The Government is pleased to announce the appointment of John Rutherford OBE as the Chief Executive of the country’s recently formed Investment Promotion Agency (IPA), Invest Turks and Caicos Islands (Invest TCI) effective December 1, 2015. Mr Rutherford has worked in the field of inward investment for over 21 years, including as Deputy Head of Invest Hong Kong and separate assignments as US West Coast head and Regional Director for Asia Pacific for Invest UK. For the last six years he has run his own investment consultancy business, advising Governments around the world on how to attract overseas and domestic investment.
Invest TCI is a statutory body with oversight by the Ministry of Finance Trade and Investment. It is the main marketing agency of Brand Turks and Caicos Islands - complemented by the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board. Its specific mandate is to promote and facilitate trade and investment, public- private partnership and other forms of commercial alliances, encourage domestic entrepreneurship, innovation and capital formation, and generally to liaise with government agencies and the private sector; in so doing streamline the investment process.
Hon. Washington Misick in commenting on the directive of the agency said that; "National competitiveness in the long-run depends on productivity and innovation, not on natural endowments, and most definitely not on low wages. I look forward to working with the new agency to develop policies and procedures that will improve the competitiveness of the Turks and Caicos Islands, through the enhancement of the quality of the business environment, growth in productivity and economic fairness."
Chairman of the Board Anton Faessler said that the new Agency has a strong local member Board of Directors who are committed to meet the tasks outlined in the legislation and which has already met seven times in 2015 establishing organizational and staffing charts and budgets as well as identifying new office space for the agency.
Priority however was to find an experienced CEO who also comes with global contacts and knowledge of investment promotion, marketing and lead generation. Mr. Rutherford was chosen from some 125 applicants and the Board is confident that the right choice has been made. Together with the CEO, the Board is now in the process of filling various other positions in the new Agency, and the Chairman is confident that these positions can be filled with Belongers.
Mr Rutherford said; ‘’I am delighted and excited to have been chosen for this role. I expect it to be a very demanding job and look forward to working with the Government and private sector to identify commercial opportunities and develop strong messaging to encourage investment from both overseas and local businesses.
"The role of an investment promotion agency is to facilitate the process whereby companies can set up and operate in the market and we will work with Government Departments to smooth the way for business. Our ultimate goal is to create jobs, encourage economic activity and raise the country’s skills base and Invest Turks and Caicos will be proactive in trying to attract new commercial operations to the islands and help existing businesses grow. My network of business contacts is spread across the world and I plan to exploit these links to raise the profile of Turks and Caicos as a business destination."