Having Karla as our new COO is a real coup

Welcome to the weekly Q&A to keep you up-to-date on developments at the new Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA). 

Who is the new COO?

Karla Lacey is the new COO at the Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA). She will start working at the BTA on April 7 and the BTA is delighted to have her on board.

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 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 in a 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 programmes for students and adults; introduced a hospitality school programme 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 which  has educated more than 6,000 young people in the culinary arts across the United States and Bermuda through summer programmes and within school curriculums with underserved populations and has participated in grant funded academic research studies by major universities.

Before heading to the US, 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.

The BTA is very pleased to welcome Karla as Chief Operating Officer. The role is pivotal to the organization’s success in implementing the National Tourism Plan and running the
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Source: Bermuda Tourism Authority