On February 16, 2009, Colin officially took office as the CEO and Director of Tourism of Discover Dominica Authority. Mr. Piper has over two decades of sales, marketing and operations experience both domestically and internationally. Prior to his appointment as CEO, Mr. Piper worked for Microsoft Corporation, where he developed strategies for sales to the financial services sector. These sales strategies generated over $12 million in sales of software products for computing devices worldwide to clients including US Bank, the 6th largest bank in the US, and Ameriprise Financial, the 3rd largest financial advisory firm in the US ranked by number of advisors. He held similar positions at Thomson Reuters and IBM, where he cultivated and advanced his professional career.
Mr. Piper further spent two years working as a key member of the management team of the National Development Corporation for Dominica. He played a vital role in operationalizing the World Creole Music Festival and acted as the Executive Director for the 2001 staging of the Festival. Mr. Piper also was a principal of FreeStyle Inc, a leading local media consultancy firm, where he helped develop destination marketing campaigns to grow the destination’s tourism industry. Mr. Piper served two years as treasurer of the Dominica Hotel and Tourism Association where he implemented fiscal policy to balance the books.
Mr. Piper manages a staff of 25 individuals and is the chairman of the Dominica Festivals Committee. In his capacity as CEO and Director of Tourism, Mr. Piper is responsible for the areas of Destination Marketing and Product Development. In his most recent tenure he has implemented the Nature Island Challenge and the Dominica Film Challenge, two events that have generated content for the destination and utilized the digital space to distribute such content.
Mr. Piper is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Carlson School Of Management, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Finance and his MBA in Marketing, Finance and Strategic Management.