Sheila Crump Johnson 

Sheila Crump Johnson born January 25, 1949 is an American businesswoman, co-founder

of BET, CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts and the first African-American woman to
attain a net worth of at least one billion dollars.
Johnson is team president, managing partner, and governor of the WNBA's Washington
Mystics, a position she earned before the 2005 season. On May 24, 2005, Washington Sports
and Entertainment Chairman, Abe Pollin, sold the Mystics to Lincoln Holdings LLC, where
Johnson served as president. She is the first African-American woman to be an owner or
partner in three professional sports franchises: the Washington Capitals (NHL),
the Washington Wizards (NBA), and the Washington Mystics (WNBA). Johnson is CEO of
Salamander Hospitality, a company she founded in 2005. Salamander's portfolio includes:
Reunion Resort located in Reunion, Florida; The Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, a 900-
acre (3.6 km2), 72 hole PGA tour golf course in Palm Harbor, FL; and The Salamander
Resort & Spa in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Middleburg, VA.
 Mr. John Lynch

For more than 30 years John D. Lynch was been a steady force for many of the Caribbean’s
most visible travel brands including: the country of Jamaica; its national airline, Air Jamaica,
Ltd.; Sandals Resorts; Beaches Resorts; and the Royal Plantation group of luxury boutique
resorts. Rising from the tour business, Lynch has become one of the Caribbean’s most
influential and sought-after experts, a critical player in bringing worldwide attention and
ultimately visitors, to the region he knows so well.

Lynch began his travel career as general manager of J.A.M., a Jamaica-based tour company.
Through partnerships with Intercontinental Hotels and the Maritz Travel Company, Lynch
rapidly expanded J.A.M., making it one of Jamaica’s leading ground transportation
companies at that time and a precursor of today’s destination management companies.

Following this, Lynch began a fourteen year association with the Jamaica Tourist Board. He
joined as senior manager, trade services, was promoted to regional manager based in
Chicago, and ultimately became deputy director of tourism, responsible for sales and
marketing worldwide, spurred on by the award-winning ‘Come Back to Jamaica’ campaign
that significantly increased visitor arrivals during his tenure.

In 1991, Lynch became president and CEO of Luxury Resorts Marketing, the promotional
and marketing arm of Ciboney Ocho Rios, A Radisson Resort, that brand’s first foray into the
all-inclusive market. A year later he joined Sandals Resorts as executive vice president of
sales worldwide.
From his Miami office, Lynch had oversight for public relations, sales promotions, and group
sales for all Sandals Resorts brands worldwide and has been an integral part of the company’s
aggressive expansion beyond Jamaica that now includes Antigua, Turks and Caicos,
Bahamas and Saint Lucia. For Sandals, Lynch created the now trademarked Weddingmoon
concept that combines a wedding and honeymoon and that has become synonymous with the
destination wedding trend.

For ten years, Lynch was an active member of the Board of Directors of Air Jamaica, Ltd.,
while the airline was still the national carrier of Jamaica. Here Lynch was instrumental in the
airline’s significant rebranding in 1993 and consequent route expansion that brought more
flights to Jamaica from more cities around the world and introduced new Caribbean
destinations to Air Jamaica’s portfolio.

He has served as third vice president of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), and as
chairman of the influential marketing committee of the Caribbean Tourism Organization.
Currently, Lynch serves as a member of the board of directors for the Caribbean Tourism
Development Corporation.

He came back to the Jamaica Tourist Board in October 2007, when he was appointed
Chairman of the Board. In 2008, he was appointed Director of Tourism and serve in that
capacity until May 2014.