Bridgetown, Barbados, July 24, 2026 – Supporting the continued development of business facilitation in Barbados, with a focus on improving the ease of doing business while maintaining a strong and effective compliance framework, will be among the key priorities for the new President of BIBA, the Association for Global Business, Ms. Joanna M. Austin.
Ms. Austin, who is BIBA’s representative on the Board of Business Barbados and an Attorney-at-Law with over 15 years experience in corporate and commercial law, said she planned to leverage BIBA’s participation within key stakeholder agencies and its collaboration with regulators to achieve this goal.
Among her other priorities listed following the Association’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Monday, July 20th, 2026, at the Marriott Courtyard in Hastings, Christ Church, Ms. Austin identified strengthening BIBA’s position as a trusted advocate for the global business sector by ensuring it continued to play an active role in shaping policy and regulatory developments to enhance Barbados’ competitiveness. Turning inwardly, Ms. Austin also said that she intended to, deepen relations with members by using BIBA’s platforms to facilitate engagement, encourage meaningful dialogue, and provide practical guidance on emerging issues, including artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and evolving tax and regulatory developments.
Ms. Austin is a Senior Associate at Fraser Law. She was called to the Bar of England & Wales and subsequently obtained the Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School and admitted to the Barbados Bar in 2011. Ms. Austin has also completed loan and security documentation and international taxation courses and is a graduate of the Chartered Governance Institute of Canada.
Along with Ms. Austin, the new board of directors appointed to oversee the organization’s affairs for the 2026-2027 administrative term, are First Vice President Ms. Dionne Knight, Director – Actuarial, Manufacturers P&C Ltd (Manulife Re); Second Vice President, Ms. Sabrina Maynard, Partner with Clarke Gittens Farmer Attorneys-at-Law; Treasurer Mr. Dwane Pitcairn, Vice President, Marsh Management Services (Barbados) Limited; Secretary Ms. Sharalee Gittens, General Counsel for the Bank of Nova Scotia; and Directors Mr. Scott Stollmeyer, Vice President, USA Risk Group; Ms. Glenna Smith, Principal, Smith Compliance Consulting; Mr. Stephen Robinson, Vice President for Special Projects, Sagicor Life Inc; Ms. Nikita Gibson, Senior Vice President, Geneva International Insurance; Ms. Lana Fingall, Senior Relationship Manager and Team Lead, Bank of Nova Scotia Offshore Banking Unit; Ms. Gayle Hutchinson, Managing Director, Trident Corporate Services (Barbados) Limited; and Mr. Paul Buchanan, President of Cidel Bank & Trust. Immediate Past President Mr. Marlon Yarde, General Manager & CEO of the Barbados Stock Exchange, will hold an ex-officio position on the board, as does Ms. Carmel Haynes, Executive Director of BIBA.
