Former Customer Service Manager at CUC, Joey Ebanks, is now Chief Operating Officer of the Boatswain’s Beach tourist attraction in West Bay.

Mr Ebanks’ new position will become effective on Thursday, 18 January 2007 when the contracts were signed by both parties.

Mr Ebanks quit his post after a six-year stint at CUC – the lone electricity company in Grand Cayman.

His resignation will take effective on 16 February 2007.

He said that his former manager was initially shocked by the news but their relationship has not been severed.

“We have a long friendship,” he said in reference to his former manager, Richard Hew.

When asked what made him the successful candidate, Mr Ebanks responded that there was due process involved.

“It was advertised in the newspapers, I applied; there were other candidates, there was also an interview process, and I was fortunate to get selected,” he said.

Mr Ebanks who was owner of Sports Headquarters, a sports retail store, holds a Masters in Business Administration.

He also worked in various departments at CUC in Grand Cayman.

Meanwhile, Managing Director of Boatswain’s Turtle Farm Beach for the past eleven years, Kenneth Hydes, explained that, over the last couple years, the facility has grown rapidly in both human resources and infrastructural development.

“We are currently at a juncture where the Board of Directors certainly saw a need to enhance or revamp the overall organisational structure and in so doing I am very pleased that we have been able to attract a gentleman of Mr Ebanks’ calibre to the post of COO, which will focus predominantly on the business aspect of this operation,” he said.

In outlining some of his plans for Boatswain’s Beach, Mr Ebanks stated that the first thing he intends to do is  ‘pull the team together’ and restructure the organisation.

“Our plan is to pull that team together and aggressively market and increase our sales and revenues,” he emphasised.

Mr Ebanks will be directly responsible for Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources, Visitor Services and Marketing.

He pointed out that the input of all team leaders is vital to assist in building this strategy and to move it forward.

He added that some the plans for the area are already in progress. “We plan to increase the volume of visitors from the cruise sector, and also to look at stayover visitors, market directly to them, as well as some of our local tourism.”

When asked whether anyone was affected by Mr Ebanks’ employment, Mr Hydes responded “The various department were headed by their individual heads but at this point we wanted to have one individual that is essentially focused on pulling all of these aspects together on a day to day basis.”

The only two individuals that will now report directly to Mr Hydes are the Chief Scientific Officer or the Head of the Animal Programme, and the General Manager of Operations.

He further stated “The Board felt there needed to be a greater focus on the business, now that we have taken this product from a construction stage into a full implementation stage.”

According to Mr Hydes, Boatswain’s Beach continues to work toward its full realisation. It has certainly expanded since its inception on November 4, 2001.

“It has moved being just a turtle farm to Boatswain Beach; from 35 to 105 employees; from being part of a tour to a tour — all of this cannot be done with the same organisational structure that was in place before,” he said.

 In 2006, Boatswain’s gross sales were in excess of $5 million and over 400,000 people visit the facility, which translates to about 20 percent of all visitor arrivals to the Island.

He also added that Boatswain’s Beach has also assist in the economic development of the community of West Bay and the Island as a whole, since it is a national project.

Mr Ebanks was asked about his interest in politics, but he said: “I am not permitted to comment on politics.”

Mr Hydes hastened to add, “I cannot comment on Mr Ebanks’ long-term objectives but I do know in taking up this position, a substantial commitment has been made to us… not just for one year, this is not something any of us take lightly.” There was no timeframe in the contract signed.

Mr Hydes stated that the Board of Directors, the management team and himself are ecstatic and are looking forward to the new organisational structure at Boatswain’s Beach, and delivering a world-class product.

christine@caymannetnews.com