-By-License-Plate Parking Terminals are coming to the City of Castries soon. The Terminals will be installed in the William Peter Boulevard and on various streets in the city.

The program will use community crime and violence prevention plans that strengthen data-driven observatories to conduct hotspot crime and violence mapping, adapt a public health approach to reducing violence, connect the community to service providers to support at-risk youth, and build linkages with the private sector to support youth employment. CFYR is preparing to implement key activities in areas of Castries Central, Dennery, Soufriere, Anse-La-Raye and Vieux Fort, following approval from the Government of St. Lucia to work in these communities. Activities will commence with a baseline survey during the period March to April 2017 and continue with consultations aimed at establishing community and violence prevention committees.

GK Insurance (EC) launches in Saint Lucia

The official launch of the Grace Kennedy Financial Group insurance brand, GK Insurance (EC) Ltd. through agents, EC Global Insurance Agency. The partnership with Grace Kennedy began with the inception of EC Global Insurance Company just shy of fourteen years ago. In August 2014, the majority shareholding interest in EC Global Insurance Company was divested to Grace Kennedy. Subsequent to this, the EC Global Insurance Agency was established to support the provision of a “one stop shop” for customers across the banking and insurance service industries. Over the years, EC Global established a firm footing in the local insurance market, with a reputation characterized by innovative policies such as the soon to be relaunched Angel Advantage Policy. According to General Manager of GK Insurance Ltd, Andrew Leo-Rhynie, “GK Insurance is honoured to celebrate this partnership milestone with EC Global. We have made a home in St. Lucia. GK Insurance (EC) will continue to ensure that our clients know that they are with an insurance company they can trust and their matters are in good hands with their best interest at heart.” GK Insurance Limited is a leading insurer in Jamaica and the region. The launch in St. Lucia represents a key component of the planned growth across the Eastern Caribbean. Locations in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Antigua are expected to be operational in 2017. Agency Manager for EC Global Insurance Agency, the official agents for GK Insurance (EC) Ltd., Anne Marie Herman expressed thanks for the continued support from the GK family over the years and looked forward to the exciting new chapters ahead particularly for its valued customers. Grace Kennedy was recently honoured as one of the most successful local businesses in Jamaican history, celebrating a milestone 95th Anniversary. The global consumer group offers financial services including banking, money services and insurance; and food products across the globe.

Minister Applauds Saint Lucia Labour Code Review

PANCAP Global Fund Committee Elects Leaders

The Minister for Infrastructure, Ports, Energy and Labour, Hon. Stephenson King, said recently that any activity that improves the working environment must be applauded and pursued.

The regional coordinating mechanism for the new global fund project of the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), elected Hon. Nicolette Henry, and Prof. J. Peter Figueroa as the new Chair and Vice Chair respectively.

The minister was speaking against the backdrop of a legislative review of Saint Lucia’s Labour Code. He said workers’ contributions are extremely valuable and should not be seen as a mere “cog in the machinery of production,” and that workers should not only have fair pay, but also fair treatment. Furthermore, he decried the myopic view that being occupied for pay gives meaning to one’s existence. “This, I believe, is far from the truth and is unacceptable. This in itself betrays a subtle disregard for the unfortunate reality of many in society who labour at jobs with little motivation, meagre compensation and sub-standard working conditions, to an extent that is a violation of occupational health and safety standards.” The Labour Minister said there must be balance, in that while there are expectations of employers, employees too, have their responsibilities to uphold. “In the current environment, our employers are facing increased pressure from the competition, from the demands of consumers, and often times from a workforce that can be unwilling to corporate, a workforce that is low on the skills set required for the task, yet even lower in the soft skills that are vital requisites especially in our socially challenging environment.” Minister King went on to acknowledge the input of the International Labour Organization, in the formulation of Saint Lucia’s Labour Code. The recent legislative review of the code focused on the terms and conditions of continued employment, payment of wages and overtime, sick leave and sickness benefits, vacation leave, occupational safety and health, and hazardous substances, among others.

The new Chair, Hon. Nicolette Henry, Minister within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Guyana, expressed appreciation and committed to an inclusive approach. She invited members to contribute to the work of the body, and thanked the former Vice Chair, Professor Donald Simeon, for excellent leadership and guidance during his tenure. Minister Henry has over 20 years of experience providing technical guidance and support required for the planning, implementation, and strengthening of HIV public health programs. She served as a Program Development and Public Health Specialist (HIV Prevention) for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Global AIDs Program, Guyana. Minister Henry is a Ph.D. candidate in Public Health and is the holder of a Masters of Public Health and a degree in Pharmacy. The new Vice Chair, Professor J. Peter Figueroa, is a professor of Public Health, Epidemiology, and HIV and AIDS at The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, where he has developed a doctorate program in public health. He was formerly the Chief Medical Officer at the Ministry of Health of Jamaica and for many years the Chief Epidemiologist and Director of the National HIV/STI program in Jamaica. He is also a scientific secretary on the Caribbean Health Research Council and the former Chair of the Priority Areas Coordinating Committee (PACC) and Vice Chair of the Executive Board of PANCAP.

BusinessFocus

May/Jun

Get Rid Of Your Executive

Get Rid Of Your Executive Committee! By: Dr Chris Bart - Chairman, The Caribbean Governance Training Institute Do you have an executive committee (EC) operating within your current board structure? If the answer is yes, then here’s a tough question for you: Why? There’s no question that executive committees are still popular among boards for their supposed many advantages they bring to an organization’s governance model. In fact, at one time, they were widely used among publicly listed corporate boards, being found in almost 60% of such organizations. However, they have in recent times fallen largely into disuse as a governance mechanism and their presence today in the corporate world is barely noticeable at 4%. So what happened to them? Why have most boards abandoned them? And why do some boards, particularly in the noncorporate sector, still cling to them? For the record, boards establish committees (such as the audit, governance, and human resources committees), to carry out specific work and activities on behalf of the full board which the board itself would have to do if the committee did not exist. The rationale for setting up an executive committee is, in principle, no different. However, that’s where the similarity ends. Executive committees are different in that the reason for having one is most often to make up for what are ‘perceived BusinessFocus May/Jun

deficiencies’ in the Board itself. For instance, once a board gets beyond a team of 17 directors, it becomes extremely difficult to bring them all together on short notice in between regularly scheduled meetings. An EC therefore is typically established so that it can deal with important and urgent matters that can’t wait for resolution until the next board meeting. In carrying out their function, they are usually granted extraordinary decision making power that commits the entire board to whatever course of action they have approved during the times they meet. Another reason often cited for having an executive committee is that CEOs like having a small group of directors for testing their preliminary ideas before formally presenting them to whole board. Having such conversations with a large board can easily be perceived as inefficient, quickly becoming unwieldy and thereby waste valuable board time that has been scheduled to make decisions and not navel gaze with the CEO. It’s potentially career limiting. So the executive committee represents a safe harbor for CEOs to pilot their initial thinking and assess their potential for board support before bringing them to the full suite of directors for review and approval. And then there’s the whole matter of who’s going to evaluate the CEO. Setting

his or her performance evaluation criteria, conducting the actual evaluation, and awarding compensation is one of the toughest activities of the board and one in which CEOs take the results personally!

Dr. Chris Bart, FCPA is a recognized global governance authority and CoFounder of the Caribbean Governance Training Institute in Saint Lucia. The Institute is the first to offer throughout the Caribbean, an intensive, 3 day governance programme leading to the prestigious and internationally recognized Chartered Director (C.Dir.) designation. For more information visit www. caribbeangovernancetraininginstitute. com or phone Lisa at 758 451 2500 www.oecsbusinessfocus.com

Accordingly, carrying out this monumental responsibility is considered to be best done by a small group of directors – an executive committee - who are charged with becoming highly familiar with the CEO’s leadership of the organization. Additionally, because of their unique mandate, members of the EC are often granted the privilege of withholding both their evaluation and compensation recommendations from the rest of the board because “the other guys just wouldn’t understand given their distance from the CEO.” (Honestly, I’m not making this up!) Finally, boards do not want to spend their time on trivial, inconsequential or inappropriate matters that are best left to others (i.e. management) to decide. Executive committees therefore are often asked to set and approve the agendas of board meetings to make sure that only the right items are coming to the board for its consideration. The composition of most executive committees also sets them apart from your normal, everyday run-of-the-mill board committees. Most ECs are populated exclusively with those board members already serving in a leadership capacity: the current, past and presumptive board chairs as well as the chairs of the major board committees. It is not unusual find 3 to 7 such persons on an EC. As such, they are an elite group who sacrifice a lot in terms of taking on major responsibilities over and above their other leadership roles. So with all this going for them, why have executive committees fallen into disfavor and why should you get rid of yours….or at least rein it in? First of all, if you have one because ‘you’ve heard it’s the thing to do’ or ‘that others are doing it’ and so you’ve set one up in order to appear “with it”, think again. In the world of governance, one size does not fit all and just because other organizations have an executive committee, that is no reason for you to blindly follow the heard. Boards need to ask themselves why they need to have an executive committee in the first place and most importantly, whether they still need one in today’s current governance environment. After dealing with this fundamental question, a modern 21st century board needs to confront and acknowledge the many problems that having an executive

committee creates for them. At the top of the list is board disengagement. With a “super board” operating inside the full board, it becomes very easy for the “ordinary directors” to feel that their status is diminished (relative to the elite members of the EC) and that their contributions are reserved only for the incidental, inconsequential and ceremonial decisions. Ironically, this in turn may cause the non EC directors to request fewer meetings of the full board. Yet the fiduciary responsibility and personal liability of the non EC directors is not lessened because of their reduced involvement. In fact, due to their disengagement, they may be setting themselves up for tremendous liability consequences if the decisions of the executive committee later go bad. And why should an executive committee be charged with the tremendous responsibility for making important decisions – decisions that commit the entire board - just because it’s difficult to bring all the directors together. Of course, if the problem is having too large a board, an easy fix is to shrink the board in order to more easily accommodate and coordinate director schedules. But that is not always possible if certain “board membership criteria” need to be met and balanced (e.g. geographic, gender, professional criteria etc.). Nevertheless, for the really big decisions, all board members need to be involved and participating. There is absolutely no excuse for excluding any of the directors when such matters arise especially when technology exists today to enable any director to “be present” no matter how far away they may be. It is also difficult to accept the argument that the CEO needs a smaller subset of the board with whom to pre-consult his ideas. That’s what a modern Board Chair’s job is supposed to be and that responsibility should be clearly laid out for both the chair and the CEO. And because nothing the CEO discloses to the board chair should be treated as confidential, the chair should keep notes of his meetings with the CEO so that the board has some sense as to the nature and content of all meetings that their chair has with their number one employee. It is also the job of the chair to set the board agenda with the input, not only from the CEO, but all other directors. There simply is no good reason why this responsibility should be turned into an elite committee’s jurisdiction.

performance criteria with as many hard (versus soft discretionary) measures as possible – at least 75 percent. When such measures are in place, it becomes relatively easy and objective to measure a CEO’s performance and to dole out its corresponding rewards. The 25 percent discretionary portion can then be handled by either averaging out the CEO’s rating among the directors or assigned to the board’s ‘leadership members’ (i.e. those who would have worked most closely with him) as a one-time annual activity. But what is really important, is for there to be full disclosure to the entire board as to the method and outcome of the CEO’s performance evaluation. All board members need to be able to understand and explain how the compensation of their CEO was established and why it is justified. Otherwise, it creates mystery and mistrust among those board members who feel excluded from such an important board governance decision. Bottom line, most of the work that some think requires the creation - or continuation - of an executive committee should in fact be done by the entire board itself. Nevertheless, if you still believe you need one to deal with “certain types of decisions”, those decisions should be ones that would not upset the ‘other’ board members who have been excluded. Moreover, the decisions should be clearly specified in the charter or mandate of the executive committee so that its members do not overstep their role or decision making authority. So here’s the big, uncomfortable question for Caribbean directors: to what extent do you and your fellow board members think you still need an executive committee, or need to create one? If you think that there is room for improvement in the way your board manages this controversial governance function (and others like it), you might want to consider sending them to one of the corporate governance training programs currently available in the region – like the extraordinarily unique 3 day Chartered Director Program (“C. Dir.”) currently being offered by The Caribbean Governance Training Institute. After all, it’s not education which is expensive, but rather ignorance. ¤

Lastly, when it comes to evaluating the performance of the CEO, the entire board should be involved in establishing his BusinessFocus

May/Jun

LEADERS

CORNER

Snapshot of Transformational Leadership

Snapshot of Transformational Leadership By: Olivier Bottois Transformational leaders know that to achieve their vision, they have to take small steps towards success. Surrounded by growing competition in their market segment they know that to gain market share and to create guest loyalty, service is the key; and the key to great service, is the people. They know that their customers value exceptional experiences and the most superior service and to get that, they need to be treating their employees the way they expect them to treat their customers. Transformational leaders are role models that inspire and raise loyalty across the organization by sharing their vision and “walking the talk”. Transformational leaders believe in creating an environment that will give their employees a sense of purpose and meaning to their job, so that the job does not just represent their paycheck. Creating a company culture for their employees to believe and work towards to, the idea that if they treat people well, the way they would like to be treated, but also trust them, they will do the same in return. At my company I witnessed this passion in our employees over the years and was able to witness service levels very consistent even at times that I was away and trusting them to do their job without me. Also very low employee turnover had a lot to do with the work culture that we cultivated. Our leadership team valued the employees and the team deserved credit for always believing that employees are the key aspect in a successful organization. Judging from the fact that our employees were all treated fairly well we knew that our company was able to make our external guests feel the same if not even better. Transformational leaders understand that to be effective, earning respect from the employees is the way to make them work for them. Everyone buys in, not by the power of their title but by the respect that they earn.

BusinessFocus May/Jun

I also believe in giving employees opportunities to be involved and prove themselves and that is where they will work harder to provide excellent service to guests. It takes years to develop a strong corporate culture in any organization, and the key is the commitment through good and bad times not to change. We demonstrate such values more forcefully through bad times, and it shows that we are willing to stand on values and beliefs. Before accepting a new career opportunity make sure that you will identity yourself as part of the culture. Assess the employees’ level of energy, commitment to support their leader, enthusiasm and sense of belonging. Check the company culture and evidence of positive leadership influence, creating a work environment that you will embrace and will excite you.¤

Olivier Bottois is a third generation French Hotelier with luxury hotel experience in six countries. Bottois is a Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts and Leading Hotels of the World alumni, who led some iconic hotels and resorts in the US, Canada and the Caribbean. He is the founder and Director of Lussoria Hospitality, A Management and Marketing company specializing in independent boutique properties’ asset value enhancement.

FOR ALL YOUR CATERING NEEDS! Goddard Catering

After successfully operating as the official Caterer for Cricket World Cup 2007, Goddard Catering Group saw the need to raise the bar on catering services throughout the region. This led to the birth of GCG Events in October of 2008. GCG Events is an affiliated company of Goddard Catering Group and a member of the Goddard Enterprises Group of Companies. Our vision is to become the premier catering company in the region by providing culinary experiences that consistently meet and exceed customer expectations. To achieve this GCG Events has invested in a state of the art facility, an internationally trained team of event experts, and ingredients that meet our exacting standards. From conception to completion, our experienced team will help you turn your dream event into a reality. GCG Events is committed to make each and every event, “Simply Outstanding” At GCG Events we are dedicated to making you the perfect host. We strive to make every catered event, distinguished, blissful and stress-free. Our high standards, supreme service and exceptional quality will make your event a flawless, unforgettable experience.

• • • • • • •

WEDDINGS CONFERENCES BANQUETS OFFICE PARTIES SOCIAL GATHERINGS COCKTAIL PARTIES OTHER EVENTS

GCG Events is delighted to assist brides, grooms and their families with the menu planning for that signiﬁcant day of their dreams. From grand and lavish to intimate and informal, we can make your special day something you and your guests will always remember. Your employees and guests will surely appreciate your catering choice whilst consuming each delightful bite of their lunch, canapé or breakfast. Choose one of our menus or allow our chef to create a personalized menu for you that matches your vision and theme. Our team will make sure everything runs smoothly to ensure you and your guests have an unforgettable time.

Hewanorra Int’l Airport | P.O. Box 363 Vieux Fort, St. Lucia, W.I. +1.758.459.6400 Ext: 6429 | +1.758.728.9400

uvf.gcg-events@goddardcatering.com www.gcg-events.com BusinessFocus May/Jun | 11

BUSINESS TECH

Flow Lend App ShowcaseD At ICT Symposium

C&W’s Garry Sinclair Showcased Flow Lend App At ICT Symposium

At the recently held Caribbean Telecommunications Union ICT Week & Symposium held on March 20 - 24 in Antigua, C&W’s Caribbean President, Garry Sinclair delivered an interactive presentation, during which he showcased the company’s newest award-winning, customer-focused app Flow Lend - to more than 100 delegates. He also seized the opportunity to provide an update on his company, highlighting the fact that C&W is now a part of the world’s largest broadband and entertainment company, Liberty Global. Sinclair said that C&W is in transition on its way to becoming Cable and Wireless President, Caribbean, Garry Sinclair the best telecoms company in the region. He also stated, “We addresses delegates at the CTU’s ICT Symposium are refocusing, and will continue to put the customer at the heart of what we do. We will leverage the size and scale of our About C&W Communications parent company, develop more innovative apps, products and C&W is a full service communications and entertainment services that provide anytime, anywhere connectivity to give our provider, delivering market-leading video, broadband, telephony customers more flexibility and convenience to suit their lifestyle and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its needs. In addition, we will continue to make investments and business division, C&W provides data centre hosting, domestic improvements in our network.” and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and Flow Lend provides credit advance at ‘zero interest and no fees’ government customers. to loyal prepaid mobile customers, keeping them connected until their next top up - even when they are out of cash. The app C&W also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fibre network addresses a real need, particularly for prepaid customers who the most extensive in the region. don’t use credit cards, and usually rely on in-store cash top ups. Learn more at www.cwc.com. In his presentation, the Caribbean President shared a testimonial of how this latest technology has enhanced and transformed customers’ lives. This new, convenient option has gotten a About Liberty Global resounding endorsement from customers, and won the Mondato Liberty Global is the world’s largest international TV and Innovation Award for Digital Finance and Commerce (DFC) in broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. We invest in the December 2016. infrastructure that empowers our customers to make the most of The ICT Symposium was held under the theme “ICT - Driving 21st the digital revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation Century Intelligent Services” and highlighted topics such as ICT- enable us to develop market-leading products, delivered through Enabled Financial Solutions; Financing Operations for ICT-enabled next generation networks that connect our 25 million customers, Development; Security Matters and 21st Century Financial who subscribe to over 50 million television, broadband internet Services for all. Government officials and telecommunications and telephony services. We also serve over 10 million mobile executives from over 20 countries throughout the Caribbean subscribers and offer WiFi service across 5 million access points. attended the week long event, which is the largest gathering of ICT and Telecommunication Executives in the region.

Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Information, Broadcasting, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Hon. Melford Nicholas expressed his delight that Antigua was host country. The activities during ICT week also included the 34th Executive Council Statutory Meeting and the 15th Caribbean Ministerial Strategic ICT Seminar. The ICT Week Symposium presented another unique opportunity to showcase the practical and user-friendly customer focused solutions developed by Flow that demonstrates its commitment to connecting communities and transforming lives. BusinessFocus May/Jun

The Liberty Global Group operates in 11 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC, and also owns 50% of VodafoneZiggo, a Dutch joint venture. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Más Móvil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a sub-sea fibre network throughout the region in over 30 markets. For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com.¤ Courtesy: www.nasdaq.com

Bank of Saint Lucia

BusinessFocus

May/Jun

BUSINESS TECH

Digicel Partners With ZTE To Expand 4G Lte Networks Digicel Partners With ZTE To Expand 4G Lte Networks

Deploying ZTE’s world-class 4G LTE solutions will see Digicel delivering the highest-performance mobile broadband services to all its customers across the region. ZTE’s innovative 4G LTE solutions including Uni-RAN will help Digicel upgrade and optimize its infrastructure as part of an ongoing network transformation program, providing subscribers with superior mobile internet connectivity and coverage. ZTE Uni-RAN solutions will support network evolution at Digicel by enabling deployment of nextgeneration digital services and business innovations. Deployed by mobile carriers around the world, ZTE’s UniRAN solution increases the network operation efficiency by prolonging the life-cycle of devices through network upgrades and smooth evolution. Based on ZTE’s SDR (Software Defined Radio) technology, Uni-RAN protects operators’ investment and dramatically reduces network costs and increases the stability and reliability of network operation. On March 29th, Digicel announced an agreement with ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ), a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the mobile internet, to expand its 4G LTE networks across its 26 markets in the Caribbean and Central America.

Digicel recently announced its Digicel 2030 global transformation program promising customers a completely new communications and entertainment experience made possible by a more agile, customer-centric application of resources and investment. ¤

Digicel Awarded Contract To Fix Guyana’s 911 Emergency Phone Call System Digicel Awarded Contract To Fix Guyana’s 911 Emergency Phone Call System

“Digicel won the contract for purposes of getting the equipment to be installed in Brickdam, and I think the arrangements have already been made with the PS (Permanent Secretary) for the monies to be given to them to get the equipment in,” the minister was quoted by the Government Information Agency (GINA) as saying. Ramjattan pointed out that once the equipment arrives in Guyana, both the 912 and 913 emergency lines will be merged with the 911 number to have one cohesive emergency calling system. Some $250M was allocated in budget 2017 for the setting up of the 911 phone lines. It was announced recently by Minister of State Joseph Harmon that Digicel was awarded a $27M contract for the installation of the ‘911’ emergency service. Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, said that the 911 emergency telephone line in Guyana is one step closer to being fixed. The Minister noted that clearance has been given to Digicel (Guyana) Limited to ship the equipment needed to have the 911 system back up and running. BusinessFocus May/Jun

Government hopes that the intervention will resolve many of the problems experienced by persons attempting to use to ‘911’ system emergency line.¤ Courtesy: www.demerarawaves.com

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MONEY MATTERS

Card Fraud: What To Look Out For And How To Prevent It The evolution of technology has enabled countless perks for daily life practices, including the handiness of paying with debit or credit cards as opposed to carrying cash. Although many people prefer having cards due to its convenience, paying with these To has proven Card Fraud: What Look to be risky. A study by the Nilson Report revealed that card fraud rates have been incrementally rising throughout the last few years, with a staggering U.S. $31.67 billion worldwide fraud loss projected by the year 2020. While the U.S. and European countries usually top the list each year, the latest ACI Worldwide Global Consumer Fraud Survey reveals Mexico and Brazil lead the way as the top two countries with most credit card fraud reported in 2016 with 56% and 49%, respectively. Moreover, countries in the Caribbean have seen this type of fraud flare up as of recently due to the high influx of tourists, to the extent that the United States Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security listed credit card fraud and cybersecurity breaches as an issue to take into consideration when travelling to Jamaica. It’s important to note that although both credit and debit cards are similar in appearance and usage, they differ greatly in a crucial way. Debit cards are tied directly to bank accounts, meaning that if fraud does occur, this money will be gone immediately and customers will have to wait for the bank to issue their money back. How And Where Fraud Happens Hackers use a variety of techniques to commit fraud while the victims remain oblivious. Credit cards are generally associated to system hacks like stolen database information from merchants, while debit cards are usually linked to point of sale (POS) attacks, with groceries, restaurants and ATMs being the most commonly related to physical paying endpoints. Skimming is one of the most widely used techniques that threaten debit cards’ security as it’s a discreet method. The most common skim happens at stores where clerks or waiters run a card through a card reader device that copies the information from the magnetic strip. Once the thief has the credit or debit card data, he/she downloads it to a PC and burns the data to a gift card or a blank ‘white card.’ Thieves also use a skimming technique known as ‘electronic funds transfer at points of sale’ or EFTPOS skimming, where POS are replaced with a skimming device to copy the data in the cards. Top Five Places Credit & Debit Cards Are Defrauded Gas Stations Skimmers often pose as fuel pump technicians, using a set of master keys to access terminals and the wires that connect the key pad and card reader, with a device that reads unencrypted card data. World Wide Web Online shopping on fraudulent sites can lead to security breaches. Outdoor ATMs Criminals place a card reader device in an ATM and hide it so it looks as if it is part of the machine. The device obtains data remotely through Bluetooth, while hidden cameras are placed in inconspicuous areas to extract the victim’s pin number. Restaurants Maintaining visibility of waiters when paying for meals is essential as customers seldom see when their credit/debit cards are being swiped and charged. BusinessFocus May/Jun

Public Computers and Wi-Fi Hotspots The use of public computers and networks can risk unwanted collection of sensitive data as most of these are unsecured.

Out For And How To Prevent It Why Is Card Fraud On The Rise?

People tend to use debit cards freely, without realising the vulnerability of the information every time they swipe it somewhere. People who excessively use their debit cards to earn usage points redeemable for rewards may, in fact, be compromising their chequing account information at any given swipe. Tourism is another great opportunity for criminals, as thousands of foreign tourists come to the Caribbean islands and other vacation hotspots, willing to spend money on their short visit, often losing focus on the transaction being made. What Are Banks Doing To Secure Your Sensitive Data? Most banks and financial institutions have enabled zero-liability protection against customers who experience fraud, and have adapted to the changing threat landscape of card fraud. For instance, retailers and POS need to have Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance in order to accept credit card payments, which include controls for ensuring that customers’ card data is kept secure throughout the transaction process, and also protect cardholder data during online or telephone payments. Another notable advancement in credit/debit card security is the Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) standard that equips cards with computer chips and the technology to authenticate chip-card transactions. Unlike magnetic strip cards, which contain unchanging data, the cards with these chips create a unique transaction code that cannot be used again.

What Can Business Owners Do To Be Safe? With the large number of businesses in the retail sector, especially in tourist destinations, retailers must remain competitive and up-to-date on the latest security measures. Offering the most secure transactions, and ensuring all the following measures are implemented, will make merchants and businesses more attractive to customers, as they will feel safer when making transactions: • Provide safe hi-speed Internet access across the store’s physical space. • Adhere to PCI security standards. • Properly store customer’s necessary information. • Use protected equipment throughout the store, including employees’ mobile devices. What To Do When It Happens To You If you are the victim of card fraud, the first thing to do is to monitor accounts and watch out for any unauthorised charges. Reporting suspicious activity to the bank as soon as possible can prevent any further damage to your finances. Consumer education remains a key part of the strategy to protect cardholder account information. Understanding the difference between credit and debit cards can prevent users from using them blindly, while knowing the potential risks and common fraud techniques can make people alert of their actions and hopefully prevent fraud from happening. Educate and protect yourself from card fraud!¤ Courtesy: www.loopslu.com

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It’s All About You

Stop, think and connect, is the message officials from the Prices and Consumer Affairs Division sent out to the general public ahead of World Consumer Rights Day in March. Celebrated under the themeFor ‘Building a Digital World Consumers more information contact any can Trust’, the annual globalRBC event provides opportunity to promote the basic rights Royal Bankanbranch at 457-6300 of all Log consumers, demanding that those rights are respected and on to rbc.com/caribbean protected. BusinessFocus

May/Jun

Generic Business Systems Revisted

By Dr Basil Springer

Over the last few years, in particular, I have been refining my thoughts on the emergence of the 5M Shepherding concept (Model, Management, Mindset, Mentoring and Money) as necessary and sufficient for sustainable success.

Then, the Corporate Governance system constitutes the Structure, the Investment Finance system forms the Security, the Marketing system gives Life, the Operations system results in Growth, and the People Development system permits Sustainability.

In this process, the ManOBiz™ (the management of business systems) Matrix has evolved as a Shepherding tool to facilitate the development of a private sector business or a public sector department on the journey to sustainable success.

The next steps, will be to reveal, first of all what is involved in the five management (planning, organizing, staffing, leadership and monitoring) functions and secondly how these business systems, one business system at a time, may contribute to sustainable success.

I therefore wish to update readers on the results of this evolutionary process beginning with the inspiration for the business systems approach which embodies the five business systems – Corporate Governance, Investment Finance, Marketing, Operations and People Development. The human body is God-made. Not only has the under-five global human mortality rate reached 4.6 percent in 2013 and is still declining, but the human body is very robust as manifested by the way it bounces back in spite of the way it is sometimes treated.

It has been my experience that this new generic perspective helps in the management development process. God has shown us the human systems that are endemic to the development of robust human beings. Let us learn from his eternal power and divine nature to create business systems that can reduce the failure rate of start-up businesses from 90 percent, in the first five years, and create a movement from chaos to order.¤

What can we learn from the 12 successful systems of the human body – www.innerbody.com – against which to pattern a similar model for the systems of a business? The skeleton (1) and the muscles (2) constitute the Structure. The skin/hair/nails (3) and the immune system (4) form the Security. The nervous system (5), directed by the brain, the cardiovascular system (6), the respiratory system (7) and the endocrine system (8) combine to give Life to the body. The digestive system (9) feeds the body and together with the urinary system (10) eliminates waste. Jointly they result in the Growth of the human body. The Male (11) and Female (12) reproductive systems work together to produce offspring. This permits the sustainability of mankind. As we have transitioned in the above human system synthesis of the design of the robust human body, a simple logical sequential pattern has been revealed: Structure → Security → Life → Growth → Sustainability. Let us match this sequential human body system pattern to the systems of a private sector business or a public sector department. BusinessFocus May/Jun

Dr. Basil Springer GCM is a Change-Engine Consultant, Caribbean Business Enterprise Trust Inc. (CBET). His email address is basilgf57@gmail.com and his columns may be found at www.cbetmodel.org and www.nothingbeatsbusiness.com.

Fast Cash

BusinessFocus

May/Jun

FINANCIAL INVESTMENT AND CONSULTANCY SERVICES LIMITED

ES LIMITED BusinessFocus

May/Jun

By: Wendy Theophilus - Managing Director

Financial Investment And Consultancy Services Limited Celebrating 25 Years

BusinessFocus May/Jun

Financial Investment and Consultancy Services (FICS) Limited is a family-owned non-banking financial institution that was founded by Hon. George Theophilus, SLC, CBE, FIBA, who served as Deputy Managing Director of the East Caribbean Currency Authority in St Kitts from 1975 to 1981 and Managing Director/Chairman of St Lucia Development Bank from 1981 to 1991, and Chairman/Director of the National Commercial Bank of Saint Lucia (currently known as Bank of Saint Lucia) from 1981 to 1991. Hon George Theophilus has a distinguished record of public and private sector service having served on a number of boards for the past 25 years both locally and regionally. Hon Theophilus currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of FICS Limited. His wife, Mrs J Lusca Theophilus (deceased), former Dean of the Division of Teacher Education and Educational Administration of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, was a co-founder of the institution and served as Company Secretary/ Director. Hon George Theophilus and Mrs Lusca Theophilus have two children, Wendy Theophilus and Lorne Theophilus, who are also shareholders and directors in the family business. Ms Wendy Theophilus currently holds the position of Managing Director of FICS and Mr Lorne Theophilus is the Senior Solicitor/Director of the company. The institution started operation in 1992 with a staff complement of three (3) members and a directorship of two Board Members. To date, FICS has a complement of 38 staff members and two executive Directors. The Board has a complement of 10 directors. There are currently 35 shareholders, locally and regionally.

Financial Investment and Consultancy Services (FICS) Limited is a non-bank financial intermediary which specializes in investment services, loans and consultancy services amongst a range of other diverse services. It was incorporated in November 1991 and opened its doors to the public on February 24, 1992 in premises situated at Mongiraud Street, and with a share capital or an asset base of $140,000. The current asset base of the company is approximately $190.5 million. The Official Opening of FICS’s Headquarters currently located on #15 Bridge Street, Castries was on Tuesday, December 1, 2009. The “Home of FICS” is a three storey building whose construction was managed by Mr Cromwell Goodridge, Project Manager/ Civil and Structural Engineer/Consultant from Goodridge and Associates and designed by Mr Augustin Poyotte and Mr Jeremiah Phulchere from Edge Architecture Inc. FICS occupies the Ground and First Floors. Lorne Theophilus’ Chambers occupies part of the First Floor and Credit and Real Estate Development Limited (CARED), our subsidiary, occupies the Second Floor. The building cost of the structure was approximately $5 million and financed wholly by FICS.

The Mission of FICS is to:

• broaden the range of financial services and choices available to the St Lucian public • offer financial advisory and consultancy services to the public • pursue the interest of its shareholders while endeavoring to provide services at reasonable and affordable cost to the public • encourage St Lucians to be discriminating and discerning in their investment, use and deployment of their savings • serve as a good and responsible corporate citizen participating in efforts towards youth development and the alleviation of social ills in the society.

The operations of FICS are governed by the Banking Act of 2015, the ECCB Agreement of 1983, the Companies Act of 1996: The institution is regulated by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB). FICS is also annually licensed by the ECCB.

Some of FICS’ highlights over the 25-year period include: 1992 1992 2006 2009 2010 2011

FICS opened its doors to the public on February 24, with an asset base of $140K and a complement of 2 staff members. Commenced the Bernadette Theophilus and Lusca Theophilus Scholarships. FICS relocated to its Financial Home at #15 Bridge Street, Castries. Conversion from the manual system to Core Director, an automated banking software system Member of the Bankers Association Member of the St Lucia Chamber of Commerce St Lucia Business Awards (St Lucia Chamber of Commerce)

2012 2013 2014

• Business of the Year • Exporter of the Year • Corporate Leadership Member of St Lucia Employers Federation Celebrated 20th Anniversary at the Royal St Lucian Hotel Activated the subsidiary, Credit and Real Estate Development in October 2013. Managed by Nigel Theophilus, nephew of the Founder. Complement of 9 staff members. Lorne Theophilus Chambers with a complement of five staff members incorporated into the executive structure of the institution. Opened the Rodney Bay Branch at the Providence Commercial Centre in November 2014 with Mrs Venetia Salton at the helm. The branch has a complement of 6 staff members. Member of Caribbean Association of Bankers.

Chairman and Founder of FICS received a Lifetime

Achievement Award from the St Lucia Chamber of Commerce. Launched the 3% Cash Secured Loan product.

2015 2016

Instituted the Peter Joseph Scholarship at the Babonneau Secondary School. Launched the Back to School and Christmas Loan products. Sponsored the Reigning National Carnival Queen BusinessFocus

May/Jun

FINANCIAL SUITE OF PRODUCTS FICS offers the following range of financial and investment instruments to the public including: • • • •

Fixed Deposit FICS Growth Fund Senior Citizens Investment Plan Senior Citizens Monthly Interest Investment Plan

Fixed Deposits are available for a one-year period at attractive rates depending upon the amount of the investment. The FICS Growth Fund guarantees the public annually rising rates of interest up to a period of five (5) years. Customers can earn very attractive rates depending upon the amount they have invested in the fund and are free to withdraw their interest income annually. FICS takes care of the elderly by encouraging them to invest in the Senior Citizens Investment Plan (SCIP) which offers a higher interest rate. The Senior Citizens Monthly Interest Investment Plan (SCIP Monthly) pays clients interest on their investments monthly. The Special Deposit facility is designed to facilitate those clients whose needs cannot be accommodated by FICS’ existing investment facilities. Interest rates are negotiable. The Education and Housing Investment Plan (EHIP) is the ideal gift for children who intend to pursue further studies and persons who are desirous of saving for the purchase or construction of their own home.

• • • • • • • • • •

Special Deposits Educational and Housing Investment Plan Supplementary Pension Programme FICS Housing Assistance Programme Refinancing and Consolidation Loans Professional Loans Equity Financing 3% Cash Secured Loans Back to School Loans Christmas Loans

Repairs and Renovation Loans are made available to homeowners to improve the condition of their property. Mortgage Loans are long term facilities made to allow persons to purchase property (house and land or land only) or to construct a home. Personal Loans are relatively small consumer loans granted to individuals for their own personal use or to purchase consumer items. Hospitalization Loans are made available to cover the expenses associated with obtaining health care at Tapion Hospital. Refinancing and Consolidation Loans are made available to persons who wish to eliminate multiple loans at several institutions, and replace them with one loan with a lower monthly installment. Professional Loans are made available to professionals (lawyers, doctors, accountants) who wish to improve the quality of the products and services they offer to the public. Equity Financing Loans are facilities that allow a client who already has a loan to borrow additional funds up to the amount that has already been repaid. 3% Cash Secured Loans are intended to reduce the cost of credit to clients with accumulated savings which could be used to secure loans.

The Supplementary Pension Programme, a tax-exempt facility, is offered for the benefit of citizens and residents of St Lucia. Modest contributions over a ten or fifteen year period will generate a lump sum payment upon maturity and help to supplement one’s savings and pension.

Back-to-School Loans are made available for parents to purchase books and educational supplies for their children.

The FICS Housing Assistance Programme is a five-year taxexempt investment programme which responds to the housing needs of first-time home buyers. FICS also offers the following loan facilities: • Repair and Renovation Loans • Mortgage Loans • Personal Loans • Hospitalization Loans

For further information on these superior loan and investment facilities, visit the offices on Bridge Street, Castries and the Providence Commercial Centre, Rodney Bay, Gros Islet or our website: www.ficsltd.com or call 458-8700 or 458-8740.

BusinessFocus May/Jun

Christmas Loans are made available for persons to get through the holiday crunch.

Office Hours: Monday to Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

A CLOSER LOOK WITH BUSINESS FOCUS

When was FICS formed?

FICS was incorporated in November 1991 and opened its doors to the public on February 24, 1992.

How many staff were employed then compared to now?

FICS commenced with a complement of 3 staff members. Today, we have a team of 38 staff members.

Does the company have a vision or mission statement?

How has the company contributed to corporate social responsibility?

FICS is a sound, financially strong and technically efficient business, that is: • highly diversified in the financial services it offers to the public; • competitive in pricing its financial services; • dynamic in its responses to changes in the financial and economic environment; • and responsive to the social needs and concerns of Saint Lucians.

What was the business strategy behind the creation of FICS?

• By providing scholarships to students who have performed well in CXC exams from the Choiseul Secondary and Babonneau Secondary schools and who are desirous of pursuing tertiary education at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College or Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School Campus A. • By donating funds to homes for the elderly and for sports meets, cultural and community events, pageants, graduation ceremonies etc. • By hosting Customer Appreciation Day at least twice a year, as a means of saying thank you to all of our customers who have supported and patronized us throughout the years.

What are the upcoming projects or changes the company is expected to undertake?

• We are considering adding other services to our financial suite of products. ¤

• To broaden the range of financial services and choices available to the Saint Lucian consumer; • To offer financial advisory and consultancy services to the public; • To provide services at reasonable and affordable cost; • To encourage Saint Lucians to be discriminating and discerning in the investment, use and deployment of their savings; • To serve as a good and responsible corporate citizen by participating in efforts towards youth development.

What are the main areas of focus for the institution? • Investments • Consultancy services • Loans

How does FICS differ from other financial institutions?

• FICS offers a wider suite of financial products. • FICS does not offer credit- or debit card services, chequing accounts, letter of credit facilities, savings accounts, etc.

How has the institution impacted the local economy and financial landscape?

• FICS is an indigenous and local company which aims to provide financial services to our customers to meet their financial needs. • Our initiatives have been copied by most, if not all, other financial institutions which we welcome as healthy competition. As a result, there is a more diverse range of products on offer to the general public from the financial sector. • We provide the funds needed for families and businesses to meet their day-to-day commitments. • We provide a secure haven to save and deposit surplus cash.

Home of F.I.C.S

MONEY MATTERS

Millennial Investors: Female-focused Digital Advice Is Needed Millennial Investors: Female-focused Digital Advice Is Needed

What Investment-Savvy Caribbean Women Can Learn From Global Trends

financial well-being of my demographic group, and our access to quality financial services. One such challenge is trust. As tech-savvy as female millennials typically are, there is still a disconnect between trusting the raw output of an algorithm and tying those numbers to life goals. Many robo advisers focus on making it simple, lack the capability of relating how investing impacts various life goals and events, the things that actually matter to the investors and what they can actually care about and can relate to. Additionally, BlackRock Investing reports that millennial women report overall lower interest in robo advice than men (45% to 72%). The number one reason? A belief that they don’t have enough money to seriously invest! This is counter-intuitive and problematic given that the mission of robo advisers is exactly to remove the minimum required to invest.

While we don’t think it’s intentional that millennial women are overlooked by the financial services industry, the reality is that they are. A recent survey by Stash indicated some of the reasons why 85% of millennial women don’t invest. One of the most common answers is that 76% of respondents find investing confusing or inaccessible, which could be due to educational bias. With 33% of wealth held by women now, and 67% expected to be in female hands by 2020, how can advisers attract and assist millennial women? Let’s start with the unique characteristics and needs of this generation. Millennial women are the most concerned with paying off debt, and they are more focused on growing wealth than their parents, but less than male peers. They also have less confidence in their financial future, which can be attributed to a clear understanding of the gender pay gap. While we didn’t see efforts that specifically target female millennial investors at large wealth management firms, many RIA and IBD practitioners, both male and female, are taking note and benefiting from adopting the preferred way of engagement of this target group. ROBO IMPACT With the rise of automated investment services over the past few years, some of these, such as ElleVest and WorthFM, focus specifically on the female market. The female-oriented robo advisers design their messaging, content and user experience in ways that are more relatable to female millennials, but they appear to face challenges to effectively gain AUM. How can robo advisers attract users more effectively is a problem for which I have a keen interest and passion, as I care about the BusinessFocus May/Jun

There’s prudence in setting aside a rainy day fund, but it seems among female investors, a lack of confidence is driving that habit too. This is why, despite the challenges of user acquisition models at female-focused robos, I admire them, as well as advisers that help women. These services have a positive social impact: boosting the self-esteem of women by helping us taking the first step in financial confidence. NOT JUST STATS As an adviser, it is therefore important to take preference and style into account when working with women on investing. Women like to tell our stories and connect on a personal level. We value facts and numbers, but many of us are also great at expressing our feelings and concerns, remember details, read body language and define success as being more than just hitting a number. Traditionally, it’s expected that when couples come for advice, the husband takes a dominant role. But many advisers say that the aha moment comes when the wife feels empowered. It’s worth paying more attention to the women, as the Department of Health and Human Services has reported 70% of client assets leaves the adviser when the male spouse passes. Serving a young female investor is not necessarily about the gender of the adviser, but more so the connection she has with her adviser. It might take it longer to win the trust of a female client, especially millennial female clients, but once you win their trust, they often are the most loyal and are the best referrers. So this year, find the way to diversify your customer base. Use technology tools and ways of engagement that can paint not just performance stats for millennial women, but also understand their life story and unique challenges, and build not just portfolios and financial plans but deeper trust and confidence. ¤ Courtesy: Financial-Planning.com

ST. LUCIA TORONTO AID ACTION GROUP & CONSULATE SUPPORT FIGHT AGAINST BREAST CANCER

Windward & Leewards Brewery Ltd

(L To R) – Cheryl Francis – Consul General, Delores Fletcher – Chairwoman STAAG, Natalie Wilson – Owner, High Heals Diaries The St. Lucia Toronto Aid Action Group has put together its Calendar of Events for 2017. Whilst the members continue to propose and work on ambitious projects, this year they will concentrate on hosting a workshop for women, with the emphasis on Breast Cancer. STAAG is hoping to advocate for the awareness and early detection of Breast Cancer, and the intent is to engage Caribbean women in the diaspora to take notice of the opportunity to become pro-active, to become inclusive and learn a bit more at this workshop, as a means of empowering themselves in the battle against Breast Cancer. All women are invited, but the hope is that Caribbean women in Toronto will attend in great numbers at a date to be announced in the summer. In keeping up with that project, STAAG has sought the assistance of personnel at the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. In March, on the same day the Canadian Cancer Society and the Foundation merged, the Group made a donation to the Foundation of the funds raised at a spontaneous event held under the good graces of St. Lucia’s songbird, Derede Williams. Derede, a popular and well-loved entertainer who always donates of her talent for a great cause, was the sponsor of “An Evening with Derede”, because she just happened to be in Toronto at the invitation of friends of Canada Cares. With some free time and a few phone calls, a heart tugging event became a successful fundraiser for Breast Cancer. The members were beaming with pride as they were accompanied by first ever female Consul General, Mrs. Cheryl Francis, who has embraced her position with energy and grace. STAAG Chairperson, Mrs. Delores Fletcher, has been quoted as saying that she is very encouraged by the measure of interest and effort exhibited by our Consul, who has indicated that she is going to do her best to accommodate all St. Lucians whilst serving at the Consulate. ¤ Courtesy: stluciaconsulate.ca BusinessFocus

May/Jun

Opens New Building & Appoints New General Manager

NAGICO St. Lucia Limited officially opened their new building in April, attracting scores of intermediaries, clients and major players in the insurance industry. The launch was intentionally timed to commemorate NAGICO’s fifth anniversary in Saint Lucia, and the company’s thirty-fifth year of existence. In an elegant setting of brand new, modern architecture, Chairman of the NAGICO Group, Mr. Imran McSood Amjad, said that the erection of the building signifies that NAGICO is setting down roots in Saint Lucia, and will not only continue to be the number one general insurer there, but also part of the community.

Executive Chairman Imran McSood Amjad addresses attendees.

“We could have been like other insurers and operated only through an agent or broker, and yes it would have been cheaper, but we want to show you that we are committed to our staff, we are committed to our agents and brokers, and most of all we are committed to our clients whom we have pledged to give exceptional service,” stated Mr. McSood Amjad. “This building signifies permanence; it gives us a face in Saint Lucia; it provides a surety to our clients, that in the event they have an issue, they have somewhere to go and people who will be accountable to them.” Mr. Dwayne Elgin, CEO of NAGICO, used the opportunity to thank the hardworking team in Saint Lucia for their dedication, which has led to NAGICO St. Lucia being named the number one General Insurer two years in a row. “When we started in Saint Lucia, there were nearly a dozen other insurance companies, many who have been around longer than us, but because of the hard work of our staff and the tireless efforts of our intermediaries, we were named number one, and that could not have been possible without our Saint Lucia team.”

Mrs. Rena Amjad, wife of Executive Chairman Mr. Imran McSood Amjad cuts the ribbon to officially declare the new building open.

BusinessFocus May/Jun

(L to R) CEO Dwayne Elgin, Executive Chairman Mr. Imran McSood Amjad and Mrs. Amjad and guests at the official opening

During the ceremony, the newly appointed General Manager, Ms. Adele Jn Baptiste, asked for their continued support and pledged hers in return. She recognised three of NAGICO St. Lucia’s longstanding clients, and presented them with a token of appreciation. Ms. Jn Baptiste, in collaboration with the Chairman and CEO, also made two ‘Always There’ monetary donations, one to a 24 year-old cancer patient called Kisha Theophile, and another to the St. Lucia Alzheimer’s & Dementia Association.

We are truly regional! NAGICO’s numbers tell the story for themselves:

NAGICO Insurances: Fast, Fair and Always There • 35 Years • 22 Territories • 1 Company • USD $230 Million in Assets • US $95 Million in Equity Our headquarters was established in 1982 in St Maarten, where we have operated as the No. 1 General Insurer for more than 10 consecutive years. Since then, NAGICO has established offices in the Caribbean, as far north as the Bahamas to as far south as Trinidad and Tobago. NAGICO offers an umbrella of insurance solutions, including Motor, Property, Marine and Medical. We remain ready, willing and able to serve on our mission to become the most trusted insurance company in the region.

Executive Chairman Imran McSood Amjad, Mrs. Amjad, new General Manager Ms. Adele Jn Baptiste & CEO Dwayne Elgin

We are financially strong, secure and stable, rated by the international agency for the insurance industry, A.M. Best, and backed by the world’s top reinsurance companies such as Munich Re, PeakRe, Swiss Re, Lloyds, Hannover Re and others. Executive Chairman of the NAGICO Group, Imran McSood Amjad, is supported by a team of experienced chartered Executive Board members, and highly-qualified staff throughout the region. Our reinsurance structure and record of annual filing with Financial Services Regulatory Authority is unquestionable. NAGICO maintains a conservative comprehensive reinsurance program to protect earnings, surplus and policy holders by only exposing less than 10% of our consolidated capital and surplus. Our statement of compliance, financials and annual reports are readily available to the public at www.nagico.com.

When It Matters

By the time Hurricane Luis made landfall in 1995, NAGICO had been in existence for thirteen years, and had already expanded into Anguilla, Antigua, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica and Montserrat. Five other storms would hit St. Maarten and the surrounding islands in the 1990s, wreaking unimaginable destruction. Combined, NAGICO paid out in excess of USD200,000,000.

We can also attest to our reputation for being ‘Fast, Fair and Always There,’ when hot on the heels of Hurricane Erika in 2015, numerous claim payouts were made, alongside assistance from our neighboring branches, who donated $75,000 in relief funds and started an internal fund to assist restoration efforts nationwide. Our longstanding commitment to community, culture and sports can be seen in various drives and projects launched across NAGICO territories. NAGICO opened our doors to the St. Lucian public in 2011 and since then we have been proud to serve as the No. 1 General Insurer on island. Being a reasonably new induction into the Saint Lucian market, the public can expect both support and protection for years to come. For further information, visit us at the NAGICO Building, Reduit, Gros Islet, log onto our website www.nagico.com or contact us via telephone at (758) 458-2300/ 2306 / 2307. We also have agents to serve you: Triple A Insurance Agency, Prestige Insurance Agency Ltd., Apex Insurance Agency Ltd., Combined Insurance Services Ltd. and Chester Simaie. ¤

BusinessFocus

May/Jun

NAGICO’s new Office Complex at Reduit, Gros Islet.

Blue Waters On A New Course In Social & Educational Initiatives Blue Waters On A New Course In Social &

Educational Initiatives More than a year ago after Business Focus Featured Ramon Esper and the story of Blue Waters in Saint Lucia, the company stands ready to give back to the community even more now than in its ﬁrst three years. Blue Waters quickly became a household name from 2013 after the opening of its bottling plant facility in Massade, gros-islet. This year Mr. Esper has continued to improve the bottling facility with state of the art equipment, looking to increase production to better serve the growing clientel, complete with a newly colourful, re-energized logo. Business Focus recently sat down with Aida Azaire, Blue Waters' brand new Brand Coordinator, who was full of exciting plans, and Keitha Chiquot, who has been HR Manager since the company opened its doors in 2014, to ﬁnd out what has changed over the past year, and what Saint Lucian consumers can look forward to in 2017.

New Sizes, More Value Since the Blue Waters bottling plant came on stream in 2016, its status as a local manufacturer has enhanced the company's ability to react faster to ﬂuctuating demand and the changing habits of Saint Lucian consumers. Staying well-hydrated is recommended by nutritionists as crucial for health and comfort, so Blue Waters has introduced new sizes which oﬀer the consumer more value for their money. The handy 410ml and 710ml sizes are 10% to 15% larger than other brands, and Aida reports that happy customers have responded well to the initiative.

BusinessFocus May/Jun

Under the umbrella of Blue Waters come other products like zesty, refreshing Cranwater and LLB, everyone's ﬁzzy favourite Ting and nutritious Giant Malt, both of which are made in St Kitts, and Disney Malt, healthier for kids, and packed with vitamins and minerals.

Giving Back

Health Benefits of Drinking Blue Waters

Although a recent recruit to the Blue Waters' team, Aida is quick to list the ways in which social responsibility is intrinsic to the company's mission. This year will see an increase in support for community projects, sports events and school outreach, pushing an agenda of health, youth issues and conservation. “In 2017, the main focus for Blue Waters is developing social programs, providing sponsorship and ensuring we do our part to contribute to the upkeep of the environment through clean up campaigns. Blue Waters will continue to work towards creating a better Saint Lucia by focusing on the areas of arts & culture, education, sports, youth development and empowerment.”

Guaranteed Good

Although it's a simple and well-known rule that eight glasses of water a day is good for general health, everyone knows someone who simply doesn't like to drink the clear, pure stuﬀ of life. Blue Waters is pure, pH-balanced and sodium free, so drinking the amount recommended by the experts has untold health beneﬁts. 1. Increases Energy & Relieves Fatigue 2. Promotes Weight Loss 3. Flushes Out Toxins 4. Improves Skin Complexion 5. Maintains Regularity 6. Boosts Immune System 7. Natural Headache Remedy 8. Prevents Cramps & Sprains 9. Puts You In A Good Mood

Blue Waters

"Blue Waters remains committed to delivering products of the highest Quality and Food Safety standards. We are certiﬁed by the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and NSF International which are the hallmarks of Quality and Food Safety for bottled water. "Furthermore, we subject ourselves to weekly quality analyses on random samples taken and by tested CARIRI. Our multi-stage water puriﬁcation process produces water free of contaminants and surpassing international standards." 100% Local

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BusinessFocus Follow us @bluewatersslu

May/Jun

In today’s world and climate, security should no longer be viewed as an afterthought, nor is the role of the security officer. The greatest trigger in the evolution of the security officer’s role lies in the alignment between security and business objectives. Security is no longer just about patrolling halls and slapping wrists. Rather, it is about enabling business. This is clearly understood and adhered to by our team at SecureWorld. Our professional security officers buy in to the core values and corporate culture of the company or property for which they serve. We train them to understand how their role will affect that business’ bottom line and what they can do to ensure that the property that they serve is successful.

SecuretoWorld When you hire SecureWorld become your business partner. We commit to Excellence in:

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Hotel Security Alarm Response Armed & Unarmed Security K9 Ofﬁcers Investigations Residential Security Body Guard Services Property Patrols VIP Executive Protection Campus Security Custom Tailored Services Reduce your risk and liability Always being available

One Team. One Goal. Your Success Mardini Building 1st Floor Rodney Bay, Gros Islet St. Lucia, West Indies

Phone: 758.458.4411 Fax: 758.458.4147 info@secureworldcorp.com

COVER

SPECIAL FEATURE

Royalton Comes To Saint Lucia

Royalton Comes To Saint Lucia It was with lightning speed that Saint Lucia’s latest resort went from an unfamiliar newcomer in 2016, to the name on everyone’s lips in 2017, but since the opening of the Royalton Saint Lucia at Smuggler’s Cove in March, it is clearly destined to make a significant contribution to the island’s tourism product. The US$250 million, 456-room resort is the most recent “new generation luxury hotel’ in the Royalton portfolio, an addition that promises to enhance their reputation for BusinessFocus May/Jun

providing the best all-inclusive vacations in the world’s most popular tropical destinations. Royalton Saint Lucia brings the concept of All-In Luxury® to the Southern Caribbean for the first time, welcoming every guest with a unique experience by combining the spirit of the Saint Lucian community with a luxury product that features exceptional service and incredible attention to detail.

Whether you are on a solitary getaway, a boisterous family vacation or a romantic tropical tryst, prepare to be captivated by Royalton’s beautiful surroundings, welcomed by our friendly team of professionals and offered an experience never to be forgotten.

Lush green hills protect the horseshoe-shaped beach, and Royalton’s signature “stylishly tropical” architecture, jawdropping pool scapes and soothing tropical ambiance, come together to create a charming, sophisticated and uniquely Saint Lucian experience.

Each Royalton property is set in an idyllic location of stunning natural beauty, and Royalton & Hideaway Saint Lucia is no exception. The sheltered bay on Saint Lucia’s northeast coast has been the location of a hotel for more than forty years, during which it has undergone various reinventions.

Royalton Saint Lucia promises every guest their individual ‘paradise found,’ while they relax, refresh and rejuvenate on an upscale, elegant, unforgettable All-In Luxury® vacation.

BusinessFocus

May/Jun

Welcome To Royalton Saint Lucia

Welcome To Royalton Saint Lucia A Royalton Luxury Resort guest is looking for a no-detail-overlooked holiday complete with exceptional services and amenities. Anyone travelling with family, alone or seeking a couple’s retreat, will find that Royalton can fit their needs with All-in Luxury®, All-in Connectivity™ and a wide variety of extras for guests to choose their best kind of vacation. From splash pads and kid’s clubs, to couples’ only areas, the Royalton brand promises the right setting for guests looking to relax and unwind, or enjoy a vibrant and lively resort atmosphere.

BusinessFocus May/Jun

The Cap Estate resort caters to every guest’s needs, featuring three distinct products. The 290 rooms of the Royalton All-In Luxury® concept offers an upscale, family friendly vacation with world class amenities, while Hideaway provides a 166-room, adults only oasis. Across the board, Diamond Club™ offers an even higher level of service, including access to exclusive pool, beach and dining areas.

With modern facilities, efficient, friendly staff, a great selection of restaurants and bars, and the gorgeous backdrop of Saint Lucia, Royalton Luxury Resorts can stand behind their promise of “an unforgettable All-In Luxury® escape” for travelers of all ages, and the team stands ready to thousands of visitors from around the world to our shores.

BusinessFocus

May/Jun

What Makes Royalton Saint Lucia World Class?

What Makes Royalton Saint Lucia World Class? Well, perhaps the 290 suites of All-In Luxury®, which feature a private balcony or terrace, elegant soaker tub and rainhead shower, the exclusive DreamBed™ dressed in high thread count sheets, and a pillow menu to ensure the perfect sleep. How about 24-hour concierge and room service, a well-stocked mini-bar, coffee/tea maker, ironing facilities and a personal safe in every beautifully appointed room? Or Royalton’s All-In Connectivity™ with fully-loaded tech details like complimentary Wi-Fi service resort

BusinessFocus May/Jun

wide for all devices, USB recharge stations, Bluetooth audio speakers and satellite television with specialist stations? Royalton Saint Lucia offers every modern luxury and then some.

Relax, Recharge, Renew at The Royal Spa In-Suite Wellness | Elements are interwoven into the guest experience at Royalton Saint Lucia, and they are not confined to The Royal Spa. By focusing on four areas of fitness, a visit to The Royal Spa becomes a natural extension of the guest experience.

A World of Dining. Unlimited. Reservation-Free. Food, glorious food is only the beginning at Royalton Saint Luciaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exciting restaurants. Gourmet Marche | International Cuisine Discover the freshest local ingredients and enjoy a wide selection local and international flavors, also offering fresh fruit juices, a special kids buffet area and healthy options. Hunter | Authentic Steakhouse A grand steakhouse experience. Watch chefs in the open kitchen as they perfectly prepare your steak. Grazie | Italian Trattoria Italian comfort food in an authentic setting with a traditional menu make this the perfect place for families to enjoy delicious home-style cooking.

Calypso | West Indies Cuisine Taste the culinary treasures of the West Indies at this stylish, modern restaurant with artfully-prepared Caribbean dishes. Zen | Teppanyaki Be amazed by the flavour and technique of masterful teppanyaki chefs as your meal happens right before your eyes. Dorado | Seafood & Grill** Watch the day break over the ocean or relax in the cool evening ambiance of this elevated beachfront restaurant whose light fare includes fresh seafood, garden salads and healthy smoothies. **Exclusively for Hideaway guests.

Score Sports Bar and Lounge | Pub & Grill Savour an ever-changing menu of grilled specialties in a casual atmosphere where the game is always on. BusinessFocus

May/Jun

Diamond Club - A New Level Of Luxury Service

Diamond Club - A New Level Of Luxury Service Upgrade to Diamond Club™, a preferential package of premium quality services to enhance Royalton Saint Lucia’s All-In Luxury® experience even further. A premium level of service featuring exclusive á la carte restaurants and bar areas, private pool and beach areas for sole use of Diamond Club™ guests.

• Preferred room locations

• Personalized check-in and check-out

• Butler service

• Hors d‘oeuvres and snacks including decadent desserts in the Diamond Club™ Lounge

• Selection of in-suite liquors

• Upgraded room service menu

• Preferential reservations in à la carte restaurants • Exclusive Diamond Club™ beach area with waiter service

BusinessFocus May/Jun

• Selection of pillows from The Royal Spa pillow menu • Discounts on spa treatments and beauty services

• Distinctive wrist bracelet

Royalton Saint Lucia Diamond Clubâ&#x201E;¢ Butlers BusinessFocus

May/Jun

Hideaway At Royalton - An Adults’ Luxury Vacation

Hideaway At Royalton - An Adults’ Luxury Vacation Experience All-In Luxury® at Hideaway, on an adults’ only vacation like no other. Discover Hideaway at Royalton Saint Lucia, a luxurious adults’ only vacation escape, catering to travelers over 18 years of age, with the preferential accommodations of a kids-free paradise, as well as access to Royalton Saint Lucia’s restaurants, bars, activities and health & wellness facilities.

BusinessFocus May/Jun

Savour gourmet cuisine, sip artfully prepared cocktails and enjoy the impossibly blue ocean, doing as much or as little as you desire. Delight in the freedom of spontaneity with the perfect mix of daytime water sports, fitness programs and yoga on the beach, through to poolside mixology classes, and unforgettable champagne toasts at sunset, and evenings filled with world-class dining and incomparable entertainment.

Few beaches rival the white sand and clear, calm ocean of the hotel’s location at Smuggler’s Cove. Unwind in preferential accommodations where suites feature aromatherapy to greet you, a spacious Jacuzzi tub for two, and Royalton’s trademarked premium DreamBeds™.

• In Room Aromatherapy • Custom Hideaway beach bag • Upgraded room service menu • Private beach area and exclusive infinity pool with dedicated waiter service

Hideaway guests are promised elevated privacy and an enhanced quality of service with extra luxuries that include:

• Afternoon hors d’oeuvres served poolside

• Concierge service

• Lens cleaning service

• Personalized check-in and check-out

• Beach or poolside Shiatsu/Thai massage

• Fresh cold towels & water spritzers

BusinessFocus

May/Jun

Royalton Kids’ Clubs - A Vacation Haven

Royalton Kids’ Clubs - A Vacation Haven Make new friends at Royalton Saint Lucia! With special facilities for children and parents in addition to

Adventures Kids Club

a great selection of age-appropriate activities, supervised

Give your kids an adventure in paradise with our innovative

by our team of professionals, will keep your children busy

Kids’ Adventures program. Designed for a range of ages,

and entertained throughout your stay at this all-inclusive

these supervised programs make educational activities the

resort. Kids are invited to enjoy the splash pool by day and

backdrop for memorable experiences in an environment

live performances at the open-air theatre by night, with

that is casual, fun and safe.

non-motorized sports like snorkelling and kayaking always popular for all ages.

Hangout Teens Club

There’s something for every child at Royalton Saint Lucia.

The perfect haven for 13 to 17-year-olds, Hangout Teens Club at Royalton Saint Lucia features non-stop activities

Clubhouse Kids Club

and games with PlayStation lounges, All-in Connectivity™

Children ages 4 to 12 can socialize with others their own age while interacting with our newest guests, the beloved on-screen characters, Max & Ruby™. Younger kids can

featuring free high-speed Wi Fi to keep the family connected, billiards, ping pong tables and plenty of safe, supervised outdoor fun that’s more age appropriate!

have an active afternoon discovering the safely designed playground or spend quiet time indoors watching cartoons and playing games.

Get outside and enjoy some fun in the sun! Have your children interact with others their age in a variety of sports

MAX & RUBY™

and activities, including beach volleyball, ping pong, cooking

Give the whole family an experience to remember, when your little ones see their favourite bunny siblings, Max & Ruby, right in front of them! Enjoy live appearances and themed activities with the loveable and adventurous pair. BusinessFocus May/Jun

Sports and Recreational Activities

classes, dance classes, trivia competitions, aquatic sports, aerobics classes, and weight-training with professional instruction.

Paints Plus

Paints Plus Limited, local exclusive distributors for Trowel Plastics Barbados Ltd would like to congratulate Royalton Luxury Resorts on their recent opening of the Royalton Saint Lucia Resort and Spa.

commitment to research and development ensures the durability of the product, allowing Trowel Plastics to offer the very best in textured coatings. Trowel Plastics quality is re-known, unmatched and its standard of excellence are unsurpassed.

Royalton chose to use our Premium Quality TP natural textured wall finishes in 3.0mm and 1.0mm, which provided a high quality textured finish to the exterior walls of the resort. We are elated that Paints Plus has successfully brought our clients’ vision to life and are proud to be associated with this prestigious world class project. Trowel Plastics has a range of decorative and protective textured products and finishes, all specially formulated to beautify and protect walls of all specifications. The company’s # 3 Mercury Court, Choc Commercial Park P.O. Box 12 • Castries, St. Lucia

Paints Plus Limited and Trowel Plastics Barbados Ltd wish the Management and staff of Royalton St. Lucia Resort and Spa all the best. We welcome you to our shores, and trust that your investment will be mutually bountiful for you and the people of St. Lucia! Paints Plus…..“We supply and apply”. Call us at 452-4049 for your next project and our sales team will be happy to provide you with an evaluation and quotation. Paints Plus “Your one stop paint shop” Tel: 758 452-4049/4026 Fax: 758 452-4029

E-mail paintsplus@candw.lc BusinessFocus Apr/May | 43 Web: www.paintsplusslu.com

Our Vision and Values

Corporate Philosophy

The success of Blue Diamond Resorts can be attributed to strong entrepreneurial leadership, passionate employees, great partnerships, and the delivery of an evolving product that represents value to our customers. Customer Focused We develop products and services that offer real value to our customers. We are continuously incorporating the feedback from our customers into industry leading features which enhance the travel experience. Forward Thinking

Blue Diamond Resorts has become the Caribbean’s fastest growing resort chain, with a 32 property portfolio exceeding 14,000 rooms in six countries. Described as “an innovative hotel management company that specializes in creating differentiated brands to suit each market’s demands,” Blue Diamond Resorts have developed a unique approach of tailoring hotels with the guest in mind, which strives to meet and exceed customer expectations.

We are continuously researching, developing and innovating to position ourselves for the future. Organic growth and strategic acquisition has led Blue Diamond Resorts to be an emerging force in the destination hotel industry. Entrepreneurial We are empowered to seize opportunities and respond quickly, gaining commercial advantage over competitors. Value Driven We focus efforts on productive, profitable, resultsoriented activities, securing the future for loyal employees and their families. From www.bluediamondresorts.com

Resorts & Spa

BusinessFocus May/Jun

A Partner For The Future: Sustainable Practices At Royalton Luxury Resorts Royalton Luxury Resorts continuously strive to be proud leaders in sustainable tourism. By adhering to internationally accepted criteria for the sustainable operation and management of hotels and resorts, we endeavor to minimize our impact on the environment and improve the communities around us. Established in 1993, the Green Globe organization adheres to ISO 19011 guidelines and employs independent auditors to ensure compliance with their rigorous criteria, comprising over 330 compliance indicators, and several Royalton properties have already surpassed the criteria to become a Green Globe certified hotel. Conservation programs the resorts had in place included extensive recycling, utilizing solar energy, a dedicated onsite compost area, donating surplus food peels to local farmers, updating light bulbs to energy saving LED lights, using less paper and corresponding digitally, and more. One Link Global, an organization that combines

ecologically green technology with an award-winning Green Chemical Program, has also accredited sustainable industrial cleaning practices at several Blue Diamond properties. Part of this accreditation includes Electro Chemical Activation (ECA), which allows Blue Diamond Resorts to make their own cleaners and sanitizers, on site, using only tap water, salt, and small doses of electricity. This rapidly expanding hotel chain is already the recipient of numerous environmental titles from global organizations, and recently, Royalton Riviera Cancun was acknowledged for sustainable operations by TravelLife, which is an impressive feat for a hotel of over 1,200 rooms. Since opening in 2014, this resort has kept over 3 tonnes of waste out of local landfills through proper waste management, responsible use of resources, proper labelling of garbage versus recyclables, and the composting of organic food waste. All our hotels and resorts continue to evolve and implement additional conservation programs. We look forward to partnering in sustainable initiatives for Saint Luciaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future.

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BusinessFocus

May/Jun

Congratulations And Welcome From The Saint Lucia Hotel And Tourism Association

L to R: Ministers Dominic Fedee and Lennard Montoute, Chairman of Blue Diamond Resorts Colin Hunter, Jordi Sole Senior Corporate Director of Operations, and Royalton Saint Lucia’s first guests, celebrate the ‘soft opening’ with a ribbon-cutting.

Congratulations And Welcome From The Saint Lucia Hotel And Tourism Association “The President of the St Lucia Hotel & Tourism Association (SLHTA), Mr. Sanovnik Destang, together with the Board of Directors and Management of the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association Inc. (SLHTA), extends congratulations to the Royalton Saint Lucia Resort and Spa on the opening of the resort, which promises to be an excellent addition to the destination through its offerings of family friendly vacations, Diamond Club™ and Hideaway at Royalton signature service level experiences.” President Destang noted that Royalton Saint Lucia is a welcome addition to the SLHTA membership and that the association welcome the global visibility the island will enjoy as a result of the marketing efforts and diverse offerings of such a distinguished brand.

BusinessFocus May/Jun

Weddings Team

A Warm Royalton Welcome!

Royal Spa Team

Bell Service Staff

Culinary Staff BusinessFocus

May/Jun

Setting New Standards For The Hospitality Industry

Setting New Standards For The Hospitality Industry With a new standard for hospitality in the Caribbean and received the TUI Top Quality award based on the region, Royalton Luxury Resorts are already winning results of customer survey reviews awards: • For outstanding accommodations, attractions and restaurants, TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice Award of Excellence was awarded to Royalton Hicacos Resort & Spa in 2014. • In 2013, Royalton Cayo Santa Maria received the TripAdvisor® Traveler’s Choice Award for #1 Resort in the Caribbean and #2 All Inclusive Resort Worldwide. • In 2014, Royalton Cayo Santa Maria was awarded the coveted TripAdvisor® Traveler’s Choice Award as the #1 All Inclusive Resort Worldwide 2014, as well as a number of honors including the Most Popular Hotel in the Caribbean, the Most Romantic Hotel in the Caribbean, Best Hotel Service, and Top 25 Luxury Hotels in the Caribbean. • Royalton Punta Cana was awarded with its second Golden Apple in 2015, for providing the highest level of exceptional service. Punta Cana was recognized by TUI for outstanding achievement in guest satisfaction,

BusinessFocus May/Jun

• Royalton Riviera Cancun holds the Gold Crown Resort Award, the most prestigious award given by RCI for consistently exceeding high quality of service in the areas of housekeeping, maintenance, hospitality and check-in/check-out procedures • In 2016, Royalton Cayo Santa Maria was named #1 Resort in Cuba by Cuba Journal.

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BusinessFocus

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| 49

Purpose Built For Major Events And Conferences

Purpose Built For Major Events And Conferences Stress Free Meetings & Conferences are just the beginning . . . but you know what they say about all work and no play? At Royalton Saint Lucia, every delegate at every event can feel right at home, with world class amenities like All-In Connectivity™ and convenient in-suite technology.

paradise, add Royalton Saint Lucia’s elegant accommodations and conference facilities, and see how productive your next business event will be.

In today’s frantic business world, finding a work/ life balance is important, and as the global village becomes more connected, conferences and corporate events are increasingly planned in faraway destinations.

Planning a meeting, rewarding top producers or hosting a family reunion? No other island in the Caribbean offers the diversity of landscape and quality of amenities. The scenery is never ending and breathtaking, the people are warm and friendly and the opportunities for rest and relaxation on the water and on land are limitless.

So imagine a working getaway to the golden sunshine, blue seas and white sands of

Let Royalton Saint Lucia’s Convention Centre be the secret of your success.

BusinessFocus May/Jun

O.F.D.

O.F.D. O.F.D.

EMERGENCY EXIT

LINTEL= 2.20

BATHROOMS WOMAN

LINTEL= 2.20

EMERGENCY EXIT

LINTEL= 2.20

1.00

LINTEL= 2.20

1.00

CONVENTION CENTER

LINTEL= 2.20

LOBBY

LINTEL= 2.20

THEATER 600 PAX 1.00

BATHROOMS MAN

BUSINESS CENTER LINTEL= 2.20 LINTEL= 2.20

LINTEL= 2.20

1.00

LINTEL= 2.20

O.F.D. LAVABO DE PEDESTAL MCA. AMERICAN STANDARD MOD. NEW CADET

WC VITROMEX ONE PICE 0.775 X 0.425 M

1.00

SCENE 1.00

DRESSING AND STORAGE

1.00

EMERGENCY EXIT

0.90 0.90

BAR

0.90

O.F.D.

SERVICE KITCHEN UP

STORAGE

STORAGE O.F.D.

The Convention Centre At Royalton Saint Lucia With a world class events facility, equipped with modern audio-visual capability, an expansive stage, full banqueting facilities, dressing rooms and ample space for up to 650 guests, Royalton Saint Lucia will collaborate to make your event a memorable one in all the right ways. Efficient events staff are there to support every aspect of every event, always with an eye for detail. Whether a large corporate gathering, symposium or summit, or even a casual get-together for extended family, let Royalton Saint Lucia take the stress out of your next conference or meeting. With the added benefits of All-In Luxury, our wide selection of restaurants and bars, relaxing spa and top class gym, we guaranteed your event will be memorable.

Lewis Industries Ltd

“We Only Compete on Quality” Leader in cleaning services Lewis Industries Ltd. •Post Construction Cleaning •Janitorial Services •Mold Remediation •Carpet Cleaning •Floor Maintenance & Restoration •Floor Finish Application: Resilient Surfaces, Natural Stone, Ceramic & Timber •Sale Of Floor Maintenance Care Services Compounds & Solutions •Sale Of Janitorial Tools, Equipment & Cleaning Materials Tel: (758) 450-4060/67/90 Fax: (758) 450-4060 Cell: (758) 485-3976 Email: lewis@candw.lc www.lewisindustries.com BusinessFocus

May/Jun

Grand Opening - A Message

Stephen Hunter - CEO, Sunwing Travel Group

Grand Opening - A Message On the evening of March 23, the state-of-theart Royalton Saint Lucia Convention Centre was packed with well-wishers who celebrated the official opening of Saint Lucia’s newest resort. Mr. Stephen Hunter, CEO of Sunwing Travel Group, spoke of the company’s history and passion for tourism in the Caribbean, and shared a few facts with the appreciative audience. The company has been developing and revitalising tourism in the region for years, and since 2014, Blue Diamond Resorts has spent over US$1 billion building new hotels. Their success is accredited to the fact that, as the largest tourism group in North America, the are vertically integrated, bringing together all the ingredients necessary to grow tourism.

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According to Mr. Hunter, the imperative ingredients are: • World Class Resorts “Like this one! Royalton Resorts with our award-winning All-In Luxury® concept have been voted the best all-inclusives in the world by TripAdvisor.” • Youngest Fleet in North America “Sunwing Airlines operates over 40 aircraft and flies from 35 cities in North America to 33 destinations in the Caribbean.” • Largest Tour Operators in North America “Sunwing Vacations is by far the largest tour operator, which allows us to distribute our rooms to every market and ensure that our hotels are full, not only in the winter, but in the crucial summer months.”

Guests in attendance at the Royalton Ballroom

Prime Minister Allen Chastanet exchanging with Governor General, Her Excellency Dame Pearlette Louisy

• Largest Destination Management Company in the Caribbean “Nexus Tours operates in over 33 countries, working with local suppliers to offer excursions that suit our source markets, which translates into additional employment on the island.”

Tourism Minister Dominic Fedee engages a guest

The economic impact to the Saint Lucian economy of Royalton’s 456-room resort is forecast to be significant, contributing in excess of US$60 million to the national economy in the first year alone.

Based on the strength of those crucial elements, the company set out to accomplish their long term goals in Saint Lucia, promising the island’s first sixstar resort, and all the economic benefits the new development entails.

“As of opening, Sunwing Travel Group and our subsidiaries have created more than 850 permanent jobs, training and educating our staff with new skills. These are invaluable lifelong skills, that will only prove to enhance the overall “This year alone we will be bringing over 35,000 tourism product in Saint Lucia.” new seats to Saint Lucia from both our airlines in North America and Europe,” stated Mr. Hunter.

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May/Jun

Building A New Cadre Of Hospitality Professionals

Building A New Cadre Of Hospitality Professionals Consistently providing a level of service required to exceed the highest expectations of Royalton’ Saint Lucia’s guests, and delivering the details to match the world class reputation of Blue Diamond Resorts’ ever-growing portfolio of brands, is no easy feat, but investing in people is among the most basic philosophies of the Caribbean’s fastest-growing hospitality company. Throughout the region, Blue Diamond Resorts offers a program called ‘Blue Talent’, designed to increase the knowledge, competencies and aptitudes of employees, aligning them with the particular characteristics of each individual.

In order to propel each property’s team along the path to professional success, positions are advertised internally, and transfers coordinated through the group of hotels, facilitating migration from one country to another where possible and beneficial. To support the initiative, Blue Diamond Resorts management has committed one hour per month to go out into the community and help develop the youth for ‘Tourism Tomorrow’.

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Developing A Cadre Of Hospitality Professionals: The Goals Of The Blue Talent Program •

To identify talent within the organization through systematic performance management.

•

To develop and strengthen competencies, skills and knowledge through specific training programs.

•

To promote and motivate team members to develop a career with Blue Diamond Resorts.

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Meet The Team

Rudy Richardson – Hotel Manager, Rooms Division Rudy Richardson’s hospitality career started in 1988 in Food & Beverage. For more than two decades, he has been dedicated with passion to the hospitality industry. He worked his way up to become F&B Director at different properties, such as Sonesta Maho Beach Saint Marteen, Sunscape Casa del Mar, Sunscape The Beach, Dreams La Romana & Dreams Punta Cana in Dominican Republic. From March 2010 to October 2013, he was Resident Manager at Dreams la Romana, operated by AM Resorts, where he made a significant contribution as part of the task force conducting due diligence and re-branding of two resorts in. In January 2015, Mr. Richardson joined Blue Diamond Resorts as the Manager in charge of Rooms Division at the Royalton White Sands, and in November 2016, he was appointed as the Hotel Manager in charge of Rooms Division for the new Royalton Saint Lucia.

Francis Springer – Financial Controller A financial controller by profession - sometimes called “the money man” - Francis is the lead accounting executive of the company. His duties are varied, driven by the nature of the business, the complexity of accounting and financial operations, and the number of people employed in the accounting department. His previous role as Financial Controller in other major hotels on the island has included broad visionary responsibilities as well as handson management. During the construction phase of Royalton Saint Lucia, Francis played a key role in managing the accounting. Now the resort is operational, he continues to provide financial leadership at the highest level, and is keen on forming accounting strategies to suit the company.

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Vincent Moreau – Hotel Manager, Food & Beverage Mr. Vincent Moreau has worked for prestigious international companies such as Choice Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, MGM Resorts International and Sandals Resorts International. He has extensive experience in luxury business and leisure, hotels, allinclusive hotels, resorts & casinos, F&B outlets, property openings and re-branding in multi-cultural environments across Europe, Northern America & the Caribbean, including Antigua, St. Lucia and Grenada. Mr. Moreau is multilingual, speaking French, English, Spanish, and Dutch, and his mission is to inspire and develop his leadership team, while ensuring employee satisfaction, providing unique and memorable experiences to guests and striving for excellence within a luxury hospitality environment.

Valmore Brown – Executive Chef Chef Valmore Brown was born in Jamaica and has over 30 years of experience in the culinary world. He has worked in the United States for many prestigious establishments such as Turnberry Isle and Boca Raton Resorts, in various culinary leadership positions. He then became a Chef Instructor Educator at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts before coming back in the Caribbean where he has worked with Sandals in the capacity of Executive Chef for the past 8 years. Experienced Executive Chef with a demonstrated history of working in the hospitality industry. Skilled in Catering, Hospitality Industry, MICROS, Pre-opening, and Culinary Education. Strong operations professional with a Bachelor’s Degree focused in Culinary Arts from Johnson and Wales University, North Miami, Florida.

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May/Jun

Conrad Spencer - Chief Engineer Conrad Spencer, an established Engineer with over 14 years experience in the Hotel Industry has joined the Royalton Saint Lucia Executive Team as Chief Engineer. Conrad’s career started at the Wyndham Rosehill in Jamaica and over the years he transitioned to the Hilton, Kool Runnings Water Park, Holiday Inn Group of Companies and lastly Sandals Resorts International. He brings a wealth of expertise in the areas of water treatment and hydraulics. Conrad is also a qualified educator, with a background in mathematics and science which as a foundation, brings another dimension to his leadership. Conrad’s passion in his field and for the industry is unwavering.

Audrey Best - Executive Housekeeper Audrey Best has worked in the hospitality industry for twenty two years. Audrey’s professional career started in the Airline industry where she worked at a regional airline for four years. Her passion was then realised when she moved into the Hotel industry. Audrey has enjoyed a successful career in the industry from inception where she started as a front office agent and then moved into Sales. It is there she flourished, moving from wedding consultant to Director of Sales in the span of seven years. During that developmental stage of her career she was awarded a scholarship and studied Hospitality Management in the USA. Audrey spent four years in that position and then moved into the position of Operations Manager with the focus on Rooms Division operations. Her career has taken her to the islands of Turks and Caicos, Jamaica, The Bahamas and Saint Lucia. Audrey’s expertise has brought her back to Saint Lucia as Executive Housekeeper for Royalton Saint Lucia.

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Sancha St. Rose-Philip – Human Resource Manager With more than twelve years of experience, six of which have been in a leadership role, Sancha is a Human Resources Generalist with a strong knowledge of recruitment, employee relations, leadership and employee development, training, compensation and benefits. She has provided HR services to the private sector in Saint Lucia, having started her career with the M&C Group of Companies. She gained wide experience in the hospitality industry, working with Almond Resorts Inc. and Smugglers Cove Resort and Spa, on the same property that has become the latest Blue Diamond Resort. Astute in identifying areas that need improvement, she has the vision to develop and implement successful action plans based on corporate goals, mission and values. Sancha was instrumental in leading the recruitment strategy for Royalton Saint Lucia, having interviewed over 2,500 prospective applicants, island wide.

Lianna Venturi – Executive Assistant Lianna grew up in the hospitality and tourism industry. Her upbringing ensured early grooming in key areas of hospitality management such as customer service and hotel and restaurant operations. In 2006, upon graduating from Florida International University with a BSc. in Marketing, Lianna was hired by DCG Properties as Executive Assistant to the Managing Director and the Director of Marketing. She worked in every area of the development and took away key learnings when the project folded, which she made use of when she became Marketing Manager for Harry Edwards Jewelers in 2008. Delving passionately into her new role, she worked diligently at making Harry Edwards Jewelers a brand that commanded respect and set the standard, locally and within the wider tourism industry. In November of 2016 Lianna returned to her hospitality roots, joining the team at Royalton Saint Lucia as Executive Assistant to the General Manager, bringing her singular brand of service to this exceptional property to help create the Royalton Luxury Resorts’ experience in Saint Lucia.

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May/Jun

Who We Are & What We Do

WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO The Sunwing Travel Group is a family-run business that has grown to be North America’s largest vertically integrated travel company, comprised of:

Airline Sunwing Airlines: Canada’s premier leisure airline with award-winning service

Tour Operations Sunwing Vacations and the Signature Vacations collection: The leading leisure tour operator in Canada Vacation Express: A growing tour operator in the United States SellOffVacations.com: A national retail agency

Retailing

Luxe Destination Weddings: A specialist retail agency

Hotel Operations Blue Diamond Resorts: A hotel management company operating popular resort brands like Royalton Luxury Resorts, Memories Resorts & Spa and Starfish Resorts, across the Caribbean and Latin America. In addition to our impressive North American reach, our long standing partnership with the TUI Group, the world’s largest travel company, gives us access to source markets across the UK and Europe.

OUR VALUES We are equal opportunity employers committed to investing in the learning and development of our loyal employees. Customer Focused We develop products and services that offer real value to our customers. Forward Thinking We are continuously researching, developing, and innovating to position ourselves for the future. Value Driven We focus efforts on productive, profitable, results-oriented activities, securing the future for our loyal employees and their families.

HOW WE GIVE BACK We are equal opportunity employers committed to investing in the learning and development of our loyal employees. The Sunwing Foundation is a unique, charitable initiative, that takes no administration fee and passes 100% of funds directly to projects, which support the development and education of youth in the communities where we operate. The Foundation raises money through a spare change program on its fleet of 40 aircraft, and matches 100% of donations received. BusinessFocus May/Jun

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ECONOMY & TRADE ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS

Fallout continues from 60 Minutes ‘Passports for Sale’ broadcast

The fallout continues from a controversial “60 Minutes” investigative programme aired by the US television network CBS on January 1, which focused on the citizenship by investment programmes (CIP) operated by three out of the five Caribbean islands that offer such programmes. According to Sir Ronald Sanders, Antigua and Barbuda’s ambassador to the US and the OAS, the broadcast clearly had no purpose except to denigrate – if not to emasculate – the CIPs and the governments that operate them. The programme claimed that CIPs “attracted among the buyers a rogues’ gallery of scoundrels, fugitives, tax cheats, and possibly much worse”. However, it neglected to mention that the vast majority of CIP recipients were wealthy law-abiding persons who had been subjected to intense scrutiny by enforcement agencies before their applications were even considered. At the time there was a widespread perception that Henley & Partners, one of the leading marketers of citizenship-by-investment worldwide, and whose chairman Christian Kalin appeared prominently in the broadcast, was behind the production of the programme in the first place, although the firm later denounced the broadcast as “one-sided”. However, according to one industry insider, Henley & Partners apparently forgot that they invited the 60 Minutes producers to one of their citizenship conferences in Dubai in order to initiate the report. Now, a number of recent resignations from the advisory committee of Investment Migration Council (IMC), a Geneva-based oversight association for investor migration and citizenship-by-investment prominently backed by Henley & Partners, have, according to one resigning member, been prompted by, amongst other things, the controversial 60 Minutes report in January that was a “PR disaster” and made the citizenship industry look ridiculous. Furthermore, Kalin is one of the five-strong governing board of IMC and his critics now say that he is using the organisation to attack his commercial rivals. Members of the advisory committee have apparently decided that they do not want to be a party to any potential lawsuits, with its involvement in attacking residency programmes such as Hungary’s going beyond its stated mission. “The IMC is no more than a mouthpiece of Henley & Partners,” said an industry source. “This latest attack on the government of Hungary’s residency program is nothing more than a commercial vendetta.” BusinessFocus May/Jun

The latest IMC advisors jumping ship include Terrance Scanlan of Four Seasons Resort Estates, Timothy Mohr at BDO Consulting and National Bank of Canada’s Louis Leblanc. Now added to that list is Veronica Cotdemiey, the Dubai-based CEO of Citizenship Invest, and Demetrios G. Papademetriou, PhD, a distinguished senior fellow and president emeritus at the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank dedicated exclusively to the study of international migration. He is also president of Migration Policy Institute Europe, a non-profit, independent research institute in Brussels that aims to promote a better understanding of migration trends and effects within Europe. Citing “continuing issues with Arton Capital” and his inability to contribute in any way to the aims of IMC, Papademetriou told Caribbean News Now last week that his resignation from the IMC Advisory Committee was a private decision, “as I did not have the time to assist or participate in anything the IMC did”. When contacted for clarification, Arton Capital said that they have no comment, on the advice of their legal counsel, as they are initiating civil and criminal action in the UAE against IMC and its board for defamation. In responding to a request for comment on the current difficulties apparently being experienced by or within IMC, its media office said that the IMC board and CEO have been in place since the founding of the association in 2014, the board meets on a regular basis to discuss the strategic direction of the association and takes common decisions on the projects it works on including the academic research work driven by a highly respected group of academics. “The nature of the association is in part to elevate standards within the industry globally and part of this will mean that some of our research will put pressure on the industry to step out of the shadows and operate business models in line with international best practice such as that laid out in the IMC Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, Launched in mid-2015 and governing our nearly 300 members, from 45+ countries,” IMC said. IMC says it will soon be opening a representative office in Barbados and Shanghai, as well as launching a new report on the subject of due diligence practices within the industry. IMC was established in October 2014 with the stated aim of bringing together stakeholders within the immigration and citizenship by investment industry and to give the industry a voice. ¤

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May/Jun

The Inaugural BIT Awards & Dinner

A Fine Evening in Thanksgiving On Saturday March 18, 2017, the Inaugural Businesses in Thanksgiving (BIT) Awards and Dinner took centre stage at the Sandals Regency Golf Resort and Spa, the perfect setting for a gala night of thanksgiving and awards presentation. The ambiance was exquisite, and the atmosphere convivial with a display of grandeur, competence and professionalism. The soothing sounds of live music by entertainer Kenson Hippolyte, who performed contemporary jazz, pop and Caribbean rhythms, left many a guest awestruck at the clarity of his tunes. The BIT initiative was conceptualized by Calvin Reynolds, CEO of Corporate Plaza Inc., and is a revolutionary thanksgiving movement in corporate Saint Lucia. The first Annual New Year’s Businesses in Thanksgiving Service on the January 28, 2014 registers as the very first BIT event. For three consecutive years, one hundred and fifty business leaders and professionals have joined hands at the two hour service in thanksgiving to God for the past year and for renewed blessings in the New Year. The Awards and Dinner is the second major undertaking of BIT. This event is designed to engender goodwill in the business community through expressions of gratitude. BusinessFocus May/Jun

“As a premium sponsor of the event, the Inaugural BIT Awards and Dinner exceeded my expectations.” said Mr. Leslie Jn Baptiste, Managing Director of Eagle Freight and Brokerage Services, a sentiment echoed by many other guests in attendance. Mr. Jn Baptiste, who took the opportunity to honour a number of his employees and customers, said, “Our customers left with a feeling of contentment upon receiving their awards. We only expect a stronger relationship going forward. My employees were motivated when they learnt they were invited to this event at Sandals Regency, La Toc. The excitement and upbeat environment created at the office was very much revealing to me, as I never anticipated the positive impact this event would have had on my employees and business.” Featured presenter Mrs. Lorraine Sidonie, OECS Commercial Director for Unicomer, hit a home run with her motivational “B2B Pep Talk” when she married the concepts of Business and Thanksgiving in a BIG way that captured the hearts of all in attendance. In reviewing the event, Mrs. Sidonie intimated, “I had the pleasure of attending the inaugural BIT Awards & Dinner, along with colleagues from Unicomer, and found the event to be refreshing, meaningful and

extremely fulfilling. The ‘BIT’ Awards & Dinner brought thanksgiving to businesses by thanking God first of all for our many business successes, followed by a show of appreciation to staff, customers & suppliers from different Saint Lucian businesses. The novel approach of merging these two, once seemingly opposing, schools of thought, was well-received by all patrons, and it is safe to say that all attendees left the event with a renewed sense of understanding of the far-reaching positive implications that can be gained when thanksgiving and business philosophies are allowed to co-exist.” Mr. Antonius “Secra” Gibson, Manager of Radio Caribbean (1982) Limited (RCI), upon receipt of a “Best Customer” award, flipped the script on the organizers of the event in a manner that only Calypso lovers would understand. Mr. Gibson congratulated Corporate Plaza Inc. for “an extremely well organized BIT Awards and Dinner” and went on to add: “From the quality and level of service that RCI has received from Corporate Plaza Inc. over the years, the handing over of the plaque should have been the other way round.” During the event, which warmed the hearts of all who attended, a total of twenty awards were presented in the categories

of Outstanding Employees, Best Customers, Strategic Partners, and Inspirational Individuals. In a symbolic gesture, the BIT baton was passed to Mrs. Yolande Reynolds – retiree and the mother of Calvin Reynolds, outgoing BIT Coordinator. As the new patron of the Annual BIT Awards and Dinner, Mrs. Reynolds is charged with managing the competent team to oversee the event and ensure its growth and continued success. As we draw the curtains on the Inaugural BIT Awards and Dinner, we appeal to all business and organisational leaders to embrace this thanksgiving revolution in acts of gratitude to the people who have contributed to your corporate success. Your business ventures will love you for it! We congratulate the awardees for their varied contributions to the businesses in which they have a positive impact, and thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of the Inaugural BIT Awards and Dinner. Opposite page: Winners receiving their BIT Awards Above: Mrs. Lorraine Sidonie addresses the audience

Winners of The 2017 BIT Awards Best Customer Awards Radio Caribbean (1982) Limited Antonius “Secra” Gibson: Honored by Corporate Plaza Eagle Freight and Brokerage Services Limited Leslie Jn Baptiste: Honored by Corporate Plaza Prestige Insurance Agency Limited Hazel Joseph: Honored by Corporate Plaza Cadet Distribution Inc John Cadet: Honored by Corporate Plaza Total Construction Supplies Limited Timothy Mangal: Honored by Eagle Freight and Brokerage Services Limited Rubis West Indies Limited Gary Gustave: Honored by Eagle Freight and Brokerage Services Limited Outstanding Employee Awards Verline Williams, Office Manager, Eagle Freight and Brokerage Services Benedict Hippolyte, Warehouse and Trucking Supervisor, Eagle Freight and Brokerage Services Sidonie Jankie, Office Supervisor, Eagle Freight and Brokerage Services Sasha Remy, Accounts Clerk, Eagle Freight and Brokerage Services Yohan Auguste, Customs Broker, Eagle Freight and Brokerage Services Anika St. Luce, Customs Broker, Eagle Freight and Brokerage Services Jermaine Philip, Best Rates 24Hour Car Rental Mirium Anthony, Accountant, Corporate Plaza

Outstanding Employees Vernalee Chedy, Accounts Executive, Eagle Freight and Brokerage Services Delphina Paul, Accounts Clerk, Eagle Freight and Brokerage Services Cora Augustin, Inside Sales Coordinator, Eagle Freight and Brokerage Services Strategic Business Partner Leonard Monrose, Best Rates 24Hour Car Rental Inspirational Person – by BIT David Pierre, Musical Director & Arranger, LaJwa Music Ensemble Pearl Tench, National Strings Orchestra

ECONOMY & TRADE ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS

Cost Cutting When The Chips Are Down COST CUTTING WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN

What The Harvard Business Review Says About That Perennial Budgeting Challenge Of ‘Getting To 10%’ You’ve been a good manager of a large department for some time now. You’ve run a tight ship. When possible, you’ve cut costs. But now an order has come down (from high enough above that you don’t have the liberty of debating its wisdom or feasibility) decreeing that you must find an additional 10%, 20%, or even 30% in administrative cost reductions, severance aside. You just don’t see how it can be done. What’s the Right Level of Overhead? As you begin your quest for administrative cost savings, keep two key points in mind: First, forget about finding a single idea that would radically change the cost structure of your organization or department, thereby solving your problem in one go. If such an idea existed, it would most likely entail so much risk that the organization would never be willing to implement it. Instead, you should plan to reach your goal with a combination of 10 or more actions.

You’ll find two types of less-than-fully-busy people. The first is usually easy to spot: These workers spend the most time in the halls. They organize the office birthday parties. Perhaps their jobs were made simpler by the new online HR or finance system a year ago, and new duties were never assigned. The second type includes employees who do both unpleasant but valuable tasks and pleasant but less valuable ones. Any efficiency gains in the former part of their job tend to get offset by excessive focus on the latter. After dealing with your less-than-busy employees, you’ll need to take the personnel action you have most likely been avoiding for a while: terminating the underperformers. Every department seems to have one or two of them.

“Combine activities like training days and celebrations into single events. Combine events across multiple departments.

Second, the degree of organizational disruption caused by your reductions will usually be proportional to the degree of cutting you do. Therefore, you should tailor the reductions you pursue to your savings goal. Incremental ideas with minimal impact on other departments can allow you to trim up to 10% of costs. Incremental Ideas Most departments can cut up to 10% of costs without changing their interactions with the rest of the organization. The following kinds of reductions are most common:

Consolidate incidentals. Unless cost cutting is new to the company, you’ve already done away with most discretionary, comfort, and non-mission-critical perks and activities, such as holiday parties, event tickets, and tuition reimbursement. If that’s the case, don’t try to eliminate more—you probably can’t. Instead, see if you can consolidate what’s left.

”

Reduce spending on department management. Most administrative departments use as much as 20% of their budgets to supervise and coordinate their own activities. Determine which parts of your department are performing essentially the same tasks they were a year ago. Those parts probably don’t need the level of supervision they once did.

As a rule of thumb, you should be able to reduce the number of hours devoted to supervision by about 10% in each year that the department’s duties remain largely unchanged, as long as there has been little turnover. But to gain value from this reduction, you must increase the individual contributions required of the supervisors. Gain control of “miscellaneous” spending. In some departments, it’s supplies; in others, it’s telecom or computers. You can almost always find 15% to 20% of spending that hasn’t been managed closely.

Combine activities like training days and celebrations into single events. Combine events across multiple departments. Crossschedule the use of outside resources, such as facilities or trainers. You’ll be surprised at the opportunities.

Hold down pay increases. Though this idea seems obvious, it is usually overlooked. That’s because many managers believe the members of his or her department are underpaid. Check with HR to see where your employees stand relative to the marketplace. If they are not below market, consider holding the average pay increase in your department to 1% or 2% less than last year’s company average.

Take overdue personnel actions. All administrative departments, efficient ones included, have unresolved personnel issues. That’s true even for those that have been through previous rounds of cost reduction. After you have exhausted the common ploy of claiming cost savings by leaving vacant positions unfilled, you should restructure the jobs of any less-than-fully-busy people and confront the problem of underperformers.

Re-propose rejected cost-saving ideas. Finally, you’ll want to look back through the past three budget cycles to discover where your department proposed productivityenhancing suggestions that required small investments. They may have been rejected because of constraints or other priorities (this often happens, for example, when initiatives require systems programming and IT resources are tied up elsewhere). Now is the time to propose those ideas again. ¤

BusinessFocus May/Jun

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May/Jun

ECONOMY & TRADE ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS

TEPA’s First Specialty Expo Showcased OECS Talent

TEPA’s Specialty Expo Showcased OECS Talent The inaugural edition of the Specialty Caribbean Expo, a multisectoral trade exposition, took place from March 9-12 at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet. The expo is expected to develop into an annual event, showcasing exporters from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) member countries and Martinique. Specialty Caribbean Expo 2017 was billed as the ultimate onestop-shop, directly linking international buyers from worldwide corporations with Caribbean suppliers from a multitude of sectors including apparel and footwear, financial services, food and beverage, furniture, handicraft, health and wellness, tourism, printing and packaging services. Exporters from the OECS and Martinique presented and promoted their products and services at the 4-day trade show, which was attended by buyers from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Cuba, CARICOM and the Eastern Caribbean. According to TEPA, the Saint Lucia Trade Export Promotion Agency, which collaborated with the OECS to organise the event: “Specialty Caribbean Expo gives participants the opportunity to not only interact and network with each other, but also with various stakeholders, policymakers, regional/international buyers and potential customers. “[Our] objectives include: Creating an opportunity for exporters ... to obtain credible, sustainable leads [and] markets for their products and services; facilitating regional and international buyer/seller connections; forming and strengthening strategic alliances with relevant trade partners, officials and agencies; BusinessFocus May/Jun

promoting and improving inter-regional trade; and identifying new distributors, suppliers and representatives for exhibitors’ products or services. In the long term, organisers are aiming to export the products and services of OECS and Martinique-based businesses under a collective brand to the UK market.

Saint Lucia’s Biggest Manufacturers Participate

Although there was plenty of emphasis on small entrepreneurs and businesses, some of the biggest names in the Saint Lucia Manufacturers’ Association (SMA) set up their exhibits at the Specialty Caribbean Expo 2017, and a special pavilion was constructed to house the association’s brightest successes. From Blue Waters St. Lucia to Caribbean Awnings, Baron Foods to DuBoulay’s, Excel Signs to Lubeco, Saint Lucia’s manufacturing sector put on their best game face and proved that the island is producing some of the region’s most successful, best quality products. Poultry, ice cream, pasta, sausages - the agro-processing sector made sure to tempt expo-goers with plenty of delicious samples, while

Creativity In The Spotlight Among the most popular exhibitors at the four day Specialty Caribbean Expo were the dazzling array of jewellery makers, craftspeople and artisans, whose products were as fascinating as the stories behind them. From around the OECS islands and Martinique, with styles as different as their personalities, expo-

goers were treated to a taste of what is possible when tropical beauty meets the creative, entrepreneurial mind. From seeds and pods to coconut and bamboo, handmade jewellery was a real draw, and no two exhibitors were alike. And without a doubt, Saint Lucian talent was on parade, with artisans like Alcina Nolley’s sterling silver, sunset-inspired pieces showing a world class level of skill and quality. The upcoming darling of handbag fashionistas around the region, Meme Bete, showed why Taribba Do Nascimento is gaining a reputation for style and quality, while the intrinsically Caribbean creations of Lyn Bristol drew attention for their soft, colourful designs. Button Up, a local t-shirt manufacturer with two generations of experience, had one of the most creative booths featuring a ‘doit-yourself screen-printing station’ which had a visit from at least one government dignitary! Other creative industries were wellrepresented, with book publishers, photographers, media content providers, musical artists and self-development companies among The delegation was accompanied by Invest SVG staff Glender Francois, Investment Promotions Manager, and Andrew Phillips, the exhibitors. Investment Promotions Officer.

Vincy Manufacturers In Strong Turnout

Several members of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ business community were represented at the Specialty Caribbean Expo 2017 in Saint Lucia, including two collectives, Vincyklus and Brand SVG, Erica’s Country Style, Pasta Enterprise, Kendra’s Aluminium Products, East Caribbean Metals, East Caribbean Group of Companies (ECGC) and VincyFresh, along with businesses from the creative sector.

Francois said this is a “great opportunity” for local businesses of all sizes to network and seek opportunities to develop and “grow their footprint”. She added: “We are happy to have worked with all the participants as we play our role in helping them and their businesses to be strong, vibrant and growing.” ¤ Courtesy: www.iwnsvg.com

Grant Thorton

BusinessFocus

May/Jun

TOURISM ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS

Saint Lucia To Welcome Mega Cruise Ships This Year

Saint Lucia To Welcome Mega Cruise Ships This Year Saint Lucia is scheduled to welcome its first mega cruise vessel by December 2017, Minister for Infrastructure, Ports, Energy and Labour, Honourable Stephenson King, announced at the Saint Lucia House of Assembly session on April 5. The announcement was made following a motion to allow the Minister of Finance to borrow US$15,000,000 from the National Insurance Corporation (NIC) for the Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority, to facilitate the extension of the ‘breasting dolphin’ berth located at Pointe Seraphine, which allows for the safe docking of the world’s largest classes of cruise ships. In marine engineering terms, a ‘dolphin’ is a man-made structure that extends above the water level and is not connected to shore. They are also used to protect structures from possible impact by ships, in a similar fashion to boating fenders. Minister King traced the history of the development and upgrade of Port Castries, stressing that “there is a greater need . . . to place emphasis on the improvement, development and enhancement of cruise facilities and infrastructure on the island.” “This Government has made a firm commitment, not only to improve Port Castries and to consider a new location for the establishment of a new commercial port, but also to continue to improve on the cruise ship facilities, and by extension to look to the south of the country, to establish a major cruise port in Vieux Fort that will complement a number of the economic initiatives that the Government has committed itself to, including the establishment of the DSH Project.” He continued: “This is a holistic approach, a global initiative on the part of the Government, looking beyond the shores, beyond the sand and sea . . . to the international arena to see how Saint BusinessFocus May/Jun

Lucia can maintain its position and be able to offer two world class facilities, one in the north and one in the south, that will attract international business that we as a country seek to adopt and to place Saint Lucia as the number one cruise ship destination in the Caribbean.” SLASPA initiated the project to extend Pointe Seraphine Berth No.1, which will facilitate the call of the first mega cruise ship sometime in December. Once the berth is completed, Saint Lucia is expected to see an increase of 20 percent in the number of calls by ships to Port Castries, along with an increase in passenger arrivals of an estimated 19 percent. Prime Minister Allen M. Chastanet introduced the motion, explaining that this was an initiative dating back to the SLP administration, and a project the current UWP government was continuing under a different funding arrangement. The Prime Minister called the project “absolutely necessary”, and hoped that this it would introduce a new era for the NIC. Minister with responsibility for Tourism, Information and Broadcasting Honourable Dominic Fedee also lent his support to the motion. “The cruise industry was in tremendous decline,” explained Minister Fedee, reflecting on the level of arrivals nine months ago. “In fact, the numbers for 2016 had shown that we declined by some 16 percent. This is despite the fact that Saint Lucia had a comparative advantage over a number of Eastern Caribbean jurisdictions” Minister Fedee noted that judging by the figures for 2017 year-todate, Saint Lucia had already seen growth of 22 percent in cruise arrivals. ¤

World Bank Fund Development Of Tourism Infrastructure World Bank Fund Development Of Tourism Infrastructure “There is a tremendous potential to develop regional tourism in the Eastern Caribbean and the collaboration among the governments of Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is highly promising”, said Tahseen Sayed, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean. “This is an opportunity to develop the tourism industry, generate new jobs particularly for women and young people, and attract private sector investments”. The project aims at facilitating access and movement of travelers through a pilot ferry service, rehabilitating select tourism sites such as Fort George in Grenada, Fort Charlotte in St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Castries in Saint Lucia, and helping position these countries as one multi-island travel destination.

Tourism dependent communities in Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will benefit from better connectivity, better infrastructure, and improved tourism market development as a result of a US$ 26 million regional project approved by the Board of Directors of the World Bank. Tourism accounts for 61 percent, 50 percent, and 45 percent of export earnings in Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada, respectively, and 42 percent of employment in Saint Lucia and 19 percent both in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. While tourism is the lead economic sector in the Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the region accounts for less than 0.2 percent of world tourism arrivals and receives less revenues than the rest of the Caribbean.

Among concrete results to be achieved by the OECS tourism competitiveness project are: • Improved movement of people by piloting a ferry system; • Rehabilitation of Fort George in Grenada and Fort Charlotte in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; and the redevelopment of downtown Castries in Saint Lucia; and • Launch of a tourism market development and promotion in the three countries. This project is financed by a US$ 20 Million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) with a final maturity of 40 years and a 10 year grace period, and six million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) with a final maturity of 30 years and a 9.5 year grace period. ¤ Courtesy: World Bank

Caribbean Looks To UAE For Tourism Boost reservations, sales and operation staff. The exercise followed the announcement that Emirates’ airlines will provide flights from Dubai to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with a code share agreement with Jet Blue, opening up numerous Caribbean destinations to the UAE. “Arabian Travel Market presents a great opportunity for the Caribbean to take our product and services to a wider market. There is a great deal of interest in the Caribbean, and our sporting and cricketing legends have really helped to peak interest in the Caribbean throughout the Middle East and Asia,” said Carol Hay, the CTO’s director of marketing for the United Kingdom and Europe.

The Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) says it is seeking to strengthen its relationship with Emirates Holidays, the largest airline tour operator in the Middle East, as it moves to broaden the Caribbean’s appeal in the Arabian market. The CTO said that meetings with the tour operator have been scheduled during the April 24-27 Arabian Travel Market (ATM) to build on the relationship which began last year when the CTO conducted an in-house familiarisation training programme in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) for forty Emirates Holidays

“We are particularly excited about the opportunity to host two destination briefings for the travel agents, as we know that product knowledge and networking is key to expanding our reach in these markets. It’s also important to have a sustained presence at international tourism events; tourism is an international business, and it is import to be in the arena where important decisions and contacts are made.” Following ATM, the CTO will host and present road shows across in Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. The CTO recently returned hosted six Caribbean road shows in France. BusinessFocus

May/Jun

TOURISM ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS

Task force to make St.St.Lucia Hotel & Tourism Lucia Hotel & Tourism Association Upgrading To Tri Farm Online Portal Association upgrades recommendations on LIAT to Tri Farm online portal Task Force To Make Recommendations On LIAT

Agro-tourism linkages remains a key priority area for the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA) Inc. Since the genesis of the Virtual Agricultural Clearing House (VACH), in April 2016, the SLHTA has made a significant impact on the efforts to bridge the growing divide between Tourism and Agriculture. The current WhatsApp platform on which the VACH operates provides an avenue for over four hundred farmers to upload information on agricultural produce available for sale and allows nineteen (19) hotels, including two (2) large food and beverage companies to upload demand information.

A task force comprising executives of the regional airline LIAT, unions representing the carrier’s workers and an official from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is to be set up to make recommendations on the way forward for the airline. The CDB has been included on the task force because LIAT borrowed US$66 million from the Barbados-based bank to finance the airline’s re-fleeting. President of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots’ Association (LIALPA), Captain Carl Burke, revealed to the Observer, the outcome of the meeting held yesterday in Barbados at the request of LIAT’s acting CEO, Julie Reifer-Jones.

Under its current dispensation, the VACH provides little capacity for data capture, crop forecasting, monitoring demand trends and analysis. These considerations are paramount if Saint Lucia is to sustainably bridge the gap between the agriculture and tourism sectors. The simplicity of the current platform does not allow for customization to facilitate research, data capture and analysis. It is with this in mind that the SLHTA aims to strengthen its agro-tourism linkages strategy by utilizing an App technology called Tri Farm (www.trifarmltd.com). This on-line platform is expected to provide real-time data on crops planted, projected harvest date, expected crop yield and improve traceability of crops from producers to consumers. Import substitution is expected to be more effectively facilitated while product reviews and ratings can also be done via the site.

In a brief interview, the senior pilot stated it was agreed that once suggestions were forthcoming for the issues tabled during the April meeting, “everything should be implemented in three months”.

The SLHTA’s Tourism Enhancement Fund has committed a sum of EC$29,000 towards the initiative. The contribution will go towards engaging the services of the Tri Farms App and support awareness and sensitization of farmers to participate.

LIALPA went into the talks with its members not having been paid for the month of March, in keeping with LIAT’s deferral of salaries which began on March 24 despite opposition from the unions. The bargaining agents had threatened industrial action over the late payment of salaries, but it was announced during the April 4 talks in Barbados that pilots would be paid imminently. ¤

The pilot program sponsored by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) will be over an eight month period during which the program will be evaluated. ¤ BusinessFocus May/Jun

The session was hosted by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and attended by Chairman of the LIAT shareholder governments, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Dr Ralph Gonsalves and Civil Aviation Minister Robin Yearwood, who along with Senator Lennox Weston are Antigua & Barbuda’s members on the board of directors. However, Captain Burke said Dominica was also represented at the talks as were several bargaining agents including the Antigua Barbuda Workers’ Union.

Courtesy: Antigua Observer

People And Partnership Needed To Keep Caribbean Competitive, Says CHTA Head

People and partnership needed to keep Caribbean competitive, says CHTA head The head of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) has called on the region to work together to ensure the Caribbean remains one of the world’s leading destinations. Delivering the keynote at the annual general meeting of the US Virgin Islands Hotel and Tourism Association earlier this month, CHTA president Karolin Troubetzkoy noted that, while Caribbean destinations are very different, they share many of the same challenges – from the impact of climate change to the high cost of operations. Troubetzkoy, who is the executive director of operations at St Lucia’s Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain resorts, believes a collective resolve is needed, leveraging the strength of diversity and the commonalities of the region’s countries and territories to fulfill tourism’s true potential. She pointed to the some of the issues many regional destinations are facing, such as improving intra-regional travel, the high costs of airlift to the region as well as importing food, taxes and the growing activity of the sharing economy. Troubetzkoy indicated she is encouraged by recent movements towards greater public-private sector collaboration to address the region’s tourism competitiveness and development. She cited a recent presentation by CHTA and the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) at the CARICOM Intersessional meeting where the leaders gave the green light to the organizations to draft a plan for submission to the CARICOM Summit in July for a “sustained region-wide tourism development and marketing initiative.” Quoting from a recent CTO report on the industry’s 2016 tourism performance, Troubetzkoy observed that while the Caribbean

reported its seventh consecutive year of growth with an increase of visitor arrivals by 4.2 percent and a total of 29.3 million stayover visitors to the region, that growth was unevenly distributed, with Cuba and the Dominican Republic being the primary beneficiaries. Similarly, despite the increase in visitor arrivals, many regional hotel properties did not experience a successful 2016, as measured in terms of key performance indicators such as Occupancy, ADR (Average Daily Rate) and RevPar (Revenue per Available Room). Underscoring the need for integrated regional approaches, Troubetzkoy reminded attendees that the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) expects the Caribbean region’s tourism share to decline from 2.1 percent to 1.7 percent by 2030. The CHTA president issued a call to tourism professionals across the region to work together to make their destinations more competitive on the global market: “We also must keep an eye on the many international tourism destinations out there that perform better than us – destinations that have been able to offer 5- and 6-star products at a cost that probably would buy a 3- or 4-star holiday in the Caribbean.” She called for stronger partnerships between the public and private sectors at the destination and regional levels to tackle the difficult issues of increased airlift, air travel costs, taxation, improved inter-regional connectivity and figuring out together how to price products more competitively in the global marketplace: “Our discussions may be uncomfortable and sometimes heated but they must take place because, in the end, we are in this together.” ¤ BusinessFocus

May/Jun

Must Reads MUST READS Volume 22

It’s Not An Easy Road by Lyndell Halliday BSc., MBA, CPA,CMA

“It’s not an easy road. Many see the glamour and the glitter and think it’s a bed of rose. Who feels it knows.” Buju Banton

Business is hard. Sometimes there are no easy answers. So what does a business leader do when faced with the most complex and difficult issues? A Silicon Valley venture capitalist, technology entrepreneur, blogger and former CEO provides some answers in The Hard Things about Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz (HarperBusiness, 2014)

The Hard Thing about Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers The Hard Thing about Hard Things is Ben Horowitz’s first book. First the caveat – it is an extraordinarily unconventional book. Horowitz quotes rap lyrics, uses expletives liberally and his writing style is casual and in fact at times downright irreverent. This book may be deemed somewhat of a memoir infused with reams of sage advice. Ben Horowitz – who holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science - was the co-founder of enterprise software company Opsware, which he eventually sold to Hewlett-Packard for US $1.6 billion in 2007. After selling Opsware, Horowitz together with fellow technology entrepreneur, Marc Andreessen co-founded Andreessen Horowitz – a venture capital firm focused on high technology companies. Horowitz writes about his experience as an entrepreneur and CEO, founding and leading a technology start-up in the twilight days of the dot-com era. He writes about the myriad of challenges he faced along the way - growing the company, hiring and firing staff, going public, dealing with multiple round of layoffs and restructuring, and facing what seemed like all but certain bankruptcy when the dotcom bubble burst in 2001. Horowitz wrote this book ostensibly to give advice about the hard things in business – the things that you won’t find in a typical MBA course, the things that you won’t easily find the answers to anywhere. According to Horowitz, “Hard things are hard because there are no easy answers or recipes. They are hard because your emotions are at odds with your logic. They are BusinessFocus May/Jun

It’s Not an Easy Road hard because you don’t know the answer and you cannot ask for help without showing weakness.” Given the context of this book – a Silicon Valley entrepreneur running a start-up and eventual public company – the audience of the book might seem narrow. And you might well ask, as I did initially, “how is this book relevant to me?” Surprisingly, many of the lessons in fact, have broad applications. The struggles that Horowitz goes through will be relatable for any executive or entrepreneur who faces the daunting and often lonely and emotionally taxing task of leading a company of any size through the never-ending series of peaks and troughs of the typical business cycle. One of the key appeals of this book is the voice of Horowitz – his authenticity and vulnerability, his willingness to talk openly about his emotions as he faced trials of varying magnitudes. He does not try to present himself as some kind of infallible hero. Horowitz writes, “Great CEOs face the pain. They deal with the sleepless nights, the cold sweats, and what my friend the great Alfred Chuang (legendary co-founder and CEO of BEA Systems) calls “the torture.” Whenever I meet a successful CEO, I ask them how they did it. Mediocre CEOs point to their brilliant strategic moves or their intuitive business sense or a variety of other self-congratulatory explanations. The great CEOs tend to be remarkably consistent in their answers. They all say, “I didn’t quit” Horowitz talks with remarkable candour about his mistakes and the emotional highs and lows as he fought his various battles. He confesses to crying in his darkest hours. Horowitz’s deeply personal style of writing and his realness is the defining strength of this book. As you read it. you will get the impression, that you are hearing the voice of someone who has been there in the trenches like you, who knows what it feels like when your back is against the wall, who understands what it means when the buck truly stops at you and your next major decision could have far reaching consequence for the success or failure of your business. I heartily recommend the The Hard Thing about Hard Things to aspiring leaders, but particularly to entrepreneurs, CEO’s and general managers. ¤

Lyndell Halliday is an avid reader, lifelong learner and business executive, who has served in a range of leadership roles across the Caribbean. He is currently employed as the General Manager of Automotive Art (St Lucia) Ltd. Mr Halliday also lectures Leadership & Operations Management for the Australia Institute of Business MBA programme at the National Research and Development Foundation.

UK funds GeoThermal Energy Project UK Funds

In May 2015, the Minister of State approved £17.4 million through the International Climate Fund (ICF) for a five year programme to increase the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency measures, and so improve energy security in the Eastern Caribbean. £2.5 million will support a multi-donor fund for smallscale investment and technical assistance to the public sector (RDEL) while £14.9 million will be used to support geothermal GeoThermal Energy Project resource identification and exploration (majority CDEL). DFID will evaluate the results of the programme when it ends. According to Dfid: “The high cost of energy is a critical constraint to growth in the Eastern Caribbean and over-reliance on imported fossil fuels leads to growing economic imbalances, higher levels of external debt and reduced resilience to exogenous shocks. Some countries in the region pay around US$0.40/kWh for electricity. For comparison, average retail price in the US is around US$0.12/ kWh and US$0.23/kWh in the UK.

Islands in the Southern Caribbean are in line to benefit from a significant aid project funded by British taxpayers. The Department for International Development (Dfid) project to explore the potential of developing geothermal energy in Saint Lucia will, if successful, slash energy bills on the island and help cut greenhouse gases.

“Governments have expressed their desire to move towards lowcarbon energy systems but lack the finance, capacity and market opportunities to do so.”The programme takes a multi-strand approach to increasing renewable energy and energy efficiency in the Eastern Caribbean by providing grants and technical assistance to help unlock barriers to market and resource development. The approach aims to provide quick-wins with immediate benefits through energy efficiency but also lay the foundations for longer term transformation of the energy sector through the development of geothermal power. ¤

Promising Zika Vaccine Moves To Next Phase Of Human Trials With projections putting the regional cost of the ongoing spread of the Zika virus at billions of dollars, in April the news that we are one step closer to a vaccine against the mosquito-borne disease was timely. Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said that the DNA vaccine candidate developed by scientists at NIAID’s Vaccine Research Center has been successful in both animal trials and the first human trial. Following this success, the agency, which is part of the US National Institutes of Health, has moved into the next stage of testing. Volunteers have been signing up at clinics across the Americas to participate in the tests which are being carried out at 11 sites including those in Puerto Rico, Brazil, Mexico and Miami. This leg of the trial will involve 90 healthy adults divided into groups who will get different doses of the vaccine. The next step, starting mid-year, will see researchers conducting a randomized control trial in 2,400 adults and adolescents who have not been infected with the virus but who live in areas where it has been detected. The vaccine will not be tested in pregnant women, but it will be tested in women of child-bearing age. Some of the volunteers will be given a placebo. The vaccine could be moved to the next phase by the end of the year if all goes

according to plan. The US$100 million trial is fully funded through this phase, but it is not yet clear whether funding is available for the next phase. The Trump administration has proposed an 18 percent cut to the institutes’ budget, but it is not known what would be lost if the cuts get through Congress unchanged. Fauci insisted that the third phase of the trial is “a very high priority for us, and we will keep this as one of our higher priorities.” Noting that Zika will probably not go away any time soon, Fauci said that one of his goals is to develop a vaccine to keep children safe so when people of that generation have children of their own, they will not pass the virus along during pregnancy. There is evidence of mosquito-transmitted Zika in at least 84 countries, meaning there are thousands of foetuses at risk for birth defects if their mothers become infected. Birth defects linked to the virus include microcephaly, in which the head and brain don’t develop properly; vision and hearing defects; and learning disabilities. Scientists around the world are racing to create viable versions of a Zika vaccine. Source: Caribbean360.com BusinessFocus

May/Jun

ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS

Diving To Greener Heights Dive Saint Lucia Is World’s LEED Platinum PADO School

DIVING TO GREENER HEIGHTS: Dive Saint Lucia Is World’s First LEED Platinum PADI School

Since filling the custom-designed, rainwater-filled training pool for the first time in 2014, Team Dive Saint Lucia (DSL) has experienced swift success based on a sterling reputation for safety and quality, professionalism and the coolness of some of the island’s best PADI practitioners. After only two years of operation, Dive Saint Lucia has emerged with high praise and a top spot in online recommendations from happy guests and clients, but there is much more to these diving dudes than the adrenaline rush of life underwater. If diving is their profession, conservation is their passion. From the initial design of Saint Lucia’s first purpose-built dive school, through construction and launch, to daily operations on board DSL’s two sleek 46’ Newton Dive Specials, ‘green’ is at the heart of every decision and activity at Dive Saint Lucia. Now DSL is celebrating another first, as the company is the first dive school to be awarded LEED Platinum certification. Building an energy efficient operation and maintaining the smallest carbon footprint possible was priority from the outset, so Dive Saint Lucia signed up to the United States Green Building Council BusinessFocus May/Jun

certification program, Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, known globally as LEED. Projects pursuing LEED certification earn points across several areas that address sustainability issues. Based on the number of points achieved, a project receives one of four LEED rating levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. In an unprecedented achievement, despite the obstacles of its small island location and, some would say, against the odds, Dive Saint Lucia was awarded LEED Platinum certification in February 2017. LEED-certified buildings are resource efficient, using less water and energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and as an added bonus, saving money in the long term. According to the USBGC: “LEED is changing the way we think about how buildings . . . are planned, constructed, maintained and operated.” Around the world, sustainability-minded developers have made LEED the most widely used third-party verification for green buildings, with around 1.85 million square feet being certified daily. LEED consultants on the project were Accredited Energy Consulting Services (AECS) led by Dr. William Shoard, who stated:

“The ocean surrounding Saint Lucia is home to a complex and fragile ecosystem. Minimizing the impact to the island’s environment was of paramount importance to the owners of Dive Saint Lucia when deciding to build. “The LEED certification program is . . . the benchmark for environmentally sustainable buildings. By achieving the highest possible LEED rating, Dive Saint Lucia’s owners have made a statement demonstrating their commitment to sustainability.” Owner/Manager and Dive Master, Marcel Buechler, considers the commitment to green, sustainable practices as an ongoing challenge that Team Dive Saint Lucia has embraced as a common core value. “As divers, we do it because we must, and we believe every business owner should also do what they can to protect the environment. Achieving LEED Platinum certification is amazing, but in our work we see the damage to the ocean from plastics and garbage, so for Dive Saint Lucia, conservation is about living ‘green’ every single day.” Which means taking an active role in PADI’s own international ocean conservation organisation, ProjectAware.org, as well as collaborating with innovative local companies such as Greening The Caribbean to support recycling and other practical initiatives. At Dive Saint Lucia, they see every day, what happens when plastics and garbage wreak their particular type of environmental havoc below the beautiful Caribbean sea. By building ‘green’ into their business from the ground up, they hope to be real leaders in turning the tide in a more sustainable direction. For more information about Dive Saint Lucia, please visit DiveSaintLucia.com. For more about LEED Certification, please visit www.usbgc.com. ¤

Owner, Mr. Marcel Buechler, Hon. Minister Dr. Gail T.C. Rigobert Dive Saint Lucia uses rainwater in its training pool

BusinessFocus

May/Jun

YOUTH IN FOCUS FOCUS ENVIRONMENTAL

Junior Achievement Directors Meet With The Patron Saint Lucian Students Benefit From The Sandals Overseas Internship Programme

nior Achievement Directors Meet With The Patron

Patron of Junior Achievement, Her Excellency Dame Pearlette Louisy, hosted the first Junior Achievement Board of Directors meeting in March 2017 at Government House. The meeting was chaired by Director Kirt Hosam, with special guest, JA Alumni and 2016 National Carnival Queen Tyler Theophane, who represented Financial Investment and Consultancy Services (FICS). During the 90-minute session, Hosam introduced new directors, Johnathan Allain and Anselm Mathurin, and members were updated on the work of the programme for the first quarter and its impact on the youth. Discussions about financing, fundraising and public relations initiatives were raised, and members were given the opportunity to select a subcommittee to provide support. A core subject discussed between the Patron and members, was ways to increase visibility of the programme, and it was recommended that a print version of the bi-monthly newsletters be placed at public institutions. At the end of the meeting it was clear that the JA programme will continue in its mandate of offering Saint Lucian youth an opportunity to develop business skills that will help them throughout their lives. The Board thanked the Governor General for her contribution and for taking the time to meet with them. Â¤ BusinessFocus May/Jun

Saint Lucian students benefit from the Sandals Overseas Internship Programme Three graduates from the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, who are part of the Sandals Resorts International Overseas Internship Programme in Saint Lucia, have been making waves in Antigua, where they are working hard at carving out an exciting career in the hospitality sector. Yohan Henry, Teres Edwards and Michaela Edwards are all beneficiaries of the Overseas Internship Programme, a unique, cutting-edge collaboration between Sandals and the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, and they are delighted to be reaping the benefits of the doors Sandals has opened for them through its training. The Sandals overseas and internship programme offers young Saint Lucians the opportunity to experience hands-on training in tourism and hospitality, while visiting and living in another country for six months, and to participate in an apprenticeship programme at a Sandals resort outside of Saint Lucia. The young Saint Lucian professionals are urging their peers to value the training opportunities, which ultimately will stand them in better stead to pursue their dreams and give them the competitive advantage for placement within the industry. Â¤

CIBC Firstcaribbean Maintains Partnership With UWI

CIBC FIRSTCARIBBEAN MAINTAINS PARTNERSHIP WITH UWI The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus is expected to take a multi-million dollar step to help the Caribbean further develop through science and technology. The effort will see the establishment of a state-of-the art Faculty of Science and Technology at the campus. Principal and Pro Vice-Chancellor of The UWI, Cave Hill, Professor Eudine Barriteau spoke about this goal when Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CIBC FirstCaribbean Gary Brown paid her a courtesy call recently. She also said that the campus was aiming to increase its student population to close to its carry capacity of 9,000 by tapping in on non-traditional Caribbean markets as well as international markets. She said that the campus’ enrollment had declined after the Barbados government introduced tuition fees for local students, however, she was seeking to market the campus internationally by leveraging its reputation for offering a quality education as well as its location in Barbados highlighted by factors such as good international connections by air, access to digital technology and good social cohesion. Prior to meeting with the principal, the CEO toured the campus and said he was impressed with the facilities. Professor Barriteau noted that her predecessor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, now The UWI’s Vice Chancellor, had worked diligently to modernise it but the Faculty of Science and Technology, originally built in the 1960s, was out of pace with today’s requirements and was the next area for attention. Barriteau noted that growth in science and technology was integral to the region’s development; therefore it was necessary for faculty and the student population to have access to better facilities. In addition, she said having a modern faculty was important to the

Welcome!: Pro Vice Chancellor and Principal of the Cave Hill campus Eudine Barriteau officially welcomes CIBC FirstCaribbean’s CEO Gary Brown to Cave Hill. long term transformation of learning, delivery and investment at the campus. She added that the Caribbean Development Bank was carrying out preliminary work that will facilitate design and other fundamentals of the project. The CIBC FirstCaribbean CEO said the bank was interested in learning more about the project and was willing to help, especially recognising its link to the region’s development. CIBC FirstCaribbean is a long time supporter of the university. The parties formalised their relationship in 2003 with the signing of their first three-year memorandum of understanding (MOU). During the courtesy call, Mr. Brown presented Professor Barriteau with the final tranche of sponsorship money under the 2014-2017 MOU. Noting that the bank was pleased to partner with the university as it developed the human resources of the region, Brown announced that its community relation’s arm, the FirstCaribbean ComTrust Foundation, had given the go-ahead to commence negotiations with The UWI for a new MOU. The MOU usually targets scholarships for students, research funding as well as the campus’ outreach to the general public through the annual Frank Worrell Memorial Cricket Lecture and the annual International Women’s Day lecture. Professor Barriteau, who is in her second year as principal, thanked the bank for continuing its relationship with the university, adding that she would ensure the campus carry some visible sign of the bank’s tangible contribution. ¤ BusinessFocus

May/Jun

ALTERNATIVE SECURITY SERVICES (ST. LUCIA) LTD

Excellence, Integrity And Service. Alternative Security

Alternative Security Excellence, Integrity and Services Mr. Alexander’s trajectory took him from Corporal in 1991 and Sergeant in 1992, through Inspector in 1998 to Superintendent in 2008; he was also Commandant of the Police Training School for several years, a position that he particularly enjoyed in the school that had awarded him Baton Of Honor and Best Recruit at his own graduation ceremony.

Mr. Errol Alexander In July 2016, Mr. Errol Alexander joined Amalgamated Security Services Limited as Regional Brand Ambassador, responsible for undertaking operational audits of four subsidiary companies in Barbados, Guyana, Grenada and Saint Lucia. A scant eight months later, Mr. Alexander was transferred to his home base of Castries, as General Manager of ASSL’s Saint Lucia subsidiary, Alternative Security Services (St. Lucia) Ltd., a meteoric rise based in good part on his impressive experience and achievements in law enforcement and security. Born in Soufriere and raised in Castries, this true son of Saint Lucia was educated at Soufriere Boys Primary, St. Mary’s College and Morne Technical College. In 1986, he signed up to the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF), where his love for the profession was evident from early on, and he steadily moved up the ranks over the next thirty-one years. BusinessFocus Apr/May May/Jun

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Over the course of his stellar career, the former police officer built up a raft of training and skills in law enforcement topics including Management, Prosecution, Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Hostage Negotiation and Maritime Security. He served at the Regional Police Training Centre as an instructor for the US Department of Justice, worked with The International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program in Antigua and Barbados, and was Chair of the Women’s Support Shelter Committee with the Ministry of Health & Gender Relations. An avid believer in education and self-development, Mr. Alexander has gained an impressive list of qualifications in his own time, including a BSc in Criminal Justice and a Masters in Business Administration. Incredibly, this passionate leader and willing role model also found time to serve as National Scout Commissioner from 2003 to 2010. In 2013, he was assigned the role of Deputy Commissioner of Police, which he executed with his usual diligence and professionalism, standing in as Acting Commissioner on several occasions until his retirement in 2016. For his “excellent and dedicated service in the field of law enforcement”, Mr. Alexander was awarded the National Service Cross in February 2017, on the occasion of the Saint Lucia’s 38th Anniversary of Independence.

ALTERNATIVE SECURITY SERVICES (ST. LUCIA) LTD A subsidiary of Amalgamated Security Services Ltd (ASSL), a privately-owned security and risk management service, founded in 1983, based in Trinidad & Tobago and serving the Caribbean region. We employ over 200 professional and highly-qualified staff, who are committed to the highest standards of excellence, integrity and delivery of service. At Alternative Security Services Ltd., we work with clients to customise the perfect service for their needs, guided by the highest standards and specifications, integrating proven techniques with innovative technology and solutions.

Mr. Errol Alexander - General Manager, Daria Poyotte - Accountant and Linwall James - Operational Manager

Our Mission • To engender a feeling of peace, tranquility and wellbeing, through a wide range of services to our clients, employees and the community, by our highly motivated and committed Management Team, and an expertly trained staﬀ.

Our Goals • To completely satisfy our quality-conscious clients. • To develop and improve the personal skills of all employees. • To provide our clients with top quality service at reasonable cost. • To provide our employees with wages and beneﬁts that meet or exceed industry standards. • To foster a feeling of peace, tranquility and wellbeing in our community.

Our Services • Guard Services: Baton, Canine & Firearm ASSL offers expertise in quality services for home, business and property, maintaining the highest standards in the field, continuous communica tions and a 24-hour Command & Control Centre. • Cash Services: Collection, Delivery & Cash-In-Transit (CIT) ASSL offers reliable, competent, well-trained crews, seamless commu nications and state-of-the-art vehicles for movement of cash and valuables. Mobile Response: Alarm Services & Panic Buttons ASSL provides 24/7 coverage for alarm services, with response from base as well as specific outlying locations.

Our Location • Massade Industrial Estate Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

ALTERNATIVE SECURITY SERVICES (ST. LUCIA) LTD

Tel: 1-758-450-9171 Cell: 1-758-724-9417 1-758-285-6907 www.asslstlucia.com BusinessFocus Apr/May | 81 elaxander@assl.com

IN THE KNOW

Three Signs Your Brand Image Is Hurting Your Business

THREE signs your brand image is hurting your business By Hanna Fitz

1. Attracting the wrong clients So you have spent time building a new website, logo and social media and all the wrong clients keep showing up? You’ve got the skills you’ve got the tools but no one is showing up for them? At this point there can be several factors playing out, one of which could be related to your brand image. Have you ever walked pass a store and just by the look of the sign outside or the colours and design you were drawn in or may be repelled? This is what brand image is meant to do, qualify and disqualify clients. If you are attracting all the wrong customers it may be an indicator that you have not understood your ideal clients and have not created a brand image that will attract these people. The symbols in your brand image may be sending the wrong message and by default attracting the wrong people. This is why in my The Creative Brief Self-Study course, the first two modules are all about defining your ideal clients and connecting this to your signature brand image. This is a critical step. If you understand your clients, you can create the right image to attract them. 2. Competing on price Philip Kotler said “If you don’t have a brand you have a commodity.” The point of investing in a strong brand image is to create strong points of differentiation for your products and services compared to similar options on the market. Your brand image has the ability to send out a unique vibration that your ideal client is aligned with and will magnetize them to it. If there is no clear distinction between your brand and other similar options on the market,

BusinessFocus May/Jun

your clients will have a hard time not only connecting with it but seeing where the value lies. People are not always looking for the cheapest option. When a client can see a clear value proposition, price becomes less important because they understand that no one else will be able to give them the results you can offer. If you are competing on price, this puts you in a vulnerable position and you may find yourself struggling to stay in the market. Having a high quality brand image can add perceived value to your products and services. 3. Clients don’t spread the word Often when a client feels proud to be associated with a particular brand, they spread the word and share it with friends because they feel good having used these products and services. There is the ego element; where an association with certain brands make us feel special, gives the impression of status or shows that we are “in the know” or “on trend”. If you have a hard time getting referrals or clients are not talking about you and your work and referring it to other like-minded people, then you have some work to do on both your brand image and perhaps the quality of your products and services. Investing in a high-quality brand image can change the game in your business. It can assist you in attracting the right clients to your brand. It can convert your products and services from mere commodities into cultures. ¤ In my Free e-workbook “THE IRRESISTIBLE BRAND”, I share seven steps to building a brand that attracts high-value clients and how to build a brand that can charge a premium price. Download it to get started on magnetizing the right clients to your business at www.hannafitz.com

TH E N EW

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Hot Sports Auto Rental

Mongiraud, Gros Islet, P.O. Box 8330 Choc Cell: (758) 484-9007 Tel: (758) 721-7201 • 452-8022/32 Fax: (758) 452-0030 Email: hotsports@candw.lc Web: hsautorental.com

WITH FULL LINE OF Inc HIGH ENERGY EFFICIENT SGDOUR Engineering DC INVERTER PEAKE AIR CONDITIONING UNITS • Most Competitive prices with Installation backed by quality. • Installation and all required parts are included in cost prices. • All our Air Conditioning Units are backed by a Full one (1) year warranty. • We also Supply Air Conditioning Parts & Refrigerants.

Tel: 1-758-452-5185 Vide Bouteille Highway

email: info@sgdengineering.com BusinessFocus

May/Jun

IN THE KNOW

The Life Of An Entrepreneur Is Not Plain Sailing Sir Richard Branson’s Tips For Never Giving Up

Starting a business is hard, as any aspiring entrepreneur will tell you. Keeping a business going is harder, and developing a successful business is probably one of the biggest challenges in professional life. Motivation can wear thin, bumps in the road may seem insurmountable, but take it from one of the plant’s most successful business icons – there are strategies to overcome virtually anything, if you have the right mindset. “My approach has always been to treat obstacles as opportunities, then strive to meet the challenges ahead,” says the founder of Virgin Group, one of the world’s most successful businesses of the past fifty years. “Even failure itself presents an opportunity: It’s not a dead end – it’s just a hurdle to overcome. Entrepreneurs should learn to embrace failure with open arms, says the creator of the iconic record label, entertainment megastore chain, airline, travel company and world’s first commercial spaceship. But how do you go about that? “When confronted with an obstacle, I find it’s best to deal with it by breaking it down into its smallest components. Then ask yourself: What can I do to positively affect each one?” explains Branson in an online blog. “There will be some things that you can’t change, of course.” It’s Not About Fitting In When he was young, Sir Richard was confronted with one of the biggest obstacles of his life: he couldn’t follow lessons in school. “My teachers thought I was lazy, and it wasn’t until many years later that I was diagnosed with the learning disability, dyslexia. But rather than just give up, I stopped wasting time and energy

trying to fit in and do things the ‘right’ way (as dictated by my teachers) and began to try to solve my problems however I could. “Since I couldn’t learn much by reading, for example, I would talk over the lessons with my classmates instead. This constant need to adapt to my situation taught me to approach problems creatively in all areas of life.” But the obstacles didn’t stop when Branson went into business. “After my friends and I launched Virgin, it wasn’t all smooth sailing, especially when we entered new industries,” he says. “Learning on the job has been a defining characteristic of our team’s experience. From Virgin Records to Virgin Hotels, every day has brought a different challenge, which, once overcome, teaches us another useful lesson. “ Embrace Your Inner Underdog Perhaps the toughest obstacles were found when Virgin took on the airline industry. When Virgin Atlantic began, the airline had only one plane and were clearly the underdog. They faced issues with banks, logistical problems and bigger competitors who had a lot more money. In the eyes of many they appeared doomed. But Sir Richard Branson was persistent.

“

Nearly every entrepreneur endures a business failure somewhere along the line. I have failed so many times that I couldn’t list them all! But it’s because of those failures that I have enjoyed success.

”

BusinessFocus May/Jun

“

It would have been easier for us to quit than it was to persevere – and in fact, since then, 16 of our 17 original competitors have gone out of business.

”

“We learned to combat our competitors’ big budgets with smart and memorable marketing. We learned that rather than keeping silent, we needed to stay in the public eye and answer our critics when the company faced hardships. And we learned that if we stayed true to ourselves, our brand and our ideals, we would win our customers’ trust and their business. But overcoming the obstacles wasn’t just about making sure Virgin Atlantic was a success, it also taught Richard some valuable lessons. “Had we not faced these obstacles at Virgin Atlantic and learned great lessons from them, then we wouldn’t have gone on to launch Virgin Australia and Virgin America, along with hundreds of other businesses in a number of different industries around the world. Try, Try And Try Again According to Sir Richard Branson, there are few certainties in business, except that you will be faced with adversity and fail from time to time. Every entrepreneur’s success story is a tale of constant adaptation, revision and change. “When you come across a situation that’s unpleasant, difficult or challenging, you can decide to give up, re-adjust, or turn it to your advantage. Obstacles and challenges are integral to an entrepreneur’s work – don’t let them dissuade you from getting the job done or prevent you from realising your dreams.” ¤

Improving the quality of your Hindoor & L Environmental Services environment

Promoting Health Our Services Include: • Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Assessments • Mold Inspections & Testing • Mold Remediation Tel: (758) 384-7868

Email: info@hnles.com Derniere Riviere Web: www.hnles.com Dennery, St. Lucia BusinessFocus

May/Jun

IN THE KNOW

Harris Paints Introduces New Brand For Professionals

Harris Paints Introduces New Brand For Professionals The island’s leading paint company recently unveiled its newest line of decorative paints, designed to help Saint Lucian professionals work within tight maintenance or renovation budgets by providing a cost-effective alternative where there is considerable pressure on prices. Pro Speed Cover is the innovative new line of water-based, interior/exterior products, and it is the first commercial paint from a regional manufacturer specially designed for the trade sector. The new Pro Speed Cover brand was unveiled at a ‘Breakfast of Champions’ launch, held at Bay Gardens Hotel in Rodney Bay. It was attended by over a hundred specially-invited contractors, maintenance managers and key industry professionals, who had a front row introduction to the performance properties of each of the new products, as well as the extensive testing and comparison materials provided. In introducing this new line, Harris Paints has recognised that the trade sector has very specific needs, and requires flexible options depending on the nature of the project and its priorities. Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Orlando Vazquez explains: “Professionals well know that premium paint such as Harris Ulttima Plus, will provide the highest performance, best all-round results and lifetime value for their clients. Yet, owing to the need to be more competitive, some contractors have been calling for a lower cost alternative that can reduce their overheads substantially and help drive their business while delivering serviceable performance. That has been the major motivation behind the development of this new brand.”

Eggshell finishes utilise FLOWTEK 555 Technology, a speciallybalanced and optimised formulation that produces excellent spreadability and coverage without compromising hide”. In ideal conditions, Pro Speed Cover Flat spreads up to 40% or 200 square feet per gallon more than similar products. This can result in considerable savings for contractors, even factoring in that coverage can be affected by a number of variables from the porosity of the substrate to the tools that are used. While products with a higher sheen normally don’t spread quite as far, Pro Speed Cover Eggshell performs above average, spreading about 20% or 100 square feet per gallon further than comparative product in tests. Also unveiled was the remarkable Pro Speed Cover Gloss with a high shine lustre usually associated with traditional oil paints. This innovative water-based gloss contains FAST-FUSE Technology that allows the product to dry for re-coat in as little as 1 hour, which can significantly increase the turnaround time of a job. It was also demonstrated to be an excellent choice for use on windows and doors as its quick-curing properties prevent freshly painted surfaces from sticking together in as little as 4 hours! Unlike oilbased products Pro Speed Cover Gloss won’t yellow, has low odour and washes up easily in water.

The exciting new range is available in 3 finishes - Flat, Eggshell and Gloss - and each has been specially formulated to provide key benefits and cost savings to contractors.

The Pro Speed Cover range is expected to play a vital but selective role in Saint Lucia’s commercial paint market, particularly on projects that need frequent repainting, or in secondary areas that do not demand the very highest quality finishes. Key sectors include maintenance of commercial properties, new construction, property sales, residential and office rental markets. Harris Paints are offering customers a Buy 5 Get 1 Free Special Offer on all products in this range until 30 April.

Christopher Joseph, Trade Manager for Harris Paints in Saint Lucia, pointed out: “While these products are being offered at a great price, they have some exceptional characteristics. The Flat and

For further information, please contact Christopher Joseph, telephone 724-6071 or email: christopher.joseph@ harrispaintsonline.com ¤

BusinessFocus May/Jun

Suicide: Do Caribbean Businesses have Suicide: Do Caribbean Businesses Have A Responsibility For Prevention a responsibility for Prevention? By: Brian Ramsey

Last year in Guyana there were news reports of two separate women who had committed suicide by jumping into the waterfall at Kaituer Falls. Periodically throughout the Caribbean we read about other persons who have committed suicide. There is a common belief throughout the region that if someone wants to commit suicide they will find a way to do it. Is it possible however that at some future date a bereaved family member will sue a business on the basis that they could have prevented the person from committing suicide? Even without the possibility of a lawsuit, which business wants the negative publicity attendant with someone committing suicide on their premises? In addition dealing with the aftermath of a suicide can be considerable and would involve; blocking off the area where the suicide occurred, dealing with the police, having to clean up the affected area, providing counseling for employees or other persons on the premises who witnessed the suicide, providing medical assistance to anyone who might have been injured during the suicide, maybe having to go to court if there is coroner’s inquest and if in a hotel possibly having to provide rebates to guests who witnessed the suicide, along with the negative publicity. Suicide on a Company’s premises is therefore clearly a potential issue that all businesses should address, with the focus being on suicide prevention. Within the overall issue of suicide prevention there are however two issues to address; persons who use a business place to commit their act of suicide and employees who commit suicide and the claim that they were driven to it by their job. The first issue is clearly a security issue and dealing with this begins with a security assessment that recognizes that suicide on premises is a potential risk. There are several means by which people commit suicide with the most common in the Caribbean being the ingestion of a poisonous substance, by hanging or by jumping from a high location. Other methods used, though less common in the Caribbean, include willful drug overdose, carbon monoxide poisoning from car exhausts, purposely inhaling fumes from an oven that is on, slitting of wrists and shooting one’s self. According to the National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England 2006, “research has indicated that the likelihood of taking one’s life will depend to some extent on the ease of access to, and knowledge of, effective means. One reason is that suicidal behavior is sometimes impulsive so that if a lethal method is not immediately available a suicidal act can be prevented”. Consequently any suicide prevention strategy for a business in the Caribbean must take cognizance of the methods used for committing suicide and then identify systems to prevent it without impairing the overall operation of the business. Clearly where a business uses poisonous substances in their daily operation, the business must have operational procedures in place that ensure that access to these substances are controlled and only allowed to persons to who have a legitimate need to use these substances. The procedures must however go beyond simply being written procedures but be actively enforced. Too often in the Caribbean we see where an area is supposed to be

kept locked and instead the area is left open sometimes with the keys hanging in the lock simply because the person in charge finds it too onerous to have to repeatedly get up and open then close the area. The excuse that is sometimes given is that “I am sitting here near to the entrance so I can see who goes to the entrance”. While that may sound plausible is the person really looking at the entrance all the time or are they periodically distracted by telephone calls or persons coming to speak with them. Recognizing that jumping from high places is another common method of suicide; businesses need to consider how they can limit the access to these high places. The most obvious conclusion would be to simply ensure that the doors leading to rooftops or high ledges are always kept locked. However while it might seem both obvious and suicide-preventative to lock exits to high ledges or seal doors to some hallways, it may not be allowable under certain fire and safety codes. As a result other options should be explored. Many years ago, the writer was staying in a hotel in Germany and noticed that outside all the windows was mesh netting. Upon inquiry I was told it was to stop persons from jumping out the windows in a suicide attempt. Now this netting gave the hotel exterior an appearance of being encased in a giant fish net. Since that time hotel designers have developed more aesthetically pleasing suicide prevention devices. Among these are artistic metal bars and also angled nets below windows that are based on the premises that you cannot jump far enough outward to escape being caught by the net. Some international hotels now seal the windows to all guest rooms so that they cannot be opened or only allow windows to be opened by several inches so fresh air can enter but a person cannot jump out. Any suicide prevention strategies for a business must include staff awareness through education. Staff have to be taught what are the potential signs to look for and then what action to take. Very often companies train their staff to alert for various things and then tell them to inform their supervisor. The poor supervisor however has no idea of what to do when staff come to them with the concern. Any training therefore must also extend to providing supervisors and managers with clear guidelines on actions to take. ¤ Brian Ramsey has a B.A. in Accounting & Management, along with an M.B.A. in Finance and over 29 years in the Caribbean security field. He is the Regional Development Director for Amalgamated Security Services Limited which operates in Grenada, Barbados, St Lucia, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago and is the parent company of Alternative Security Services (St. Lucia) Limited. He can be contacted at bramsey@assl.com. BusinessFocus

May/Jun

IN THE KNOW

The Client/Lawyer Relationship

The client/lawyer relationship The relationship between the client and lawyer is a distinctive one. It is immaterial whether the two parties were acquainted before engaging in business together, graduated from the same secondary school, university or course. This relationship falls between a marriage and a business partnership. It must be built on mutual respect, trust, and regular communication. When a client visits a lawyer’s office for the first time, both the client and the lawyer are likely to start defining the relationship in the long term by those first impressions. Was the client late for the appointment? Did the lawyer keep the client waiting for a very long time? The client, who is forty five minutes late for his or her first appointment without apology, is simply disrespectful. Similarly, if a client is waiting indefinitely, without explanation, and had an appointment, this is also in poor taste. Both parties should value each other’s time. The client must appreciate that the lawyer has other appointments; meetings, court appearances and extensive paperwork, and similarly the lawyer, that the also client has other commitments. The lawyer should reward a punctual client with being available immediately, for the set appointment. The relationship is NOT like a small child/parent relationship. Both parties should understand the importance of each other’s role in order to make this arrangement work well. A lawyer advises a client based on the information that has been gathered in the meetings with the client, and will attempt to solve the problem or problems arising in an effective manner. The client in turn instructs the lawyer on the course of action to be taken, after receiving advice from the lawyer on the options available to resolve the legal difficulty. Therefore, sending an email demanding a lawyer acts immediately in a patronising manner, even if the lawyer does all the legal work for the company, business, family or individual is rude! Some lawyers (and clients) are more formal than others. From the first meeting, this will be easily established by the way the lawyer addresses the client, his or her availability, ease of access and whether the lawyer prefers appointments instead of a ‘just drop by’ approach. It is important for the client and the lawyer to quickly learn each other’s rhythm especially if the client will be returning frequently for advice on his or her matter or matters. Confidentiality is a vital dynamic in the client/lawyer relationship. The client must bear in mind that if the lawyer works with a law firm that confidentiality automatically runs to the other lawyers in the firm. The support staff will also have some information depending on their involvement, and the entire team is expected to keep all matters in absolute confidence. In some instances, the client may know one of the lawyers working in the law firm personally, or even a member of the support staff. As a result, the client may request that this individual involvement is either limited BusinessFocus May/Jun

By: Trudy O. Glasgow BA, LL.B (Hons), BVC, LL.M, P.C.H.E*

or excluded. The client’s preference would be considered but he or she would have to seek legal advice elsewhere if it is not feasible. The client should not attempt to lead the lawyer especially when the lawyer has to consider his or her own integrity and reputation. A smart lawyer will not jeopardise his or her relationship with his or her colleagues for any client. By the same token, the client should not expect such behaviour from his or her lawyer. It is a balancing act to provide the best legal advice for a client and maintain cordial ties with the lawyer on the other side, especially in family and land matters which can become quite contentious. In essence, professionalism must rule the day , so to speak! The role and public image of the lawyer has been distorted by some members of society. There are those who believe that his or her lawyer should be available 24/7 as the saying goes, including weekends and holidays. The truth is that lawyers have their own personal lives, responsibilities, duties and obligations possibly similar to some of their clients. Lawyers that make themselves available at any time may be setting an unrealistic precedent to their clients. It is not possible to be always available due to varying personal commitments. Clients who are continually accommodated in this manner may face disappointment if their lawyers are indisposed when they need them. Clients should use their discretion when contacting their lawyers out of office hours. The client should question the urgency of the matter, and whether or not it can wait. If the answer is in the affirmative, then contact the lawyer during office hours. It demonstrates that the client has some consideration for the lawyer’s personal time. ¤ Ms. Trudy O. Glasgow, B.A (History), LL.B (Hons.), B.V.C, LL.M, P.C.H.E, is a practising attorney at the law firm of Trudy O. Glasgow & Associates and a courtappointed mediator and author in Saint Lucia (and has also taught law at University level in the UK). Ms. Glasgow is the current Vice President of the Bar Association of Saint Lucia and sits on various boards including Co-Chair and founding member of 100 women who care, St. Lucia chapter; Chairperson of the National Research and Development Foundation (NRDF); former Board member of Legal Aid Board and the Rotary Club of Gros Islet. She wrote a weekly legal column, Simply law, in The Voice newspaper for eight years (20072015) and resumed in The Mirror Newspaper (2016 to present) published a book which is a selection of her articles with some new material. Share your thoughts and comments: you are invited to email me at trudyoglasgow@lawyer.com

Travel Saint Lucia: A Millennial’s Playbook

Travel Saint Lucia: A Millennial’s Playbook By: Kezia Preville

It can be agreed that Tourism is the main driving force behind Saint Lucia’s economic stability. Proudly amassing numerous accolades over the years, the island paradise is especially known as one of the most romantic destinations. Couples flock the tiny island to say “I do” in picturesque Pigeon Island National Landmark, capturing the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean as their backdrop. Awesome right? The atmosphere seems to spell out love and romance and creates a great wedding destination. Some say it’s something in the air; whatever it is, Saint Lucia has it! Whether arriving by land, sea, air or enjoying a staycation (always a choice for us homegrown folk), there is something for everyone. Adventure seekers find solace in the welcoming deep blue seas, diving the exotic waters off Anse Cochon Bay for example, or exploring nature with an aerial view of the forest on the world class zip-line down in Dennery.

volcano, the Sulphur Springs, for a tour and a mineral-fueled mud bath before heading to the Diamond Falls. And they wouldn’t be finished yet! These adrenaline junkies would still have time for a sunset cruise that evening before heading to the Gros Islet Street Party to get loose and enjoy authentic Saint Lucian dishes (a big plus here) and music. Unlike the older generations, millennials would cram as much into their short vacation as possible and fill up their social media feeds with numerous cute vacation photos (more so to distress colleagues left behind). The more remote and adventurous the activity the better, so kite flying and sky diving would be way up on the list. More bang for their buck! What about our untouched, unplugged life style? Could they survive in the quaint villas carved into the very mountains offering quiet walks on the beach under the starlit night – no filter needed? Now that’s a tricky one I must admit.

History buffs delve into the country’s vibrant past and fair Helen does her best to keep her rich history alive through colourful and animated Carnival activities, Creole Day festivities and Nobel Laureates Week Celebrations honouring our two distinguished laureates Sir Arthur Lewis and Sir Derek Walcott. For a land bursting with cultural exuberance, creativity and always beaming with activities throughout the year, Saint Lucia is a true melting pot of excellence and a wondrous haven for every type of visitor.

Getting a millennial to unplug isn’t that easy (I am proudly in the club so can relate). The philosophy is get the most out of life. This would mean more time to see the world, as you only live once. Don’t forget a varied cuisine and they will have no complaints! Work life balance is easier to manage for them, but they need to keep in the loop at all times – not wanting to miss a moment ever! Most often returning from a vacation means needing another vacation to recharge for the real world.

But what about the millennials? The technological buffs who feed off likes and spend the better part of the vacation getting the best selfie. How does the largest generation with disposable income, match up to what we offer as an island paradise?

For millennials, staying connected is as essential as breathing, so keep them happy, don’t block the Wi-Fi signal!

No, not a trick question. A sincere one. Would these so-called trendsetters enjoy the likes of a five-star resort with 3-wall rooms facing the World Heritage Pitons? The answer is simply ‘yes’ but they don’t necessarily want too. Millennials are curious in nature and love living life through numerous experiences – the quirkier the better. Not only do they have the income, but through their technological prowess, they would have done thorough research before booking any trip. If something is not as advertised, they would be the first to post their dislike. On a typical day, a millennial could easily enjoy the view of the Pitons, book a hike then drive over to the world’s only drive in

Simply put, Saint Lucia is a haven for millennials and it ticks all the right boxes - a great online presence, updated and engaging social media platforms, and remote and unusual adventure seeking activities, that keep them coming back for more. ¤

Kezia Preville is a Marketing

and Business Development Specialist with over 10 years’ experience in various industries. For more information, contact her at AdVizze Inc on kezia@ ad-vizze.com. For more information about destination management, we can help. Visit www.ad-vizze.com

BusinessFocus

May/Jun

IN THE KNOW

Saint Lucia looks for ‘100 Men Who Give A Damn’

Saint Lucia looks for ‘100 Men Who Give A Damn Are you a Woman Who Cares? How often do we hear people say, “I’d love to do something to help others but what can I do. I am just one person and I don’t know where to start.” Well there is an opportunity to help those in need in Saint Lucia. 100 Women Who Care is a group of women who care deeply about the Saint Lucia community. The group gathers four times a year for a one-hour meeting, and each member donates EC$100 to a charity that the group selects. Once there are 100 members, the combined donation comes to EC $10,000, which makes a real impact, without time-consuming fundraising events and planning. Our mission and our hope is to provide for those in greatest need in St Lucia. We hope you will join us at our next meeting to see how easy and fun it is! 100 Women Who Care is for you if: • You don’t have time in your busy life to volunteer, but have been wanting to help those in need, and you can commit to one hour every three months; • You are committed to helping others in the community; • Want to be a part of a powerful group of local women making an immediate, direct, and positive effect on the lives of our neighbours; • You are involved with other groups but are interested in meeting other women philanthropists in Saint Lucia; • Want to learn more about the many worthy community service programs and organizations serving Saint Lucia; • You want your $100 donation to become a part of a larger amount of money by joining together with other women— creating a powerful impact in our local area. • Wish 100% of your contribution to go to local charities. If one, or all, of the above applies then complete a commitment form to become one of 100 Women Who Care, Saint Lucia! BusinessFocus May/Jun

The History of 100 Women Who Care 100 Women Who Care was first started in Jackson, Michigan (USA) by Karen Dunigan in 2008. Her group of 100 women, at their first one hour meeting, raised $10,000 to buy 300 new baby cribs for an organization in their city. Their membership has now grown to nearly 300 members. Sister chapters have popped up all over the US, Canada, and into Mexico. There are now over 170 chapters throughout the continent with more being established everyday. We are thrilled to now have 100 Women Who Care in our Saint Lucia community, which will have a great impact on local charity. Saint Lucia, like many places worldwide, is experiencing economic hardship. There is a need for we, who enjoy a better standard of living than those less fortunate, to offer a hand up. Our members are the committed, caring women who are either stalwart citizens of Saint Lucia or reside here for several months of the year. Membership is by invitation. 100 women Who Care St. Lucia is chaired by Valerie Jenkinson, CEO of World Water and Wastewater Solutions Ltd. Valerie has been residing part time in Saint Lucia for the last six years, consulting in the water and wastewater industry throughout the Caribbean. She is a member of 100 Women Who Care, Kelowna, Canada and saw an opportunity to start a chapter in Saint Lucia to assist those in need here. We are delighted that former Senator and tourism veteran Berthia Parle, in recognising the value the organisation can bring to our country, has agreed to be the Patroness of 100 Women Who Care St. Lucia. Patron Berthia Parle describes why she became involved and why she is an enthusiastic supporter of 100 Women: “When I was first approached with the idea of setting up a St Lucia chapter of 100 Women Who Care, I was immediately struck by the simplicity of the idea. I know so many busy women, like myself, who want to give back to the community and those in

need but who have so little time and often not much knowledge of the local charities. Other chapters have had amazing results and the success of our meetings and the growth in members is a testament to how this venture has struck a cord with women in our community”. Upcoming Meetings: • Tue, July 11th, 2017 • Tue, October 17th, 2017 • Tue January 16th, 2018 Introducing ‘100 Men Who Give A Damn’ If you were asked, “If you could significantly help those in need by just giving one hour of your time and $100EC every 3 months would you do it?” The answer would usually be a resounding, “Yes.” And that is all it takes for members of 100 Men Who Give a Damn who joined 100+ Women Who Care St. Lucia on April 11th at the Bay Gardens Beach Resort. The 100 Who Care is a simple concept with a big impact. The goal is to do the most amount of good, in the least amount of time by injecting a cash donation into the work of a local charity through funds, exposure and awareness.

“The plan is to gather 100 men in a room, where each member can nominate a local charity,” stated the Chairman of ‘100 Men,’ Jean St. Rose, the General Manager of Coco-Palm Resorts. “Three charities are picked at random from those nominated, and they each present for five minutes, who they are and to what end they would use the donations. All members then vote for one of the three, and we count everyone’s anonymous vote. The winning charity is the one with the most votes, each member gives their $100 to that charity and we all go home. There is nothing more to do until the next meeting when we repeat the process and select a new charity. It’s that simple!” The original 100 Men Who Give a Damn organisation was founded in Halifax, Canada in February 2014. The founding chapter has grown to over 350 members, and more than 25 new 100 Men chapters have begun to give a damn throughout North America, and now the Caribbean. The 100 Men Cayman Islands, the first chapter in the Caribbean, now has over 400 members. The 100 Men are an offshoot of 100 Women Who Care whose St Lucia chapter started a year and a half ago and now has over 120 members. Jean St. Rose attended one of the 100 Women meetings last year. “I was so impressed by the efficiency of the organisation I asked if the women would help us start 100 Men. I have never seen such an easy way to raise funds and there is an increasing need in Saint Lucia”. ¤

Foreign Companies Can Now Open HQs In St. Lucia Mr. Chastanet spoke of the country needing investors locally, regionally and internationally, noting that Saint Lucia’s economy is not big enough to cover its expenses. “Health care is under-financed, education is underfinanced, policing is under-financed and infrastructure is under-financed,” he stated. The Prime Minister is not keen on increasing taxes, due to his belief that this will make Saint Lucia an expensive place to invest, and will therefore turn investors away.

Foreign companies can now have their headquarters in Saint Lucia, following the passage of a new piece of legislation by UWP government that encourages exactly that. The Prime Minister believes the legislation, which was recently passed in parliament, will bring more consumers into Saint Lucia, and people with deep pockets who will buy expensive items, patronise supermarkets, restaurants and other businesses. The legislation and other initiatives are aimed at making the country attractive to investors from overseas.

“The more taxes you put on, the more it discourages people to invest in the country. We must make Saint Lucia more attractive to investors - not just foreign direct investment, but regional and local investment,” Mr. Chastanet said, adding that investors must have confidence they will see a return on their investments. The Prime Minister said that within the last five years, people were not investing in St. Lucia resulting in government not seeing any level of growth. This situation, he said, increased the burden of debt on the country. ¤

BusinessFocus

May/Jun

HEALTH & WELLNESS ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS

Healthy Eating on a Budget

Healthy Eating on a Budget We’re now into the second quarter of the year and many of us are wondering where our resolutions went to. On December 31st, many of us were filled with the best of intentions. We’d exercise regularly, eat healthily, lose weight . . . The list can go on. The biggest hurdle most people have to eating healthily – or “eating clean” – isn’t the food. Fresh, homemade, organic food is delicious! It isn’t giving up those “unclean” foods. There may be that one food you just can’t let go of, but that usually isn’t the issue either. The issue is the bottom line. Healthy eating costs money! Do you remember the time you almost fainted when the total came up at the checkout line at the supermarket? Maybe you didn’t even make it that far. Maybe you picked up the package of organic cereal, took one look at the price and promptly walked the other way, thinking “how do people afford to eat this way?” Unless you have a whole lot of discretionary income, changing your way of eating and shopping doesn’t usually happen overnight. We make small changes, keep looking for ways to eat clean on a budget, and find ways to funnel more money to the food line. To help you out, here are some tips for eating clean on a budget: 1.

Make it from scratch – Cooking at home saves money over eating out any day. You can even take it one step further and start making food from scratch. You will save money and, better yet, you will know exactly what’s in the food you’re eating. Try mastering one new dish a week!

2. Plan your meals and shop with a list – It is always a good idea to have a plan. You will save money by knowing what you need and making fewer trips to the supermarket. BusinessFocus May/Jun

By: Dr. Tanya Destang-Beaubrun

Buy in bulk – If you can, purchase larger quantities, and freeze the extra for another week. Stores always have bigger packs that cost less per unit. Be wary, though. Sometimes the big package isn’t less so make sure to check the unit price and be a smart shopper.

Shop local and in season – get to the local market every week. Foods that are in season are generally cheaper than foods that have to be shipped from halfway around the globe. Also, it pays to know your farmer and buy directly from the source. I’ve always loved visiting the Castries Market on a Saturday morning. The colour and variety of foods always fills me with joy.

5. Go meatless – If you haven’t cut meat out of your diet yet, you can start by eliminating it from a few meals a week. Beans are cheaper than beef! Meatless Monday has now become quite common. There are many meatless recipes available online, and from experience, I can tell you they taste really good!

I hope these tips will help you with your goals of eating healthier. Remember, making just one small change every week or every month will eventually add up, and before you know it, eating clean will become a part of how you live. Now . . . If only we could exercise regularly . . . and stop smoking and . . . Ah well, baby steps. ¤

EC Global Insurance

Diabetic Ulcer

MEDICAL

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Ozone Therapy

VE Medical

Alternative Treatment Medical Problems

Amputation

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Is this a Treatment you are interested in as a Preventative or Alternative Treatment for a Medical Problem? Now available in St Lucia at Karlione Court, Rodney Bay

OZONE THERAPY

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Tel: 1-758-457-7400 BusinessFocus

May/Jun

HEALTH & WELLNESS ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS

OZONE THERAPY ...

Ozone Therapy ... A new Treatment now available in St Lucia

a new Treatment available in St Lucia Why use Medical Ozone? Ozone is an underutilized therapy, with negligible risk both as a treatment and as a preventative therapy, due to its powerful detoxification and healing properties. It is also generally less expensive than many other treatments. Ozone gas cannot be bottled, as it has a halflife of only 45 minutes. Ozone is therefore immediately delivered to the body in a number of different ways according to the condition being treated.

In a recent interview with Dr. Mora Rodriguez (Ophthalmologist), more information was shared about Ozone Therapy in Saint Lucia. Leg bagging

zone Therapy is a medical therapy that has been used worldwide for over 50 years, with dramatic success and safety. The ancient Hebrew meaning of the word ‘ozone’ is ‘Breath of God’. Ozone is also referred to as ‘activated oxygen.’ As ozone is an unstable gas, its life is very short, depending on the temperature. After completing its job, it reverts back to oxygen. The modern development of ozone application in medicine began in the 1950s in Europe, and gradually spread throughout Europe to Australia, Israel, Cuba, Brazil and Columbia. As far back as World War 1, ozone was used medically to treat wounds and other infections. Over 5000 physicians worldwide now routinely use ozone in their medical practice. Ozone is one of nature’s most powerful oxidants. Yes, this is the same ozone in the atmospheric layer, that is responsible for shielding ultra-violet light from the sun, oxidizing the pollutants in the air, and which can be produced from medical oxygen via electrical discharge. Ozone in the atmosphere causes smog and can be toxic, but ozone produced for medical purposes has remarkable healing properties. Medical ozone differs from atmospheric ozone in that it is pure and concentrated. This is an important distinction, because atmospheric ozone, produced from ultraviolet radiation, is combined with different nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide products and is harmful. It is not used in medical practice. Medical ozone is produced by passing oxygen through a special electric coil generator; the oxygen (O2) gains an extra atom, making it ozone (O3). BusinessFocus May/Jun

Why are you interested in Ozone Therapy as a patient treatment option? In Cuba, there is an ozone generator in every major hospital emergency room. It helps heart patients and stroke victims recover much quicker. Cuba is very much at the forefront of research in the use of Ozone Therapy. Dr. Silvia Menendez and her team have produced some impressive results with the use of ozone for a variety of medical problems. Did you refer Ophthalmology patients to the Ozone Department? Yes, I was head refractive surgeon in one if the large Cuban hospitals. I had firsthand experience of the results of using Ozone Therapy for various eye conditions, particularly revitalization of the optic nerve in glaucoma patients. Why has Ozone Therapy now been introduced in Saint Lucia? After over a year’s worth of further research, it was realized that not only was this a useful naturopathic option for some ophthalmology patients, but there were many other people who could benefit from the use of Ozone Therapy treatments. What does Ozone Therapy offer? Ozone accomplishes these very important tasks in your body: • Ozone is anti-aging • Ozone helps your immune system • Ozone increases energy production in your cells • Ozone increases the activity of your antioxidant enzyme system • Ozone reduces the level of acidity in your body • Ozone kills bacteria and fungus in your body • Ozone can help to kill cancer cells

Ozone Therapy is a naturopathic treatment, and is meant as a complimentary treatment to traditional medicine.

We hope that doctors treating patients with diabetes symptoms will consider this as a cost-effective, additional treatment option. We already have had discussions with a cancer specialist and an orthopedic doctor, but we are open to all discussions with and ideas from all types of medical practitioners. __________________________________________

Will Ozone Treatment be available as part of a treatment plan for patients of other doctors in Saint Lucia? Yes, certainly. We are aware that this is not part of mainstream medicine, but we are hoping many of the doctors in Saint Lucia will be open to work with us to try Ozone treatment as part of a general medical plan for many difficult problems.

As Ozone Therapy is a new naturopathic option in Saint Lucia, its uses for various treatments will be developed over the next year. Additional specialists will be brought in to work with the Ozone Therapy team on various treatment plans, and later in the year, on combining the ozone treatment option with PRP and stem cell treatments.

Some doctors already envision ozone being used by the general population for its rejuvenating effect and as a preventative treatment option. But ozone can be also used as an additional and alternative naturopathic treatment, for various medical problems.

There is a lot of information on the internet about the benefits and uses of Ozone Therapy treatment. Maybe this is something which could help you and is now available in Saint Lucia.

For instance, patients with Diabetes can run the risk of complications such as loss of vision, heart disease, nerve dysfunction and gangrenous limbs. All these problems can be addressed by Ozone Therapy. Ozone â&#x20AC;&#x153;baggingâ&#x20AC;? can be used for gangrenous limbs; immersing the leg in ozone for ten to twelve sessions can kill off gangrene and leg ulcers.

VE Medical encourages you to read up about its uses and consider Ozone Therapy an additional option to help with some medical issues. Â¤

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BusinessFocus

May/Jun

HEALTH & WELLNESS ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS

Sacred Workspace

SACRED WORKSPACE By: Samantha Turner-Girard

There is a theory that the more you love your workspace, the more you will love your work. And when you start your work with a healthy respect and elevated intentions, then your productivity and outcomes are heightened. If you are in a position to change wall paint and re-arrange office furniture, then go for it! However, most of us have to make do with the space we have been given, whether it is a cubicle, a desk or the corner office on the top floor. One thing that has been proven is that productivity is directly linked to the environment in which you work. To consider a space ‘sacred’ means that any ritual, action or thought that takes place is carried out with the highest possible spiritual intention - it can be a temple, shrine or church, but it should also inform the rest of your life, including your workspace. Make the space in which you earn your livelihood calm and sacred by incorporating a few, if not all, the following guidelines: 1. Include a desk plant to increase the ‘prana’ or life force in your surroundings. 2. Dark colours drain energy, whereas light, bright spaces foster harmonious working relationships If you cannot change the colour of your office, place a piece of art close to your desk, with a calming scene that invokes tranquility 3. Clear away all clutter that are serving no purpose on desk and in drawers, like pens that do not work broken BusinessFocus May/Jun

office supplies; tear up and throw away scraps of paper and keep only the everyday necessities on your desk. 4. Essential oils are known to be both energising and soothing, as well as boosting cognitive function. Find a small container, fill it with cotton and douse it with your favourite essential oil. Keep the lid tightly closed and open up ONLY when you need to take a deep breath of the fragrance. A few favourites are lavender to soothe the mind, oregano to boost memory and lemongrass to invigorate. Be smart and adapt these guidelines to your working situation , whether you have your own office or you are a delivery driver. What does your command centre (i.e. driver’s cockpit) say about you and how you carry your work? Remember, the work you engage in for the better part of your life is about sharing your gifts and talents with the world regardless of position or job title. ¤ Samantha Turner-Girard is a Vedic Master, Master of Medical Qigong and the founder of The Qi Garden, Health for Mind Body and Spirit. Her company specialises in private individual and group workshops in yoga, meditation, mindfulness, ayurveda and qigong, as well as private Tea & Meditation workshops. To find out about conducting a Corporate Mindfullness program at your company, contact Samantha at samantha@ theqigarden.com or 728-9499 www.theqigarden.com

events 2017 Events Events 53rd ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) of Saint Lucia Hotel & Tourism Association May 19, 2017 - Royalton St. Lucia, Cap Estate, Saint Lucia Sustainable Tourism for Development “A Catalyst for Developing Our Communities, Our Future” The venue is Royalton Saint Lucia Convention Centre, with guest speaker to be confirmed. This year the AGM will be accompanied by a Grand Tradeshow. Suppliers of local products and services are asked to contact Ms. Donette Ismael at 453-1811 for further information. To become a sponsor or for more information about the SLHTA AGM. For more information contact Ms. Yola St. Jour at 453-1811

Caribbean Hotel Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF) June 2-4 , 2017 – Hyatt Regency, Miami The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) has moved from its autumn slot to early summer in 2017. CHIEF brings together the right information, the right people at the right time, incorporating a variety of educational tracks led by experts from many travel, tourism and hospitality industry segments, and featuring round-table panels with one-on-one discussions on environmental sustainability, operations, sales and marketing, and technology. For additional information and pre-registration For more information visit: www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com

CFW - Best Of Caribbean Fashionweek June 7-11, 2017, Kingston, Jamaica The 2017 edition of Caribbean Fashionweek (CFW) is slated to be the “best of”, a series that embraced the region and the wider world and changed the face of Caribbean fashion forever. It is anticipated that this June’s CFW will be the best ever. Fashionistas are undoubtedly in for a treat as Pulse reaches out to the five continents to ensure that the global components of this event over the past 17 years all come together in one unforgettable experience. Dubbed an “important new trend in world fashion” by no less a style arbiter than British Vogue, Caribbean Fashionweek, has taken regional fashion to the corners of the earth through such media outlets as Fashion TV Paris, Vogue, the BBC, i-D, The Independent, The New York Times, The Associated Press, Marie Claire, and a host of other media outlets around the globe. To register visit: www.caribbeanfashionweek.com/

Trade & Investment Convention (TIC) July 6-9 at Centre of Excellence, Macoya, Port of Spain, Trinidad The Trinidad & Tobago Manufacturers Association’s annual trade show and convention, featuring 200 booths, 500+ regional and international buyers, 2,000 local professionals and decision makers, 800 small business entrepreneurs. Multi-sectoral exhibits from 200 companies with country pavilions from around the world. Wholesalers, retailers, distributors and corporate and industrial purchasers will also be there with new ideas, new suppliers,and new contacts. You’ll find everything you need for your business on the TIC Tradeshow floor. For more information visit: http://ttma.com/tic/

BusinessFocus

May/Jun

Major Moves

French Ambassador Philippe Ardanaz There is a new French Ambassador for Saint Lucia, member countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and Barbados. Ambassador Philippe Ardanaz handed his credentials to Governor General Dame Pearlette on Wednesday, November 9, despite being in the country from October 1. He met with media personnel soon after and outlined his main focus as ambassador for those Eastern Caribbean countries. Developing the French language in those countries is high on his list of priorities, especially in Saint Lucia which speaks a French-based patois alongside the English language. Also high on his list of priorities is the security of this part of the region, especially since Saint Lucia and the French department of Martinique are in close proximity to each other, approximately 36 nautical miles apart. Climate change is also high on his agenda. He spoke highly of the part Saint Lucia played at last year’s Conference of Parties in Paris (COP 21) where an agreement was reached between several countries of the world on climate change.

Mr. Steve McCready has been appointed as Resident British Commissioner for Saint Lucia. Prior to this appointment, Mr McCready was Chief of Staff to the Governor of Anguilla. He has also previously worked as Private Secretary to Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers covering the Caribbean and the Commonwealth. Mr. McCready took up his appointment on 20 March 2017. His initial meetings BusinessFocus May/Jun

included courtesy calls on the Governor General, HE Dame Pearlette Louisy, members of government and others in the political, private and public sectors. He said on his appointment: “It is a great honour to represent the UK in St Lucia. Our countries have a close and important relationship. I look forward to working in partnership with a wide range of people in St Lucia to strengthen that relationship.”

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), H.E. Abderrahim Kadmiri, presented his credentials to the Director General of the OECS, Dr. Didacus Jules on Friday, April 7th 2017, at a ceremony held at the OECS Commission at Morne Fortune, Castries. The Ambassador was accompanied by senior diplomatic officials from the Embassy of Morocco. The Ambassador conveyed the greetings of the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco, and expressed deep appreciation for the warm welcome received by the Moroccan delegation. He remarked that “My accreditation today as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to this very prestigious Organisation is a very special event. It is for me a very special day as it marks the beginning of a special and constructive relationship, one aimed at strengthening and deepening relations between the OECS and the Kingdom of Morocco”. During the meeting, the Director General and the Ambassador exchanged views on a broad range of development cooperation issues. Both sides agreed to commence in-depth discussions in the immediate future, in order to pursue the common objective of deepening relations. The Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco was established in Saint Lucia in March 2014 and covers all OECS Member States, as well as Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad

MAJOR MOVES and Tobago, and the Bahamas. H. E. Abderrahim Kadmiri presented his credentials to Her Excellency Governor General Dame Pearlette Louisy as Saint Lucia’s Ambassador to Morocco in December 2016.

Taiwanese Ambassador Douglas ChengTsung Shen The new ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Saint Lucia, is His Excellency Douglas ChengTsung Shen, who formally commenced duty in Saint Lucia in March. Governor General, Her Excellency Dame Pearlette Louisy, on Monday, March 22, accepted the Letters of Credence from His Excellency. During the brief ceremony which took place at Government House, the Governor General expressed gratitude to the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) for its contribution to Saint Lucia’s national development efforts. “The opening of our embassy in Taiwan, our first in the Asian region, is testament to the consolidation of our bilateral relations, and our country’s policy of broadening engagements with nontraditional partners,” she said. Ambassador Shen, who was accompanied by his wife and other officials from the Embassy of Taiwan, said he was looking forward to working with the government and people of Saint Lucia. “Fully aware of the important responsibilities that my government has entrusted me with, I will do my best to further strengthen the cooperation with your government. It is my fervent hope that your government will extend to me such facilities and assistance as may be conducive to the successful completion of my mission.” His Excellency Douglas Cheng-Tsung Shen replaces his predecessor His Excellency Ray Mou, whose tenure came to an end in February 2017.

MAJOR MOVES

Adele Jn Baptiste appointed General Manager Ms. Adele Jn Baptiste comes to the position with eleven years of experience in the General Insurance industry, two of which were focused on Life and Health Insurance in Anguilla. She has worked with Brokers and Insurers through various positions in the sector. Joining NAGICO St. Lucia Ltd. in 2011, Ms. Jn Baptiste was promoted in September 2015 and transferred to NAGICO Insurance Grenada Ltd. as Operations Manager, ultimately returning to her home base of Saint Lucia in February 2017 as the General Manager. Ms. Jn Baptiste’s education and qualifications include certificates in Underwriting, Claims and Management, a Bachelors of Science in Management Studies and she is currently due to graduate as a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) in July 2017. In her new role, she intends to lead NAGICO St. Lucia and its agents to continue to be a thriving, vibrant and motivated team. Says Ms. Jn Baptiste: “Our new building signifies to our customers that we are here to stay, serving them “Fast, Fair and Always There.” Patrick Boyce – Regional Claims Manager Mr. Ryeburn Boyce has acquired twenty-two years of experience in Life and Health Insurance. He started in the industry in 1995 in Barbados, and moved through various positions such as claims reviewer, senior claims processor, supervisor of claims and supervisor claims administration. In November 2012, Mr. Boyce joined the NAGICO Group as Regional Health Insurance Manager, based in St. Kitts & Nevis. From September 2014, he acted as Head of Medical Division, and

was promoted to Senior Manager of Operations in April 2015. In October 2016, he was appointed Senior Manager - Claims/Operations, and in March 2017, Mr. Boyce was relocated to Saint Lucia to continue in the same role. The insurance veteran’s professional qualifications include Fellow Life Management Institute (FLMI), Health Insurance Associate (HIA), Associate in Insurance Regulatory Compliance (AIRC), Associate in Reinsurance Administration (ARA) and Associate Financial Services Institute (AFSI). He is a qualified teacher, and is currently pursuing an MBA in Finance. According to Mr. Boyce: “I intend to use my overall knowledge and experience to assist the NAGICO Team in Saint Lucia, to take the company - specifically the Medical Division - to even greater heights. I know that we can achieve this with the help of our agents and brokers, as well as the hard work and dedication of the inhouse team.”

New Heads for Constituency Councils In order to ensure that the Government fulfills its obligations to the various communities, the Government of Saint Lucia has commissioned thirteen (13) new Constituency Councils. These include: 1. Babonneau; 2. Canaries; 3. Gros –Islet; 4. Choiseul; 5. Dennery North; 6. Dennery South; 7. Micoud North; 8. Micoud South; 9. Anse La Raye; 10. Castries South East; 11. Soufriere; 12. Vieux Fort North; 13. Castries Constituency Council (CCC) Mayors were sworn in as follows:

Mr. Peterson Francis - Castries

Camara Francois have been appointed Branch Manager for CGM Gallagher CGM Gallagher is pleased to announce that Camara Francois has been appointed the Branch Manager for Saint Lucia, effective March 16th 2017. Camara is no stranger to the Saint Lucia operations and clients and has been with the CGM Gallagher Group since 2008. She has been in the Insurance industry for over fifteen years with a wealth of experience in underwriting and broking. Camara has played a pivotal role in the growth and development of the Saint Lucia branch and given her knowledge, dedication and professionalism we are excited about her new role within the company. Camara currently holds a Diploma in Insurance and is now actively pursuing her CII Designation.

Mr. James Edwin - Gros Islet

Mr. Pius Gangardine Soufriere

Mrs Orricia Denbow-Bullen Vieux Fort

BusinessFocus

May/Jun

MAJOR MOVES

Stan Bishop Appointed Editor of The Voice Newspaper. Stan Bishop began his career in journalism in March 2008, on a six week contract writing freelance for The VOICE Newspaper, before being hired as a part-time journalist when one of the company’s journalists was overseas on assignment. Although he was initially told that the job would last only two weeks, Stan demonstrated such high quality work that the company offered him a permanent job before that fortnight was over. He remained with the company for two and a half years before migrating to the United States in September 2010. However, he returned to Saint Lucia after just over a year for a short vacation, but ended up taking up his former post at The VOICE. In September 2012, Stan was among the first batch of students in the one-year Media and Journalism Studies course run by Monroe College (St. Lucia), from which he now holds a certificate in that field of study. His areas of coverage as a journalist include current affairs, politics, tourism, environmental issues, business, arts and entertainment and human interest. He also has two columns that are published weekly in The VOICE, namely Strictly Business and If You Asked Me. During the past nine years, Stan Bishop’s assignments have taken him across the globe to countries such as Republic of China (Taiwan), Morocco and Israel, as well as round the region to Barbados, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago. On August 1, 2016, he was appointed Assistant Editor at The VOICE. In November 2016, he was elected VicePresident of the Media Association of Saint Lucia (MASL). On March 13, 2017, he was appointed Editor of The VOICE.

BusinessFocus May/Jun

100

Scott Seger appointed Managing Director of Windjammer Landing. Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort appointed industry-veteran Scott Seger as the resort’s new Managing Director in November 2016. Seger is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Windjammer Landing, as well as overseeing the marketing and sales efforts of the resort where more than US$40 million has been invested in renovations over the last two years. Seger will lead a dedicated team of 460 employees, many of whom have been with the company for over 20 years. Prior to being named Managing Director, Seger served on the resort’s Executive Board and was Director of Food and Beverage at Windjammer Landing, where he was responsible for all of the hotel’s food service operations, including five on-property restaurants, room service, banqueting, weddings and corporate meetings. With an extensive background in hospitality, Seger brings more than 20 years of experience with some of the world’s finest hotels and resorts. He joined Windjammer Landing in 2016, following his tenure with Hyatt Coconut Point Resort & Spa in Bonita Springs, Florida, where he served as Director of Food and Beverage for four years. Prior to Hyatt Coconut Point Resort, Seger was Director of Food and Beverage at several other well-renown and high-end properties, including Haig Point Resort & Golf Club in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; Canyon Ranch Health Resort & Spa in Lenox, Massachusetts; and the Renaissance Grand Beach Resort in St. Thomas.

Justin Sealy – General Manager of Solid Waste Management Authority The Board of Directors of the Saint Lucia Solid Waste Management Authority (SLSWMA) has appointed a new General Manager, Mr. Justin Roosevelt Sealy, former Strategic Planning Manager attached to the Water and Sewage Company (WASCO) Inc. Mr. Sealy brings management and technical experience from his former employment, where he served as Water and Wastewater Engineer, Technical Coordinator with the Planning, Design and Construction Department and Strategic Planning Manager over a period of fourteen (14) years. He also represented the Association of Professional Engineers on the Board of Directors of the SLSWMA from 2011 until 2016, where he gained experience in the governance of the Authority. In his capacity as director he also served as Chairperson of the Technical Committee. Mr. Sealy is the holder of a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and an MBA with Distinction in Engineering Management from Coventry University in the United Kingdom. He is also a registered professional engineer and the immediate past President of the Association of Professional Engineers of Saint Lucia. Mr. Sealy is charged with planning, organizing and directing all solid waste management activities of the Authority in accordance with the Saint Lucia Solid Waste Management Act.

MAJOR MOVES

Country Manager for The British Chamber of Commerce in Saint Lucia Irmar Frank On February 13th 2017 Ms Irmar Frank was appointed the position of Country Manager for The British Chamber of Commerce in Saint Lucia. Ms Frank has developed her passion for sales and marketing by gaining extensive experience as an employee for a number of established companies and by pursuing her formal education in tertiary studies which included advanced diplomas with distinctions from Cambridge University in Travel and Tourism, Eco Tourism and Event Planning. First employed with J.E Bergasse in 1988 in the Sales division, she was offered the position of Country Sales Representative for American Express in 1990. In 2001 she was employed as a Travel Agent for Carib Travel, and shortly thereafter was promoted to Leisure Travel Specialist. Ms Frank is especially proud of pioneering the Spanish educational charter for secondary schools to Margarita Island. As a Travel Agent she attended international trade shows and conferences such as World Travel Market in London, Seatrade in Florida and IBT in Berlin. In 2005 Ms Frank rejoined American Express as Senior Account Executive for the Eastern Caribbean and Trinidad. Some of her responsibilities were corporate card acquisition, new business development and sales strategies. In 2010 she continued in this position at Going Places Travel. Over the period from 2010 to present, Ms Frank has worked as an Event Coordinator for Caribbean Association of Banks, Landmark Events, Caribbean Association of Oncology and Hematology, Administrative Assistant at CARILEC and Sales and

Clement WulfSoulage is GIS Director of Information Services The Government Information Service is pleased to announce the appointment of Clement Wulf-Soulage in the role of Director of Information Services (Information and Broadcasting). Mr. Wulf-Soulage assumed his responsibilities on 31st March, 2017, and has obtained the mandate of giving strategic direction to GIS and NTN with a view to enhancing public understanding of government programs, policies and activities. Fluent in German and having lived in the country for over 17 years, the Saint Lucian-born author has lectured at four universities, and conducted hundreds of business communication and presentation seminars for a variety of corporate clients, language academies, and public institutions in Germany. A former lecturer in management economics, communications and academic writing, Mr. Wulf-Soulage is the author of ‘Conscience Of A Progressive – Thoughts on Visionary Leadership, Progressive Action and Sustainable Change’, published in 2016, which offers an insightful look at economic development, education policy, foreign policy and leadership, providing readers with insights into economic recovery and development, pathways to social progress and good economic governance. As a columnist for the Weekend Voice newspaper, Mr. Wulf-Soulage has penned scores of articles on issues ranging from national development, economic growth and globalization to democracy, foreign affairs and leadership.

Robert Bermudez selected as UWI Chancellort Trinidad and Tobago businessman Robert Bermudez will become the next Chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI), only the second Trinidad and Tobago national to hold this position, following Dr Eric Williams. Education Minister Anthony Garcia made the announcement at a post-Cabinet news conference on April 20. The term of the current chancellor George Alleyne expires in late July 2017. Minister Garcia said the UWI Council had established a search committee to find a new chancellor. The committee comprised representatives of contributing governments, the UWI Senate, the UWI Students’ Guild, the Post-Graduates Association and the University Teachers Group. Following the consideration of several candidates, Bermudez was chosen. The decision was ratified by CARICOM Heads in their last meeting in Guyana. Mr. Bermudez is the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bermudez Group of Companies and has led the growth of the Bermudez Group from a local, familyowned business, to a regional business throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. He has enjoyed a distinguished career in business, and is associated with several other corporate bodies in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, including holding the position of non-executive director of the Massy Group. Mr. Bermudez was elected to the Board of Neal & Massy Holdings Limited, now Massy Holdings Ltd., in 1997 and has served on the Company’s Audit and Governance and Compensation Committees

BusinessFocus

May/Jun

101

ADVERTISERS INDEX COMPANY

Page

COMPANY

Advertisers Index

Page

Advertising & Marketing Services

Alternative Security

Axcel Finance

Bank of Saint Lucia

Blue Waters

Caribbean Line

Cool Breeze

C & W Business

EC Global Insurance

Fast Cash

First Citizens Investment Services

Goddard Catering

Grant Thornton

H & L Environmental Services

Hot Sports Auto Rental

Lewis Industries Ltd.

Paints Plus

Rayneauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Construction & Industrial Products

RBC Royal Bank

RJB Hotel Supplies

Sagicor 83 Secure World

SGD Engineering Inc

Trans Caribbean

VE Medical

Windward & Leewards Brewery Ltd

COVERS C & W Business

IFC

Harris Paints

OBC

VE Medical

IBC

BusinessFocus May/Jun

102

NEW COMPANY REGISTRATIONS COMPANY

NATURE OF BUSINESS

DIRECTORS

Ali Rose Limited

Manufacturing of Coconut Products

Keran Rosemond

G.P.S.P St. Lucia Limited

Payroll, Accounting Services, Reporting, Time and Labour Management, Compliance and Registration

Michael D. Cote

Q. S. R Construction Inc.

General Construction

Quincy Dave Jermaine St. Rose

Dynamic Security Services and Training Ltd.

Security Services, Security Training

Marcus George

L&B Villa Inc.

Property Holding

Lisa Gardi

General Construction & Draughting Services Limited

Architectural drawings, Cartography, General Construction & Construction & Contracting, Building Supervision.

Benedict Richardson

J.O.G Inc.

General Construction & Contracting

Gregory Thomas Clairmont

Star Royale (St. Lucia) Limited

Investment and holding company

Junior Goodridge

E & G Hose and Radiator Repairs Ltd.

Hose and Radiator Repairs

Toe Ah Khing

Deligny & Associates Inc.

Consultancy & Training

Erica Joseph

Dolphin Paradise St Lucia Ltd

Dolphin Park

Terry Ian Deligny

Tropical United Touring Services Ltd.

Taxi & Touring Company

Eduardo Albor Villanueva

A 2009 Corporation

Holdings Company

Miller Charles

JRJ Investments Limited

Property Development, Property Sales and Management.

Robinson Smith

You Go! Inc.

Auto Rentals & Travel Services

Shane Florent

Church of God Seventh Day Inc.

Conduct of religious practices under the Church of God ( Seventh Day) Faith including all philanthropic, Charitable , Educational , Literary , historical , artistic, social, profession, fraternal, sporting and any other means of promoting and promulgating the Church of God faith

Mervin Florent

DOS 2009 Limited

Imaging ,Data Storage and Photocopier retailing

Christopher James Gillian Parkinson James

Innovative Dimensions Limited

Buying & Selling energy efficiency Lighting

Mc Colin Fontinelle

Rodney Cap Villa Inc.

Property Holdings

Luc Me`nard

Topline Holdings Limited

Real Estate

PIF Corporate Services Inc.

A.J. Stephenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Incorporated

Quarry ,land development and other business

Aloisius Stephen Jacqueline Stephen

Blue Marble Citizens Inc.

Global Citizenship Consultants

Vanessa William Kendell M Gill

MAAS Global Fortunes Inc.

Medical, Business and allied Studies with Hospital research and medical Services.

Kavisthasree Nanthakumar Ramachandra Thippaiah Nanthakumar Cheriyan Krishnan

Southern Services Inc.

Providing landscaping services

Nicholas Pinnock

Tranquility Car Rental Limited

Car Rental

Byron Farrell James

C. Enterprises Ltd.

Quantity Surveying & Management Consultants

Clinton Alcindor

Tranquility Getaway Limited

Guest House

Byron Ferrel James

First Financial Consultancy Plus St. Lucia Ltd.

Financial Consultancy

Esther Scotland

BusinessFocus

May/Jun

103

NEW COMPANY REGISTRATIONS COMPANY

NATURE OF BUSINESS

DIRECTORS

Raise Your Voice St Lucia Inc.

Non profitable , Charity work to benefit women and children.

Catherine Sealys Edith Petra Jeffrey â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Nelson Esther Greene Ernest

JSDC Investments Limited

Holding Company

Leslie Clarke Sannyu Clarke- Isaac

Green Giant Farms Ltd.

Farming

Stanley Christopher Mullings

Homemakers Construction Inc.

Construction & Related Services

Mineva Ross

The Kidney Care Centre Inc.

Medical Services, Doctors Office

Merle Laureen Clarke

Two Seats Management Ltd.

Management Company

Steven Carey Donna A. Delva John Lawrence

Royal Palm Grill & Bar Limited

Restaurant & Bar

Percival Plante Marie Christine Felix

Equity Legal and Financial Services Ltd.

Legal & Financial Services

Valerie Hazell Albert Fregis

Future Star Inc.

Barber Shop

Stephen Belony

Island Helpers Inc.

Help Agency

Crowne Nominee Service Limited

Design & Engineering Consult Ltd.

Engineering, Construction and Arch Design

Hilbert Lambert Velma Mohamed Lambert Ovantan Lambert

OKC Consultancy Ltd.

Consultancy Service and words, Infrastructure and Construction works.

Calvin Andrews Tamara Pierre- Andrews Matthew Emmanuel

Dolcy & Dolcie Inc.

Investments in companies and Private loans

Barrington Dolcie Vince Dolcy

Francis Fish & Seafoods Limited

Property & Land Development

Aquinas Selkirk Francis Sumita Frazia Francis

Daron Charles Investments Incorporated

Real Estate ,Property Development

Daron Claude Sean Charles

Morne Soufriere Limited

Property Holdings Company

Morne Soufriere Estates Ltd.

Bamboo Investments (St. Lucia) Inc

Operating Company

Bamboo Investments Inc.

Grand Alliance Venture (St. Lucia) Limited

Investment and holding company

Darren Tan Hao Leng

Totie Ltd.

Property Holding

Robert David Leotaud

Brant Holdings Inc.

To purchase Villa 11 at windjammer

Walker properties Inc.

Jolanta Ltd.

Property Holding

Devin Justin Ltd.

Bamboo Retail ( STLU) Ltd.

Holding Company

Jefferson Pedersen Brent Rowser

Ocean View Condominiums at Cap Estate Ltd.

Real Estate Development

Siam Joseph Robert Getz

START UP ST. LUCIA INC.

Business Incubator Services & Consultancy.

Yellow Melon Inc

Big Brother Technologies

Telecommunications /Business solutions

Sean Stevens William Joseph

BusinessFocus May/Jun

104

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