Board of Directors

Darrin Downes currently serves as Director of the Foreign Exchange and Fund Management Department at the Central Bank of Barbados. He has previously held the positions of Deputy Director and Chief Economist, bringing over two decades of senior leadership experience in economic policy management. In addition, he has practised as an Attorney-at-Law for the past fifteen years.

Mr. Downes holds advanced degrees in both Economics and Law from the University of the West Indies, the State University of New York at Buffalo, and the Norman Manley Law School, Mona Campus, Jamaica. His current research interests include institutional governance, international economic law and economic development.

Michael O. Mayers graduated from the UWI, Cave Hill, in 1998 with a BSc. in Economics and Accounting (First Class Honours). He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

He has worked in a number of public and private sector entities in Barbados, in the capacity of Treasury Assistant of a global petroleum marketing company, Auditor with an international accounting and audit firm and Accountant in the hospitality sector. Mr. Mayers is currently an Investment Analyst at the National Insurance Department, a position he has held since August 2005. He has participated in several training courses and workshops in Risk Crisis Management, Occupational Health Safety & Welfare and Delinquency Management. Formerly a member of the Leo Club of Barbados North, he provides voluntary guidance in the areas of operations and finance to small startup businesses, churches and community based groups.

Peter Whitehall is a career economist and central banker who, at the Central Bank of Barbados, has served as Adviser to the Governor, Director of the Foreign Exchange and Export Credits Department and as Deputy Director of the Research and Economic Analysis Department.

Mr. Whitehall’s international experience includes serving as a former Adviser to the Executive Director for Canada, Ireland and the Caribbean at the International Monetary Fund, where he functioned as an alternate board member and participated in the Fund’s economic and financial surveillance missions to several Caribbean countries. He also served on the Board of the University of the Southern Caribbean in Trinidad.

As a research economist trained at the University of the West Indies and later Harvard University, he published technical economic papers in local, regional and international journals. An experienced banker, he developed financial structures and criteria for grant and loan schemes and managed a portfolio of BDS$100 million. He serves as a director of Fund Access.

Wendy Thompson is a Senior Finance Manager at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). Since joining RBC in 2008, she has held progressively senior finance roles within Personal and Commercial Banking and Wealth Management in Barbados and the United States. She also serves as Chairman of RBC’s Pension Plan Management Committee.

Ms. Thompson is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Howard University and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from The George Washington University.

Throughout her career, Wendy has built a reputation as a trusted finance partner to senior leadership teams, providing financial management, reporting and advisory services. She also served as an audit professional with international accounting firms in the United States and Barbados, delivering financial and compliance audit services across a wide range of industries.

Passionate about developing others, Wendy has also dedicated time to tutoring and mentoring upcoming professionals, including serving as a tutor in small business finance and management.