Family-owned Sandals Resorts International (SRI) has transformed itself from one brand and one resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica to become one of the most well-known and award-winning hospitality companies in the world. With five brands and 24 properties in seven countries including Antigua, The Bahamas, Grenada, Barbados, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Turks and Caicos, Sandals Resorts International is the undisputed leader of Caribbean vacation experiences and remains fiercely committed to the region, dedicating itself to innovative resort development that in the words of Chairman and Founder Gordon “Butch” Stewart, “exceed expectations” for guests, associates and the people who call the Caribbean home.
Chairman’s Biography
He’s been called the “King of All-Inclusive Resorts,” the “Cupid of the Caribbean,” and the “Master of Marketing.” While all descriptions are appropriate, none of them quite capture the full measure of Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, chairman and founder of Sandals Resorts International, parent company to Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts.
How could a simple phrase define a man who today controls what analysts estimate to be a billion dollar, privately-owned Jamaican-based Empire that includes 24 Caribbean resorts, Appliance Traders Ltd., and The Observer newspaper. All told, Butch Stewart spearheads two-dozen diverse companies that are collectively Jamaica’s largest private sector group, the country’s biggest foreign exchange earner, and its largest non-government employer.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, on July 6, 1941, he grew up along Jamaica’s north coast, a tropical paradise boasting some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, now home to seven Sandals Resorts, three Beaches Resorts. But the origin of Stewart’s business career as the leading entrepreneur in the Caribbean had nothing to do with the hotel or resort industries; rather it had everything to do with salesmanship and Stewart soon proved himself to be a master of the craft.
