BIBA's New President Sets Out Her Priorities

BIBA, the Association for Global Business Announces their 2026-2027 President and Board of Directors

BIBA, the Association for Global Business, is pleased to introduce its new President and Board of Directors, appointed to oversee the Association's affairs for the 2026–2027 administrative term. Elected at the Annual General Meeting held on Monday, July 20, 2026, the Board brings together senior practitioners from across the breadth of the sector BIBA represents.

A Vision for the Future of Barbados' Global Business Sector

Supporting the continued development of business facilitation in Barbados, with a focus on improving the ease of doing business while maintaining a strong and effective compliance framework, will be among the key priorities for the new President of BIBA, Ms. Joanna M. Austin.

Ms. Austin, who is BIBA’s representative on the Board of Business Barbados and an Attorney-at-Law with over 15 years experience in corporate and commercial law, said she planned to leverage BIBA’s participation within key stakeholder agencies and its collaboration with regulators to achieve this goal.

Among her other priorities listed following the Association’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Monday, July 20th, 2026, at the Marriott Courtyard in Hastings, Christ Church, Ms. Austin identified strengthening BIBA’s position as a trusted advocate for the global business sector by ensuring it continued to play an active role in shaping policy and regulatory developments to enhance Barbados’ competitiveness. Turning inwardly, Ms. Austin also said that she intended to, deepen relations with members by using BIBA’s platforms to facilitate engagement, encourage meaningful dialogue, and provide practical guidance on emerging issues, including artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and evolving tax and regulatory developments.

Ms. Austin is a Senior Associate at Fraser Law. She was called to the Bar of England & Wales and subsequently obtained the Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School and admitted to the Barbados Bar in 2011. Ms. Austin has also completed loan and security documentation and international taxation courses and is a graduate of the Chartered Governance Institute of Canada.

Along with Ms. Austin, the new board of directors appointed to oversee the organization’s affairs for the 2026-2027 administrative term, are are follows:

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