Board Members
The BTA Board of Directors is made up of eight men and women who are passionate about Bermuda and seeing her succeed. They bring a wealth of diverse corporate and tourism-related experience to their respective roles.
Paul Telford
Paul Telford has 13 years international management experience in luxury hotels, beginning his career in the Bermuda hospitality industry as a bus boy in his teen years. His experiences have been both on the island and then off island with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts where he started in Food & Beverage Management, and then transitioned into the Rooms Division. Mr. Telford’s most recent postings have seen him at hotels and resorts such as the Four Seasons Washington, D.C. a Forbes 5 Star Hotel, the Four Seasons Punta Mita, Mexico, and The Kahala Hotel in Honolulu Hawaii, a Forbes 4 Star Resort & Spa before returning to Bermuda in 2008 to join the opening team of Tucker’s Point Hotel & Spa. Mr. Telford has a Bachelor's Degree in International Hotel Management from the University of Buckingham.
Phil Barnett
Phil Barnett is the Director and President of the Island Restaurant Group. Prior to the Island Restaurant Group, Mr. Barnett was a General Manager for Spectra Group of Great Restaurants. Mr. Barnett serves as a board member on the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Barnett holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of British Columbia.
Joseph Best, Jr.
Joseph Best, Jr. holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Marketing degree from Cornell University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Endicott College. He holds certifications in Risk and Information Systems Controls, Information Systems Audit and is a member of ISACA and the Institute of Risk Management. His professional career includes experience at Morgan Stanley and Ernst & Young and locally at the Bermuda Monetary Authority and the Internal Audit Department of the Government of Bermuda. Mr. Best serves on the Board’s Audit and Risk Committee.
Peter Everson
Peter Everson is the President of PEConsultants Ltd. He has extensive experience in investment banking, fund management, private equity and private banking. Prior to PEConsultants, Mr. Everson was the CEO of Schroders. Mr. Everson serves as a non-executive director for Shell Trust Bermuda Limited. Mr. Everson holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Leicester.
Earl (Butch) Graves Jr.
Earl (Butch) Graves Jr. is president & CEO of BLACK ENTERPRISE. He is responsible for the strategic positioning and overall profitability of the corporation which includes magazine publishing, television production, digital media, and business and lifestyle events. Butch joined BLACK ENTERPRISE in 1988 after earning his M.B.A. from Harvard University. After holding several positions within advertising & marketing, he was appointed president and chief operating officer in 1998 and named CEO in 2006. Under his guidance BLACK ENTERPRISE has expanded the reach of its signature magazine to include more than 4 million readers, redefined its Wealth for Life mission for the digital age with a revitalized multimedia website and iPad edition, and successfully launched broadcasts of Our World with Black Enterprise and the Black Enterprise Business Report into television syndication. Butch received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Yale University in 1984.
Sophia Greaves
Ms Greaves is a Director in the corporate department of Conyers Dill & Pearman. Her practice at Conyers spans a number of specializations with particular emphasis on securitizations, mergers and acquisitions and the formation, licensing and ongoing regulatory requirements for Bermuda (re)insurers.
Jessica Mello
Jessica Mello is Director of Consulting Services, Deloitte Bermuda, serving banking and public sector clients in Bermuda and the Caribbean. Before joining Deloitte Bermuda in 2011, she worked in the Economics practice at AECOM, a Fortune 500 infrastructure consulting firm. She was based in London and worked with clients in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and China. Jessica is experienced in economic planning, feasibility analysis and strategy for tourism destinations. She has worked with visitor attractions, mixed-use destination resorts, entertainment retail districts, sporting destinations, iconic structures, waterfronts, and infrastructure. Ms. Mello has an MBA from London Business School and a BA from Middlebury College. She is also a member of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce Economics Committee and served as a Performance Committee Analyst for the Bermuda SAGE Commission.
Stephen Todd
Since 2014, Stephen Todd has been the chief executive officer of the Bermuda Hotel Association and the Hotel Employers of Bermuda. Most of Mr. Todd’s career has been is in the financial services sector where he has more than 35 years of experience. He’s also been a past president of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce and the Sandys Rotary Club. His resume includes advisory roles in public policy on issues like immigration, labour and pensions. Stephen Todd was appointed to the Board of Directors in December 2017.