Sandals’ Chairman Gets ICN Leadership Award

Gordon “Butch” Stewart, chairman of Sandals Resorts International, was recently honoured with the 2014 Invest Caribbean Now Leadership Award at the Harvard Club in New York City.

Invest Caribbean Now (ICN), the largest global summit on the Caribbean outside the region, honoured Stewart for his investment, commitment and dedication to the Caribbean. Past ICN honorees include Sir Richard Branson and Royal Caribbean Cruises International.

“It is an honour to be considered a leader among those serving and succeeding in the Caribbean,” said Stewart. “My work here, the companies I have built, the jobs we have created and the people we have served are the best example of what is possible in the Caribbean and why we must continue to invest here at home.”

Over the last five years alone, Sandals Resorts International has invested over half a billion US dollars in product improvement and new development across the Caribbean.

This past year, the resort company has celebrated the grand opening of Sandals LaSource Grenada and the Key West Luxury Village at Beaches Turks & Caicos; acquired properties under renovation and development in Antigua and Barbados; and announced the Caribbean’s first-ever over-the-water suites at Sandals Royal Caribbean in Jamaica.

“For hoteliers, so much of the focus is on the guest experience,” added Stewart. “That is true for Sandals as well. But we serve another audience too which is as critical to our mission, central to our values and one of the most fulfilling aspects of my job — and that is the promise of what resort development means to the people of the Caribbean.”