Hashtag: #RossWebberColumns
Column: ‘Continually Encouraging Innovation’
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] Diversification is the buzzword in many discussions on Bermuda’s economy. That goes double for Budget season. Despite its broad-ranging title and massive economic contribution [fuelling at least 60 percent of all activity], international business [IB] has its share of domestic naysayers. Detractors claim the... Read more of this article
Column: ‘Our Advantages Worth Underscoring’
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] If we expected January 2017 to coax us gently into the new year, think again. The past few weeks have delivered mercurial conditions—including enough Bermuda rainfall to nearly tally a 60-year weather record. As a St Georgian whose winter commute virtually guarantees a sodden rainsuit, I am proof positive of... Read more of this article
Column: ‘Gatekeepers Of Blue-Chip Reputation’
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] If this year is remembered beyond Pokemon Go, Klopp’s revival of the Reds, the passing of rock legends, the Queen’s 9oth, or Usain Bolt’s “triple, triple,” it may be for the populist politics that helped sway public perception worldwide. Commentators ascribe Brexit’s bombshell to this 2016 phenomenon,... Read more of this article
Column: ‘Diversification Benefit Of New Arrival’
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] When any legitimate, respectable and progressive company selects Bermuda as its home base, whether start-up, branch operation or relocation, it’s good news. When that company is a technology, biomed or life-sciences enterprise, we are especially gratified. The BDA has been working to attract such companies to... Read more of this article
Column: Why Bring Conferences To Bermuda?
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] Why does the BDA bring industry conferences to Bermuda? No, it’s not a trick question. Over the past two years—and the past two months, in particular—we’ve been involved in an unprecedented number of them. Not only have members of our team been flying our jurisdiction’s flag at overseas conventions... Read more of this article
Column: Vast, Vital & Relatively Untapped Market
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] Last month marked two years of my tenure as Chief Executive Officer of the BDA — a milestone that prompted a mental tally of our agency’s achievements to date. We’ve seen growth across multiple industry sectors: reinsurers setting up or redomiciling here; captives coming from fresh markets like Latin America... Read more of this article
Column: ‘Patience, Determination And Tenacity’
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] What does success look like? For the BDA this month, it looked like the smile on the face of former resident Eric Bertrand when he confirmed he was completing the process of opening a new Bermuda office for his global fund administration firm, Centaur Fund Services. Centaur already administers $12 billion in New... Read more of this article
Column: The Value Of Two High-Quality Brands
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] Brexit may be focusing attention on the eastern side of the Atlantic, but I’d like to reflect a bit on our recent trip to the American Midwest. Earlier this month, I joined Economic Development Minister Dr Grant Gibbons on a visit to Chicago’s Deputy Mayor Steve Koch. Overlooking the dynamic downtown “Loop”... Read more of this article
Column: ‘Strong Ratings Set Bermuda Apart’
[Written by Ross Webber] Earlier this year, I was asked to chat with a couple of visiting analysts from Standard & Poor’s. The ratings agency, like AM Best, Fitch, and others, periodically sends its experts to do a pulse-check on the island’s economy, measuring everything from GDP growth and the effects of national debt to our level of fiscal... Read more of this article
Column: Triangles, Talking Points, Team Bermuda
[Written by Ross Webber] “Where you guys from?” the coffee-shop lady asked as sunnily as the San Diego day outside. “Bermuda,” I said, appreciating the subtropics wouldn’t elicit the same wide-eyed envy it does in, say, Toronto, or New York for that matter, in mid-April. What I wasn’t prepared for was utter oblivion. “You mean, like... Read more of this article
Column: Cross-Selling Our One-Stop Shop
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] About a year ago, the BDA joined a couple of Bermuda-based global law firms for meetings in London—including a sit-down with a private-equity group. It is encouraging and rewarding when industry stakeholders adopt the “Team Bermuda” approach to business development, and this particular appointment promised... Read more of this article
Column: Fundamental Themes Of 2016 Budget
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] Budget season is always a good time for evaluation. The Bermuda government’s 2016–17 statement, delivered this month, provides a fiscal snapshot of where our jurisdiction stands on debts, interest payments, industry challenges and GDP growth. Among the statistics and granular breakdowns, however, several... Read more of this article
