BTA Appoint Karla Lacey Chief Operating Officer
The Bermuda Tourism Authority [BTA] today announced that Karla Lacey [pictured] has been appointed Chief Operating Officer [COO], effective April 7. She will report to the Chief Executive Officer.
In the role, Ms. Lacey will be responsible for supervising all aspects of financial, technical and administrative matters for the Authority. She will manage all tourism appreciation and on-Island communications, the delivery of industry training and service standards and for Human Relations and related matters.
Ms. Lacey is a Bermudian with more than 25 years of experience in diverse fields, including corporate communications, marketing, programme and project management, human resources, event management and customer service. She has applied her skill set ina variety of industries including retail, education, telecommunications, banking, finance and non-profit administration.
She joins the Bermuda Tourism Authority from her current role as CEO of the Bermuda Hospitality Institute [BHI]. With the BHI since its inception in 2010, she has led the organisation from a start-up to an effective and constructive industry partner.
During her tenure at BHI she has established industry training and certification programs for students and adults; introduced a hospitality school program currently running in 14 public schools; and actively engaged stakeholders in identifying, developing and retaining Bermudians interested in hospitality careers.
Prior to joining the BHI, Ms. Lacey lived in California for seven years where she established Junior Chef Central, a culinary programme for children. The programme has educated more than 6,000 young people in the culinary arts across the United States and Bermuda through summer programs and within school curriculums with underserved populations; and has participated in grant funded academic research studies by major universities.
Before heading to the U.S., Ms. Lacey was Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Communications, at Butterfield Bank, responsible for establishing and implementing communication and organizational development plans across the bank’s five jurisdictions. Previously, as Assistant Vice President, Corporate Communications and Official Company Spokesperson at BTC, she managed media and public relations and internal communications, and directed the first rebranding in the organization’s history.
Bill Hanbury, CEO of Bermuda Tourism Authority, says, “We are very pleased to welcome Karlaas Chief Operating Officer. This role is pivotal to our success in implementing the National Tourism Plan and running our organization. Ms. Lacey’s background and range of expertise fits well with the dynamic and results-oriented character of the BTA. I look forward to working with her on the many exciting projects we have in store.”
Ms. Lacey says, “Joining the new Bermuda Tourism Authority is an exciting opportunity to make a long term difference to the land of my birth. I look forward to working with Bill, the Board of Directors and the team at the BTA to revitalize our beautiful Island as a premier tourist destination.”
Ms. Lacey is a member of the Bermuda College Board of Governors and Chair of the Academic & Student Affairs Subcommittee; a National Training Board member and Co-Chair of the Hospitality, Hotels, Transport & Communications Workforce Development Subcommittee; and a CHART member [Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers].
Her education and training spans retail merchandising [FIDM] and executive training in World Financial Public Relations, Strategic Communications and Human Resource Management through Executive Management Programs at Harvard Business School, the London Business School and the University of London. She is also a published children’s book and cookbook author.
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- PLP Welcome Lacey, Samuelsson Appointments | Bernews.com | February 13, 2014
with her qualifications I think she should be the ceo I don’t see the need for that old dude
Then it’s a good thing you’re not in charge.
Congratulations to Ms. Lacey.
Too many Chiefs and not enough indians. By the way, how much are these guys getting paid????
Um… yeah. They’re still setting up the company.
Now is the time to get the chiefs in place. The indians come after.
“In January 2013, local hotelier and former UBP MP David Dodwell was appointed Chairman Designate of the Tourism Authority, with Minister Crockwell saying they set timeline of six months to have the new Authority up and running.”
Just a tad behind schedule. Which stage do you think their at now? The up or running one?
Summer 2014 is almost here. TIC TOC TIC TOC
You mean de girl on de balcony didn’t get the job?
Well lets hope that she has a low tollerance for poor performance like ‘de girl on de balcony’.
lol I jus got it, I jus got it u bies are funnieeeee fulla jokes 2day!
11:29 Curious, she has no college degree? Not being snobbish but would not the classified job ad require formal education?
She has 25 years experience. A college degree obtained 30 years ago would make absolutely no difference.
Completely agree with 21st C
Actually? You ARE being snobbish.
(And if you read: “Her education and training spans retail merchandising [FIDM] and executive training in World Financial Public Relations, Strategic Communications and Human Resource Management through Executive Management Programs at Harvard Business School, the London Business School and the University of London. She is also a published children’s book and cookbook author.”
She’s very obviously qualified for the job. Does a piece of paper showing you went to school for 4 years really mean THAT much to you?)
Try getting a foot in anywhere without one.
Give me a break. There are people who have university degrees but are complete morons-I know, I’ve worked with some of them. Sometimes in life experience counts more than that piece of paper. That’s the problem-some people are so fixated on that piece of paper that some candidates bring to the table, but they can’t back it up.
What if someone like Bill Gates or the late Steve Jobs had volunteered to take on a top position in Bermuda? Would we turn down someone like that just because they lack that ‘piece of paper’???
While I agree with you that trying to get into a job without a degree is difficult if you have little to no experience, I am pretty sure most companies would rather employ someone with a 25+ year record of experience in the field than one with a newly obtained degree.
Degrees are most useful to those without experience. If an individual obtained a degree even 15 years ago the employer will most likely put more weight on what experience they have. That said, two people one with a degree and one without with all else held constant (which is never really the case), the one with the degree would likely get the job.
Degrees don’t demonstrate intelligence. To some extent they demonstrate knowledge but that isn’t guaranteed either.
The unfortunate part is that a lazy, unintelligent individual with no experience who happens to have a degree will get a job over a highly intelligent individual with a strong work ethic who has no experience because the unintelligent person was able to memorize information from a text book before an exam.
That said, at this point the intelligent individual, will notice this, spend thousands and thousands of dollars and go get their degree to get through the door. Then make their money.
The only people that the degree “concept” (not the degree itself, but the idea of a degree making people employable) is the schools. The businesses aren’t particularly better off, because in the end they still will have still have to sort between the morons, lazy people and the like in order to get the best people for the job.
In 25 years the vast majority of those that will have experience will be those that have a degree.
21st Century, I disagree, are you related to this lady?
The ad for this position closed on Feb 5th. So all vetting, interviews, selection and negotiations for this position was completed in 5 working days. It appears the candidate was selected before the ad was placed.
Do you work in HR? Or are you just another internet expert on topics outside of your remit? Maybe she was the only to apply? Or maybe those doing the hiring are just plain ol’ efficient? I have no idea. And neither do you. But that didn’t stop you from jumping onto the conspiracy theory bandwagon. #loser
she was….
Do we make excuses for the ones we like? and derail the others?
Which company is now hiring experience without qualifications?
Where do you see “without qualifications”?
The qualification of a college degree is YOUR qualification. That’s something YOU are applying.
All those in support of her being hiring without a degree, just browse the classified ads and other employment agencies.
Do you see any ads for corporate executive positions without the minimum requirement of a BA undergrad degree?
I don’t, but if it means we hire under qualified Bermudians, then throw them under the bus if they don’t produce, who is to be blamed?
Are they being set up for failure?, then hire a non Bermudian.
Not everyone is born with the proverbial silver spoon and don’t need to get an education.
One that just hired me. Its crazy but companies do that sometimes.
and they wonder why a bartender, needs a bar porter.
they must have rented some serious office space,
these are not the type that work in cubicles.
shes a smart girl. her previous position might be about to experience slashes in hours and pay.
no worries for the bta though.
You’re just rambling now. Nothing you’re saying is making sense.
“These are not the type that work in cubicles”?
Um. No. COOs usually have an office.
Why is that a problem?
And… “smart girl”? Seriously? Is this 1965?
well thank goodness!
mike is here to save the day.
I have to wonder why you feel the need to snipe and not actually address the content of my post.
It certainly puts your motives into question.
Which one are you referring to know it all?
reserve my judgement until the results show
lets see
no formal tourism education or qualifications
no relevant tourism employment experience apart from 4 years with the BHI
yet is made COO of the BTA
looks like the former Tourism Department staff weren’t qualified enough after all
Bermuda is a joke
can’t say I regret my decision to up and leave
maybe I’ll come back as a tourist and see how things are coming along
eh maybe not
need 3 – 5 years experience here just to cut grass.
Js, can you remind us all what university degree Marc Bean has? It might help us all understand why it’s so essential.
“Apart from 4 years with BHI…”
How does 4 years not count? Amazing, the lengths you guys will go…
I am a bit confused as to how the BTA will become a self funding agency and not rely on tax payer dollars.
Will the BTA collect ‘taxes’ from the hotels and other tourism related entities? Will there be laws giving the BTA authority to collect such ‘taxes’ and will there be fines or punishment for those entities who do not pay? What happens if the BTA does not collect sufficient revenue, will they receive an injection of tax payer dollars?
Can someone explain how this works. From what I see, BTA has a number of positions with fancy job titles and I assume the employees are highly paid. However, I do not see a plan as to how or when the BTA will no longer receive tax payer funding and essentially become a self sufficient corporate entity.
Will you stop asking sensible questions! Cheesh, didn’t you get the OBA memo?
The legislation is there for all to see. And it was all outlined in a press conference when the BTA formation was announced.
Reading is key and it is all public information as it is a piece of legislation. If you’re unsure google the press conferences or simply read the Act. Shouldn’t be that hard for you to do.
I am still not sure what the BTA will do differently from the Dept of Tourism and how the BTA will ‘revolutionize’ and ‘reinvigorate’ tourism in Bermuda.
The tourism product is essentially the same and the BTA will hire outside advertising agencies to promote Bermuda. The Dept. of Tourism had talented people with fancy degrees and excellent experience so how is the BTA better?
Complain when a Bermudian isn’t hired and complain some more when one is hired in an executive role.
Not too long ago it was elitist and possibly even racist to admonish a person and their abilities because they didn’t have a degree. You cried that not everyone is in a privileged position to attend college So if you want to open those doors then you better teread carefully as with every finger you point there are four more pointing back at you. On top of that where does it say that she has no degrees?
The hilarious and ironic thing about these complainers is that they championed the appointment of Ms. Lacey, by the Dr. Browm PLP administration, as the CEO of the BDA Hospitality Institute in 2010.
4 years later this same Bermudian woman is useless and a waste of money and can provide nothing to our once thriving but just surviving industry.
SMH
how can you not complain
its preposterous to think that there is no other suitably qualified Bermudian in the tourism industry with proper degrees and relevant experience
clearly an omission of a degree is an admission of no degree
can’t say that I’m surprised as 4 of the board members who meet for their $20k meetings are themselves accountants with no tourism experience whatsoever
the greater irony is if tourism had its most significant decline during the 4 years of her tenure as CEO of BHI which was a government sponsored tourism quango she now finds herself as COO of another government sponsored tourism quango one asserting itself as reinvigorated and renewed
lets see where tourism is presently at
a board made up with a majority of accountants with no tourism experience
a CEO with no knowledge of the product and who’s best idea to date was to create a facebook page
a COO with no relevant degree or experience who is playing merry go round from BHI to BTA
the rehiring of 5 of the former Bermuda office tourism staff
the rehiring of 10 of the former New York office tourism staff
methinks tourism is in serious trouble
Can you name more qualified Bermudians who applied and didn’t get the role? And I said actually applied for the position, not some random person you know. They could’ve hired a foreigner with greater experience, but we know what the reaction would be then now don’t we?
Why is a change of tact not a good thing given the state of our tourism industry? I mean the status quo hasn’t really worked so well for us over the past few decades now has it.
But no matter what happens I’m sure you will disagree and disparage these people over and over again.
Keep calm and carry on.
Also I didn’t realize that the BHI, which is commissioned with training Bermudians for the industry, was responsible for declining visitor numbers. Kind of a stretch inna?
And since the rehired many former DoT staff then you shouldn’t be worried as they will ensure your beloved status quo continues on.
This is complete misinformation. Stop spreading lies.
Karla dont worry about those Haters,
Go get your Money Girl, In Nine days
they would have forgotten about you
and the woman on the balcony they
will even have forgotten about the
rude girl on de Bus.
Why encourage young Bermudians to achieve the highest level of academia in the tourism and hospitality industry when you employ someone at this level in the BTA who has none? How can you train young Bermudians to be chefs and waiters when you have no training yourself? This is most certainly ‘a job for the girls’ as was the last position in the BHI. An island this size cannot accommodate 2 parallel programmes. You already have Bermuda College, which is equipped with trained and qualified educators to do the job. This fiasco has been in existence since 2010 and continues to get worse. Incidentally, how does one measure success with the BHI? Has anyone ever tracked the success stories?
BTA will be the marked beginning of the new growth in Tourism. Its good to see good local talent being hired. While you all sit on this site and complain, which is the easiest thing to do, even lazy…others are tooling up to help build a new tourism product and experience. Tourism booking and spending is up, and the biggest opportunities are presenting themselves now. The first and fastest growth is already being seen in vacation rentals, cottage colonies will be next, and the cycle starts again. Small and intimate, personal experience with locals will be how we make a comeback, not mega hotels.
Congrats on the appointment and I wish you the best. BUT, just like the CEO, I want to know HOW MUCH you getting paid? Simple taxpayer question.
Shawn’s decision to withhold information regarding all compensation packages from the taxpayer is insulting and disrespectful at best. His explanation is absolute nonsense. After all, his salary is public knowledge!
How can one expect for us to have confidence in an organisation lacking in transparency?
Will the Government pay their salaries in they cannot raise the funds themselves?
Why not provide the information, including job descriptions etc and let the chips fall where they may?
The compensation issue will not go away despite Crockwell’s fantasies!
BTA another OBA production
OBA – Order By Artifice
You all can say whatever you want about my sister. That’s all you damn Bermudians ever do! Talk, talk, talk……blah, blah, blah. Actions speak louder than words. Go get em Karla!