Lisl Lewis new BIBA President for 2008-2009
Wednesday July 16 2008 | 06:19 PM

Lisl Lewis, managing director and chief executive officer of LBL Consulting Services, has earned the distinction of becoming the first Barbadian female elected to lead the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA) in its 10-year history.

The former Harrisonian succeeded Ricardo Knight – the first Barbadian president of BIBA – at the organisation’s annual general meeting held on June 27, 2008, at the Barbados Yacht Club on Bay Street, St. Michael. Lewis previously served as second and first vice president over the last two tenures of the executive board in preparation for the prestigious position.

In commenting on her new role in BIBA, Lewis said: “I’m certainly following a long tradition of hardworking executive committees and hardworking presidents and my job will be to continue the initiatives that have started in an ongoing effort to keep the organisation moving forward.”

The chartered accountant said her year-long tenure would have three strategic thrusts – continuing to raise the profile of BIBA and by extension the international business sector in Barbados; further diversifying the composition of the sector in Barbados; and supporting the new government in its initiatives to develop the sector.

Lewis is a graduate of Southampton University in the United Kingdom with 18 years experience in the financial services industry. She has worked previously at the Royal Bank of Canada and CXE International Bank Ltd.

Currently the manager of her own consultancy firm, Lewis is keen to dispel the myth that the international business sector only benefits expatriates and foreign domiciled entities. Having been employed in the sector since 1996, she is quick to point out that the sector injects money into the Barbadian economy not only through providing jobs for thousands of Barbadians and the payment of millions in corporate taxes, but also tourism value added.

“Many companies in the international business sector have regular board meetings where directors fly in from overseas, with their family members, and stay for a week at a time. The spends from those trips can be significant,” Lewis pointed out.

She said that she expected a recently initiated BIBA survey to paint a more meaningful picture of the importance of international business to the economy as it is gathering data on the sector’s overall contribution, including corporation tax paid, local tax paid, spend locally on goods and services, hotel bills, restaurant bills, and more.  

"This survey will gather that information in a simple but comprehensive way, which will certainly help in our efforts to impress on people the impact of the sector,” she said. “The international business sector is important to economy and part of our job is to raise that understanding of its importance among all strata of society.”