Women in-by-for Tourism  

2:00PM

Rosa Harris, Director of Tourism

Cayman Islands Department Of Tourism

Rosa Harris is the Director of the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, and a recognized leader in the Caribbean tourism and hospitality sector.

She is a Senior Level Executive with more than 20 years’ experience in management, business leadership, and working with Government Officials, Boards of Directors, Advertising Executives and Tourism Partners.

Director Harris serves on multiple boards and committees which help manage and shape the Cayman Islands’ tourism industry. She is the Chairman of the Public Transportation Board, the Hotel Licensing Board, and the Cayman Islands Hospitality School Council. She also serves as Deputy Chairman of the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame and is a board member of Cayman Airways and the Cayman Islands National Attractions Authority.

She is the immediate past chairman of the Board of Directors for the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), and she was pivotal in reinvigorating the organisation’s mission. Under the Cayman Islands’ tenure, the CTO added three new member countries and hired the first female Secretary-General and CEO for the organisation.

Director Harris has a BSc in Hotel Administration from the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, and a Manchester Global MBA from Alliance Manchester Business School at The University of Manchester. She was a recipient of the Governor’s Certificate and Badge of Honour in 2022 for her services to the Cayman Islands throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Director Harris is a proud Caymanian, born and raised, and was the first recipient of the Cayman Islands Ministry of Tourism Scholarship.

Joanne Deys, President, Ozgene USA

Executive VP – Strategic Partnering, Ozgene PTY

Joanne Deys brings 40 years of multi-industry, lean operations, and global leadership experience. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology, a Harvard Micro MBA Certificate, and Six Sigma Certification.

Joanne’s career began in automotive as a Manufacturing Supervisor, before advancing into Industrial Engineering and Labor Relations. As her career progressed, she led operations as a Value Stream Segment Leader and later managed supply chain and logistics across multiple automotive divisions, always with a focus on driving operational excellence thru continuous process improvements and empowering teams to deliver results.

In 2005, Joanne joined Textron as a Lean Sensei, applying her expertise to transform operational processes across the Aerospace and Industrial business units. She later moved to Germany to serve as Global VP of Integrated Supply Chain for Kautex, a $1.8 billion business unit of Textron.

In 2011, Joanne returned to the United States and founded her own consulting practice, helping businesses transform leadership and operational practices across the pharmaceutical, medical device, fire safety, and industrial sectors.

In 2016, Joanne re-entered corporate leadership, becoming VP of Global Sales and Operations Planning at Stanley Engineered Fastening, a $2.4 billion division of Stanley Black and Decker, where she led global teams through complex integrated process and operational changes.

In 2018, Joanne arrived in Cayman Islands as she and her now husband set up Rhetus International, a global management company in the Economic Zone. As COVID-19 hit, she played a key leadership role in establishing COVID-19 qPCR testing with Doctors Hospital. She collaborated closely with the government, hospitals, and customers to create integrated systems that delivered high quality service, efficiently and with transparency that gained public trust — achieving certification by PAHO and WHO in just five weeks from the start of process design.

Today, other than the Global Management Company Rhetus International in the Economic Zone, Joanne serves as Executive VP of Strategic Partnering at Ozgene, an international biotech company. She also leads Ozgene USA as President, expanding the company’s operations and influence across North America. Throughout her career, Joanne has been a passionate advocate for leadership development, communication, and empowering teams to achieve excellence across industries and borders.

SPECIAL GUEST: The Breast Cancer Foundation - Cayman Islands

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