CaribPR Wire

CTO Chairman and minister of tourism of St. Kitts/Nevis, Senator Ricky Skerritt, addressing the 2012 Invest Caribbean Now forum. (Sharon Bennett image)

CaribPR Wire, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. June 15, 2012: The Caribbean needs investment partners who will join hands with us for the long-term and invest in our easily trainable Caribbean people.

That’s the word from Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization and Minister of Tourism of St. Kitts/Nevis, Senator Ricky Skerritt. Skerritt made the call at the June 6th Invest Caribbean Now power forum, hosted in New York City by digital media company Hard Beat Communications and the CTO.

“Caribbean people are really our most valuable asset and represent a genuine and critical source of what makes our region so special,” said the CTO Chair. “I therefore submit to you that investing in Caribbean people development must be an essential portion of any major tourism investment in our region.”

Pointing to the growth in the region’s tourism sector last year, Skerritt insisted that the Caribbean’s proximity to the US makes it both a prime tourist destination and a secondary home location.

“With the public investment programs of so many of our Caribbean governments having been compromised because of recent fiscal shocks, there should now be more opportunities than ever before for private investors to get involved in financing, designing, building, and even operating, select public sector infrastructure and services projects,” he added.

One of the world’s most renowned and successful entrepreneurs, Sir Richard Branson, was this year’s inaugural Leadership Award recipient. Branson, in his acceptance remarks, reiterated Skerritt’s statement, insisting “that while tourism will always remain a key industry, there’s so much more to attract investment to these beautiful and vibrant islands, not least, the people.”

“Let’s work together more than ever, from this day forward, to create an entrepreneurial Paradise, in Paradise,” said the Virgin Group and Branson Center of Entrepreneurship founder.

Forum delegates also heard from North American investors, Jonathan Blue and Jay Yeo, who both touted their positive investment experiences, in the Caribbean region even as Jean Arnell, vice president of the French Saint Martin Chamber of Commerce, told the audience that the Caribbean island is open for business.

“With more than a dozen ministers of government, including a premier and a chief minister, as well as dozens of private sector attendees from investment firms in attendance, what we have proven is that the Invest Caribbean Now forum, while only in its second year, is simply THE investment event of the Caribbean,” said Felicia Persaud, CEO of Hard Beat Communications and convener of Invest Caribbean Now, in summing up the conclusion of the June 6th sold out power forum.

The forum was moderated by W. Dave Dowrich, V Vice President of Risk and Capital Markets in the Financial Institutions Group at Goldman Sachs, who observed that “too long the Caribbean has been simply known as a playground and great for partying but when it comes to the serious business of investment – not so much so.”

The Invest Caribbean Now 2012 forum was funded in part by The French Saint Martin Chamber of Commerce, (CCISM), One Caribbean Television and Teamsters Local 237, a union of 24,000 New York City employees who work in government agencies and several municipalities on Long Island, while supporting sponsors include the PR Newswire, CaribPR Wire, News Americas Now, the Museum of American Finance, ALTA and Damoola Inc.

W. Dave Dowrich, VP of Investment at Goldman Sachs, 2nd from r., with Chairman of the CTO, Ricky Skerritt, l; Minister Minors of Bermuda, 2.d from l., and Brian Lilly, r., CEO of Lilly Broadcasting and owner of WSEE TV and One Caribbean Weather, premier sponsors of the event. (Sharon Bennett image)

CaribPR Wire, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. June 10, 2011: The Caribbean is being urged to compete for the global “wallet share” and step up the promotion of “its investment story.”

That’s the advice from W. Dave Dowrich, vice president of investment at Goldman Sachs and the keynote speaker at the inaugural Invest Caribbean Power Forum, convened by digital media solutions company, Hard Beat Communications and the Caribbean Tourism Organization in New York City on Thursday, June 9, 2011.

Dowrich, addressing a packed room at the New York Marriot Marquis Hotel in Times Square, insisted that the Caribbean’s investment “product” stacks up against most other regions of the world, including the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India and China) on several fronts, such as political stability, accessibility and ease of doing business.

But “where we fall down is in selling and telling our investment story, i.e. the ‘Promotion – P’ of the principles of marketing,” he said of the CARICOM region, whose combined Gross Domestic Product is put at US$90 billion.

Comparing the Caribbean to private companies going public and the need to ensure that their story continues being told to their existing and future investor base, Dowrich said the Caribbean and its leaders must see investment in a similar vein.

“We therefore need to be sure that at every opportunity, our story is told on a consistent basis and told by credible and trust worthy folks such as our senior ministers, and then reinforced by our teams on the ground, who can ‘talk the talk’ of those that need to hear it,” he said.

Dowrich was one of four speakers who addressed the event yesterday. Others included Minister of Business Development & Tourism of Bermuda, Patrice Kimberly Minors; Martin Mohabeer, the Guyana-born Managing Director of Spackman Group and CEO of Spackman Capital and David Brillembourg, CEO of the Brilla Group.

Minors for her part insisted that Bermuda remains open to doing business while Brillembourg advised that attention be turned to Latin American pension funds as potential investors in the Caribbean region.

Mohabeer announced the SEAF Caribbean Growth Fund, insisting that the Caribbean small business market is “tremendously underserved.”

“With this fund we hope to change that,” said Mohabeer, while adding that the fund will make investments in small to middle enterprise firms specializing in IT, media and technology and construction among other sectors.

Among the over 120 attendees at the event were several money managers from the New York’s investment community as well as top tourism officials from the Caribbean including the Hon. Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization and Minister of Tourism and International Travel for St. Kitts/Nevis, Ricky Skerritt; Hon. Richard Sealy, Minister of Tourism, Barbados; Hon. Ed Bartlett, Minister of Tourism, Jamaica; Commissioner of Tourism of St. Eustacius, Clyde Van Putten; Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, Hugh Riley; Sylma Brown Bramble, director of CTO North America; Alec Sanguinetti, Director General of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, Josef Forstmayr, President, Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, and other top CTO officials as well as  Caribbean directors of tourism.

“This event surpassed our expectation,” said Felicia Persaud, CEO of Hard Beat Communications, which conceptualized and co-presented the event with the CTO. “We look forward to making this an annual part of Caribbean Week in New York.”

“The Caribbean Tourism Organization was proud to team up with Hard Beat to present this event, since in these tough economic times, investment in the Caribbean is critical and the CTO believes strongly in continuing to boost the tourism sector of this vibrant region by presenting investment opportunities for its members,” commented Brown-Bramble.

The Bermuda Department of Tourism and the Pennsylvania-based WSEE TV and OneCaribbeanWeather.com, both part of Lilly Broadcasting Corporation, were the official sponsors of the ‘Invest Caribbean Power Breakfast.’

Additional sponsors included the PR Newswire, CaribPR Wire, The Bahamas Weekly, News Americas Now and the Caribbean American Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

ABOUT HARD BEAT COMMUNICATIONS

Hard Beat Communications brands itself as a Digital Media Solutions Company. The company does this through its Digital Content Creation and Dissemination and syndicated digital newswire – New Americas Now, formerly CaribWorldNews, its CaribPR wire release dissemination section, part of the PR Newswire; its Media Buying and Event Promotions arm and its New Media Solutions department.

ABOUT THE CTO

The Caribbean Tourism Organization exists to increase significantly the inclusion of the Caribbean region in the set of destinations being considered by travelers. The CTO, with headquarters in Barbados, comprises 32 member countries, including English, French, Spanish and Dutch countries and territories, as well as private sector allied members. Every year, the CTO presents “Caribbean Week In New York,” which Caribbean Week in New York is a celebration of the sights, sounds, colors, culture and unique vacation attributes of the Caribbean.

Martin Mohabeer, Managing Director of Spackman Group and CEO of Spackman Capital is among the panelists.

Carib PR Newswire, NEW YORK, NY, May 20, 2011: They are collectively responsible for managing billions in assets daily and on June 9, 2011, a trio of U.S.-based investors and money managers will share their expertise and discuss opportunities they’ll consider for investment, at the inaugural Invest Caribbean 2011 Power Breakfast.

The Investing In Paradise event, presented by digital media company, Hard Beat Communications and the Caribbean Tourism Organization in Caribbean Week, is set for set for June 9^th from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.

The forum will feature Martin Mohabeer, the Guyana-born Managing Director of Spackman Group and CEO of Spackman Capital, who currently helps manage $1.3 billion in assets under management by the Hong Kong-based, privately-held investment conglomerate; W. Dave Dowrich, Vice President at Goldman Sachs, which has over 900 billion under its management; and David Brillembourg, CEO of the Brilla Group, who has founded two successful companies, executed over 30 M&A transactions and has raised nearly $150 million over the past decade from private and institutional investors.

Additionally, the event is also slated to feature New York City comptroller John Liu, who helps manage $646 million in pension funds for New York City.

Mario Gonzalez, executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company; Brian Lilly, CEO of Lilly Broadcasting and Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization and St. Kitts/Nevis minister of tourism, Ricky Skerritt will also address participants while several Caribbean tourism ministers of government, commissioners and directors of tourism as well as officials of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, including Secretary General Hugh Riley and others from the business, travel and investment community will be in attendance.

The Hard Beat/CTO forum will be moderated by Professor Temisan Agbeyegbe, professor of Economics at Hunter College and Graduate Center, City University of New York and a research associate with The Caribbean Center for Monetary Studies, The University of The West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.

“This is no talk shop but its where real capital meets investment opportunities,” said Felicia Persaud, CEO of Hard Beat Communications.  “Entrepreneurs, lenders, developers, hotel chain/management company executives, investment bankers, vacation ownership executives, financial advisors, real estate and financial intermediaries, builders, consultants, lawyers, architects and designers or anyone seeking to do business in the Caribbean, learn about investment opportunities there, raise capital to grow or expand your business or network with top investors and ministers of government should all make it a date to attend this event.”

“The Caribbean is a perfect destination for investment, given its stable governments, its tax incentives, its close proximity to the U.S. and it’s very high literary workforce and its superb beauty and climate,” added Sylma Brown Bramble, director of CTO North America.

The Pennsylvania-based WSEE TV and OneCaribbeanWeather.com, both part of Lilly Broadcasting Corporation, and the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, are the official sponsors of the ‘Invest Caribbean Power Breakfast.’

Additional sponsors include the PR Newswire, CaribPR Wire, The Bahamas Weekly, News Americas Now and the Caribbean American Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Tickets are going fast so register today at http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=7phqhyn6&oeidk=a07e3p448ple41d4ad3. Or for more information log on http://investcaribbeannow.com/.

Carib PR Newswire, NEW YORK, NY, April 22, 2011: An investment banker at full-service global investment banking and securities firm Goldman Sachs, born to Barbadian parents in Toronto, Canada, is set to deliver the key note address at the 2011 Invest Caribbean Power Breakfast this June in New York City.  

Wendell Dave Dowrich, Vice President of Risk and Capital Markets in the Financial Institutions Group at Goldman Sachs, will address Caribbean ministers of tourism and delegates of the June 9^th event, set for 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the New York Marriott Marquis in NYC.

The event, part of Caribbean Week in New York, is being presented by the Caribbean Tourism Organization and digital media solutions firm, Hard Beat Communications, Inc., in collaboration with the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Dowrich, whose responsibilities at Goldman include providing risk management advice to insurance companies, with specific focus on capital markets reinsurance, will speak on the prospects for international investment in the Caribbean region.

Before Goldman, Dowrich worked at Credit Suisse and prior to that appointment, was the Head of Corporate Planning & Analysis for Swiss Re’s life reinsurance business for North America, where he was responsible for performance measurement, performance enhancement, capital management and management reporting for the North American operations.

 He began his career in employee benefits consulting in Toronto, Canada before relocating to Barbados to become a member of the management team of the Barbados reinsurance operations of a Canadian insurance company.

Dowrich attended primary and secondary school in Barbados and holds an Honors Bachelor of Science degree from University of Toronto, Canada, with majors in Actuarial Science and Applied Statistics, as well as an MBA with a major in Finance, from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.  He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

David Brillembourg, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of the Brilla Group, a private equity real estate firm focused exclusively on acquiring luxury beachfront hotel and resort assets in South Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and Colombia, will also speak at the event that is set to feature top Caribbean Tourism Organization officials, government ministers and directors, New York City elected officials and investors, lenders and entrepreneurs.

“For the very first time in the history of the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Caribbean Week in New York, an investment component has been added and we’re very proud to be working with the CTO to make this happen,” said Hard Beat Communications CEO, Felicia Persaud. “This event is a must attend for interested in investing in ‘Paradise’ or for those seeking to learn of the opportunities there.”

Sponsors to date include the PR Newswire, CaribPR Wire, The Bahamas Weekly, and News Americas Now.

For additional sponsorship opportunities or breakfast tickets call 646-820-5694 or log on to: http://investcaribbeannow.com/.

ABOUT THE CTO

The Caribbean Tourism Organization exists to increase significantly the inclusion of the Caribbean region in the set of destinations being considered by travelers. The CTO, with headquarters in Barbados, comprises 32 member countries, including English, French, Spanish and Dutch countries and territories, as well as private sector allied members. Every year, the CTO presents “Caribbean Week In New York,” which Caribbean Week in New York is a celebration of the sights, sounds, colors, culture and unique vacation attributes of the Caribbean.

ABOUT HARD BEAT COMMUNICATIONS

Hard Beat Communications brands itself as a Digital Media Solutions Company. The company does this through its PR Wire and Digital Content Creation and Dissemination and syndicated digital newswire – New Americas Now, formerly CaribWorldNews, its Media Buying and Event Promotions arm and its New Media Solutions department.
 

ABOUT THE CARIBBEAN AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

The Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (CACCI), founded in August 1985, is a statewide membership organization, which has developed expertise in providing business assistance to small and start-up business owners, in areas of business planning, financing, procurement, certification, expansion, and export/import opportunities.

Carib PR Newswire, NEW YORK, NY, April 15, 2011: Investing in the Caribbean region’s tourism sector will be the focus of a power breakfast this June, presented by the Caribbean Tourism Organization and Hard Beat Communications, Inc., in collaboration with the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Hard Beat Communications, a digital media solutions company specializing in the Caribbean and Latin American market, is teaming up with the Caribbean’s regional tourism agency and CAACI to present the Invest Caribbean 2011 Power Breakfast on June 9, 2011 from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. in New York City.

Confirmed speakers to date include W. Dave Dowrich, Vice President – Investment Banking at Goldman, Sachs & Co. and David Brillembourg, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of the Brilla Group, a private equity real estate firm focused exclusively on acquiring luxury beachfront hotel and resort assets in South Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and Colombia.

Ministers, commissioners and directors of tourism from several nations are set to attend the event and present investment opportunities from their nations.

“This event will allow for executives of corporations to showcase their product and services to a very exclusive niche group of high powered business executives and for entrepreneurs seeking investment to be able to pitch their ideas for seed or expansion capital to key investors,” said Hard Beat Communications CEO, Felicia Persaud.

“The Caribbean Tourism Organization is proud to team up with Hard Beat and CAACI to present this event since in these tough economic times, investment in the Caribbean is critical and the CTO believes strongly in continuing to boost the tourism sector of this vibrant region by presenting investment opportunities for its members,” said Sylma Brown Bramble, director of CTO-USA Inc.

Media sponsors include the PR Newswire, CaribPR Wire and News Americas Now.

For sponsorship opportunities  call 1-800-789-3062 or 646-820-5694 or log on to: http://investcaribbeannow.com/. For tickets register at https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?llr=7phqhyn6&oeidk=a07e3p448ple41d4ad3

ABOUT THE CTO

The Caribbean Tourism Organization exists to increase significantly the inclusion of the Caribbean region in the set of destinations being considered by travelers. The CTO, with headquarters in Barbados, comprises 32 member countries, including English, French, Spanish and Dutch countries and territories, as well as private sector allied members. Every year, the CTO presents “Caribbean Week In New York,” which Caribbean Week in New York is a celebration of the sights, sounds, colors, culture and unique vacation attributes of the Caribbean.

ABOUT HARD BEAT COMMUNICATIONS

Hard Beat Communications brands itself as a Digital Media Solutions Company. The company does this through its PR Wire and Digital Content Creation and Dissemination and syndicated digital newswire – New Americas Now, formerly CaribWorldNews, its Media Buying and Event Promotions arm and its New Media Solutions department.
 

ABOUT THE CARIBBEAN AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

The Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (CACCI), founded in August 1985, is a statewide membership organization, which has developed expertise in providing business assistance to small and start-up business owners, in areas of business planning, financing, procurement, certification, expansion, and export/import opportunities.