Executive MANAGEMENT TEAM

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1st Vice President of the Jamaica Employers' Federation

Clifton Reader’s impressive hospitality career spans over four (4) decades among various local and international hotels. He is now the Vice President of Palace Resorts Jamaica and Turks & Caicos Islands. Prior to his post as Vice President, Mr. Reader served as Managing Director of Moon Palace Jamaica, which is Palace Resort’s first property outside of Mexico. Throughout the course of his career he served as General Manager of Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort & Spa, General Manager of Beaches Negril Resort & Spa and Beaches Sandy Bay, as well as key positions in the wider Caribbean including Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands. 

His current responsibilities include driving growth and business development, strengthening constructive relations of industry players, directing and managing annual budgets of divisions, as well as company liaison within the tourism sector. He is also tasked with overseeing major projects of the resort, inclusive of expansion of Palace’s footprints within the Caribbean.  

He also serves as the President of the Moon Palace Foundation, the social and welfare arm of Moon Palace Jamaica. The five areas of focus are Health, Wellness, Education, Environment and Dreams. The Foundation provides assistance, referrals and financial support to enhance the health, welfare, education and happiness of staff, their families and the community in which the resort operates; as well as raising environmental awareness. 

Mr. Reader served as President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) 2020-2022. He brings deep-rooted understanding of the local market and region, valuable experience and great enthusiasm to his post at Palace Resorts.  This expertise is extended to academic functions as he currently serves as Chairman of the Course Advisory Committee at the University of Technology’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. 

In 2023, Mr. Reader was bestowed with the national honour of Order of Distinction (OD) by the Government of Jamaica for his outstanding and distinguished service within the tourism sector. 

   2nd Vice President of the Jamaica Employers' Federation 

Mrs. Bernita Locke is an experienced Human Resources Practitioner with more than Forty years’ Service in the Private and Public Sectors. She was Director of Human Resources at the Jamaica Information Service for nearly 12 years having served as Vice President of Human Resources for over 15 years at Life of Jamaica now Sagicor Life. 

Her experience spans all aspects of Human Resources Management including Training and Development and Industrial Relations. As an HR business partner and a strategic planner with many years’ experiences, she contributed significantly to the corporate planning and performance management system for her employers. 

Mrs. Locke has served the Jamaica Employers Federation for more than thirty-five years. She was elected as 1st Vice President of the Federation in 2010 and served to 2013 and was again elected as 2nd VP in 2023.

She serves in various capacities on the Executive Council representing Employers at the International Labour Organization in Switzerland and the Caribbean Employers Confederation in Trinidad. She has contributed significantly to the planning and implementation of the JEF Annual Convention. 

Mrs. Locke is the recipient of two awards from the Federation. In 2001 she was presented with the JEF award for Excellence in Human Resources Management and Employee Relations Practice and in 2010 she received an award in recognition of Outstanding contribution to the field of Industrial Relations, Human Resource Management and for providing invaluable Service to the Jamaica Employer Federation.

An advocate for the HR Profession and the Practice of Industrial Relations, she serves and have served on the Labour Advisory Council, the National Insurance Fund, the National Minimum Wage Commission, and Jamaica Foundation for Life Long Learning as well the Jamaica Productivity Centre.  She also served on the Overseas Examination Council for over 4 years culminating in 2009.

Mrs. Locke holds an Executive Masters in Business Administration from the Mona School of Business, University of the West Indies with specialisation in Strategic Human Resources Management.  She is also a trained graduate teacher.

Community Involvement

Bernita’s interest in Education, Community Development and concern for the less fortunate is unquestionable as it was her contributions to the Jessie Ripoll Primary School that resulted in the decision by the School Board, Principal, and PTA to name the School’s Pavilion in her honour. St. Georges College was also the beneficiary of her hard work as an executive member of the PTA.