We are a diverse team from all over the world with different cultures, generations, backgrounds, and beliefs.
We embrace our differences and believe they strengthen us. As a company built on diversity of thought and people, we have formed an award-winning leadership team at the helm of itel.
Yoni Epstein
Founding Chairman & CEO, Chairman of the Board
Yoni Epstein is an entrepreneur and the Founding Chairman and CEO of the Caribbean’s largest home-grown CX provider, itel. Ranked among the 50 most influential executives for the Latin American & Caribbean region, Yoni is known for keeping a laser-sharp focus on creating a business of the future and having an impact that goes beyond profit.
Yoni, who is a Jamaican, demonstrated a flair for business from an early age. Growing up in Miami, Yoni and his siblings would help out at the local Sandals Resort, folding brochures and collecting lost golf balls for extra pocket money. Yoni moved to Kingston, Jamaica at age 11 and then later returned to Miami to study hospitality at Florida International University. With some call center work experience under his belt, Yoni left University in 2004 to return to Jamaica to start a call center for Sandals.
During his time with Sandals, Yoni developed and managed the worldwide contact center operations with over 20 business units and five different cultures simultaneously. As he observed the growth of the Sandals contact center, Yoni could see the enormous potential for the Caribbean to compete on a global scale due to the strengths, abilities and culture of the people. In 2012, Yoni set out on his own to create a new breed of contact centers that would surpass the expectations of the customer.
itel, originally named Island Outsourcers, was started with a strong family-like culture and maintains that culture today, even as the company has grown to over 6,000 employees and expanded into nine countries. Yoni’s commitment to growing and innovating the Caribbean economy is demonstrated by his intrepid participation in the business community. Yoni was founding President of the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ) and is currently chairman of CarRental8.com; and sits on the governing board of the Global Services Sector Project, a 5-year project focused on talent up-skilling.
Duane Williams
Chief Technology Officer
Duane Williams serves as the Chief Technology Officer for itel. He brings a wealth of industry experience to advance innovation and growth within the organization. He has over a decade of experience in the ICT industry with a proven track record in systems management, network management, and software development disciplines. He holds several certifications, including MCSE, MCSA, MCDBA, and CCNA.
Bobby Brown
Chief Revenue Officer
Bobby Brown has been in the Contact Center industry for over 30 years leading dynamic global sales organizations across many institutional companies. His expertise in Contact Center and Digital Customer Engagement Technologies has been instrumental in assisting clients to develop engagement strategies that maximize measurable outcomes.
Bobby has held multiple Sales and Account Management leadership roles with top customer experience delivery organizations, where he implemented valuable insights and strategies designed to capture net new revenue and wallet share while increasing overall net promoter and satisfaction. Within the framework of his role, Bobby has responsibility for the sales and account management organizations within itel, while serving as a key member of the senior leadership team.
Bobby is married to Lucretia Brown, and together they have 2 adult children, Isaiah, and Indigo Brown. Together they live in Dallas, Texas.
Vinay Koppikar
Chief Financial Officer
Vinay Koppikar is the Chief Financial Officer of itel, with over 20+ years of experience in the business service and technology industry.
Vinay has expertise in FP&A, Financial & Strategic Planning & Management, Process Design & Re-engineering.
Vinay has been a part of seven start-ups and five years of business re-engineering experience and brings this rich knowledge to itel.
Melissa von Frankenberg
Chief Marketing Officer
Melissa von Frankenberg’s international experience working with some of the greatest brand builders in the globe, including Chris Blackwell (Island Records and Island Outpost) and Richard Branson (Virgin), has brought tremendous depth to her talents in marketing and communications. She is a writer, brand strategist and design enthusiast with an eye for excellence, the intuition to seize opportunities, the courage to lead, and the expertise to drive performance.
As the Chief Marketing officer at itel, Melissa manages a diverse and creative team tapping into their big ideas to support the expansion of the company and evolution of the brand.
Tamara Smith
Chief People Officer
Tamara is a skilled HR practitioner with more than fifteen years of experience working in HR leadership roles in global/technology, government and customer care organizations. Tamara has proven success guiding strategy, implementing process improvements and enhancements, performance management, service delivery, total rewards, organizational and leadership development. She has experience supporting large diverse work forces of 5,000+ employees in multiple geographical locations and countries.
Tamara holds a Masters of Science degree in Human Resource Development from the University of the West Indies, Mona, a Law Degree (LLB) from The University of London and is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management.
From the beautiful island of Jamaica, Tamara is mom to son Karson, loves to travel, and indulge in good Jamaican food, southern (US) cuisine and music.
Shurland Buchanan
Chief Learning Officer
Shurland's well-rounded experience includes over 15 years in Customer Experience, Employee Development, Training, and Operations. He brings his solid understanding of diverse coaching practices to break through cultural barriers and maximize learning at itel.
Shurland is a Master Trainer of Predictive Index Certification; a Certified Professional and Master Trainer in Training Management and Six Sigma Yellow Belt. His key strengths reside in the creation and designing of LM Systems, Quality Assurance CX Experience Strategies, Learning Theories, Employee Coaching and Development.
Yeashkark Allen
Group Senior Director, Environmental Health, Safety and Security
Yeashkark Allen's extensive background in customer service, quality assurance, facilities management, security management and health and safety management spans across industries, including Aviation, Real Estate and Business Processes Outsourcing.
Yeashkark is mostly known for his strategic planning ability which focuses on effectiveness, efficiency and cost saving. Yeashkark is certified by the Jamaica Red Cross and Jamaica Fire Brigade as a First Responder and is currently pursuing the Physical Security Professional Certificate (PSP) from ASIS International. Yeashkark's focus at itel is to develop, implement, coordinate and maintain companywide policies, procedures and guidelines for the protection and safety of itel’s employees, information, assets and reputation.
Paulina Wildman
Risk, Compliance & Governance Director
Paulina Wildman is an expert in developing and applying strategic and innovative methods to promote compliance, develop risk mitigation strategies and lead detailed internal auditing processes. She has 15 years of experience in the global services sector serving in different capacities, including Customer Service and Tech Support, IT, Information Security, and Risk and Compliance.
Paulina is a certified Information Security Management Systems Auditor and British Standards Institute Lead Auditor. She has her PCI DSS v3.2.1 Implementation Certificate from Control Case India, Master in Cyber Security Certification from the Ethical Hacking Academy and is a Professional Member of the Caribbean Cyber Security and Privacy Association.
Janecia Welds-Wainright
Head of Projects
Janecia Welds-Wainwright has over 10 years of experience in project management with a successful history of working in fast-paced multinational organizations. As Head of Projects at itel, Janecia manages her team to ultimately ensure that the projects that enable the company’s continuous growth – both in terms of new facilities and onboarding of new clients – are delivered on time and on budget. She is known for getting things done in pressing circumstances while maintaining high engagement of all project stakeholders. In other words, she is known as the personable task master.
Janecia is certified as a Scrum Master, a Scrum Product Owner, a Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Project Management for Learning Professional. She also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) focused in Accounting and Marketing from University of Technology, Jamaica.
Yoni Epstein
Founding Chairman & CEO, Chairman of the Board
Yoni Epstein is an entrepreneur and the Founding Chairman and CEO of the Caribbean’s largest home-grown CX provider, itel. Ranked among the 50 most influential executives for the Latin American & Caribbean region, Yoni is known for keeping a laser-sharp focus on creating a business of the future and having an impact that goes beyond profit.
Yoni, who is a Jamaican, demonstrated a flair for business from an early age. Growing up in Miami, Yoni and his siblings would help out at the local Sandals Resort, folding brochures and collecting lost golf balls for extra pocket money. Yoni moved to Kingston, Jamaica at age 11 and then later returned to Miami to study hospitality at Florida International University. With some call center work experience under his belt, Yoni left University in 2004 to return to Jamaica to start a call center for Sandals.
During his time with Sandals, Yoni developed and managed the worldwide contact center operations with over 20 business units and five different cultures simultaneously. As he observed the growth of the Sandals contact center, Yoni could see the enormous potential for the Caribbean to compete on a global scale due to the strengths, abilities and culture of the people. In 2012, Yoni set out on his own to create a new breed of contact centers that would surpass the expectations of the customer.
itel, originally named Island Outsourcers, was started with a strong family-like culture and maintains that culture today, even as the company has grown to over 6,000 employees and expanded into nine countries. Yoni’s commitment to growing and innovating the Caribbean economy is demonstrated by his intrepid participation in the business community. Yoni was founding President of the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ) and is currently chairman of CarRental8.com; and sits on the governing board of the Global Services Sector Project, a 5-year project focused on talent up-skilling.
Lisa Lake
Co-Founder and Member, Board of Directors
Lisa Lake is co-founder of itel and played a considerable role in the development of the company’s strategic development, culture building and sustainability initiatives. She is currently the Group CEO of the Lake Group of Companies with executive oversight that covers multiple industries including Quick Service Restaurants (franchisees of Burger King, Popeyes and Little Caesars across three islands), construction and development, as well as logistics and manufacturing. Lisa previously served as Chief Executive Officer of the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship, and prior to that was the Director of Operations for Brand Extensions at Sandals Resorts International. She also worked with the Bank of Jamaica and the New York-based economic consulting firm, NERA, as well as the OTF Group, a consulting firm focused on issues of competitiveness in developing countries.
Lisa holds a Master of Public Administration in International Development from Harvard University’s Kennedy School, a B.A. in Economics (magna cum laude) and a B.A. in Architectural Studies (magna cum laude) from Tufts University.
Mark Hart
Member, Board of Directors
Anthony Mark Hart is a founder and the Executive Chairman of Caribbean Producers (Jamaica) Limited (CPJ), a leading, fast growing food/service distributor listed on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange. He brings to the company considerable management experience and a legacy of entrepreneurial leadership success. He began his career at the Hart Group of Companies which invested in Agriculture, Manufacturing, Distribution, Finance, Port Services & Logistics and Exports. In 1986, Mark established the Apparel Industries Group which grew to five factories and became the largest locally owned 807 Apparel Company in Jamaica.
In public service, Mark is Chairman of Montego Bay Freezone and previously served as Chairman of the Airports Authority of Jamaica, Director of NMIA Ltd., the Port Authority of Jamaica Ltd, CMU, Director of TEF, CITO and JAMPRO.
Joanna A. Banks
Member, Board of Directors
Joanna A. Banks is the CEO of PanJam Investment Limited, an investment holding company committed to growing the Jamaican economy and listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. During her time at PanJam, she has held several roles focused on strategy and evaluation of potential investments. Joanna is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Joanna is a Director of Sagicor Life Jamaica Ltd., Sagicor Investments Jamaica Ltd., Jamaica Property Company Ltd., Agostini’s Limited, Outsourcing Management Limited and Term Finance (Jamaica) Limited. She also serves as a Trustee of the C. B. Facey Foundation, the charitable arm of PanJam.
Ricardo Hutchinson
Member, Board of Directors
Ricardo Hutchinson has more than 15 years of experience in the Caribbean financial sector. He is currently Vice-President – Investments at Portland Private Equity. Prior to joining Portland Private Equity, he worked with some of the Caribbean’s leading financial institutions where he successfully closed several capital market transactions. He currently serves on the boards of Productive Business Solutions, Diverze Assets, Chukka Caribbean Adventure, Tropical Battery and Outsourcing Management Limited. Ricardo holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of The West Indies and is a CFA Charter Holder.
Connie L. Harvey
Member, Board of Directors
Connie Harvey was formerly the COO of the Healthcare Services for Xerox Corporation, managing a BPO business of over $1.5 billion in revenues. The portfolio of services included analytics, consulting, digitalization services, customer care and software solutions for payers, providers and life science companies. She was appointed a corporate officer and senior vice president of Xerox in February 2012.
Connie also previously served as Group President and Senior Vice President for the Caribbean region for Affiliated Computer Services.
Connie currently serves as an Independent Director for C. I. Thornburg Company, Itelbpo and The Boler Company. She also served as an Independent Director for the board of Mettler Toledo International from 2015 to 2019. Connie is involved in various community and business organizations including serving on the board of CASA of Lexington, Goodwill of Kentucky, and is Chairman of the Board for the Bluegrass Community and Technical College Foundation. She is a past director of CommerceLexington and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.
Connie graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering. She resides in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband and has three daughters.
Mark Hall
Member, Board of Directors
Mark Hall is a life-long entrepreneur and corporate director. Over the years, he founded multiple companies, including Boomerang Tyre Sales, Western Phone Cards and Halls Investment Ltd, which is now the leading distributor of LPG cooking gas refills, servicing approximately 300 authorized dealers in western Jamaica. Mark currently serves as Chairman of the Compensation Committee and Member of the Audit and Corporate Governance for the Jamaica Junior Stock Exchange Company. He has served as Board Member of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and multiple Jamaican government boards, including the Montego Bay Free Zone Company, Kingston Free Zone Company, E-Learning Company of Jamaica and the Universal Access Fund.
Yoni Epstein
Founding Chairman & CEO, Chairman of the Board
Yoni Epstein is an entrepreneur and the Founding Chairman and CEO of the Caribbean’s largest home-grown CX provider, itel. Ranked among the 50 most influential executives for the Latin American & Caribbean region, Yoni is known for keeping a laser-sharp focus on creating a business of the future and having an impact that goes beyond profit.
Yoni, who is a Jamaican, demonstrated a flair for business from an early age. Growing up in Miami, Yoni and his siblings would help out at the local Sandals Resort, folding brochures and collecting lost golf balls for extra pocket money. Yoni moved to Kingston, Jamaica at age 11 and then later returned to Miami to study hospitality at Florida International University. With some call center work experience under his belt, Yoni left University in 2004 to return to Jamaica to start a call center for Sandals.
During his time with Sandals, Yoni developed and managed the worldwide contact center operations with over 20 business units and five different cultures simultaneously. As he observed the growth of the Sandals contact center, Yoni could see the enormous potential for the Caribbean to compete on a global scale due to the strengths, abilities and culture of the people. In 2012, Yoni set out on his own to create a new breed of contact centers that would surpass the expectations of the customer.
itel, originally named Island Outsourcers, was started with a strong family-like culture and maintains that culture today, even as the company has grown to over 6,000 employees and expanded into nine countries. Yoni’s commitment to growing and innovating the Caribbean economy is demonstrated by his intrepid participation in the business community. Yoni was founding President of the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ) and is currently chairman of CarRental8.com; and sits on the governing board of the Global Services Sector Project, a 5-year project focused on talent up-skilling.
Lisa Lake
Co-Founder and Member, Board of Directors
Lisa Lake is co-founder of itel and played a considerable role in the development of the company’s strategic development, culture building and sustainability initiatives. She is currently the Group CEO of the Lake Group of Companies with executive oversight that covers multiple industries including Quick Service Restaurants (franchisees of Burger King, Popeyes and Little Caesars across three islands), construction and development, as well as logistics and manufacturing. Lisa previously served as Chief Executive Officer of the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship, and prior to that was the Director of Operations for Brand Extensions at Sandals Resorts International. She also worked with the Bank of Jamaica and the New York-based economic consulting firm, NERA, as well as the OTF Group, a consulting firm focused on issues of competitiveness in developing countries.
Lisa holds a Master of Public Administration in International Development from Harvard University’s Kennedy School, a B.A. in Economics (magna cum laude) and a B.A. in Architectural Studies (magna cum laude) from Tufts University.
Joanna A. Banks
Member, Board of Directors
Joanna A. Banks is the CEO of PanJam Investment Limited, an investment holding company committed to growing the Jamaican economy and listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. During her time at PanJam, she has held several roles focused on strategy and evaluation of potential investments. Joanna is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Joanna is a Director of Sagicor Life Jamaica Ltd., Sagicor Investments Jamaica Ltd., Jamaica Property Company Ltd., Agostini’s Limited, Outsourcing Management Limited and Term Finance (Jamaica) Limited. She also serves as a Trustee of the C. B. Facey Foundation, the charitable arm of PanJam.
Ricardo Hutchinson
Member, Board of Directors
Ricardo Hutchinson has more than 15 years of experience in the Caribbean financial sector. He is currently Vice-President – Investments at Portland Private Equity. Prior to joining Portland Private Equity, he worked with some of the Caribbean’s leading financial institutions where he successfully closed several capital market transactions. He currently serves on the boards of Productive Business Solutions, Diverze Assets, Chukka Caribbean Adventure, Tropical Battery and Outsourcing Management Limited. Ricardo holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of The West Indies and is a CFA Charter Holder.
Mark Hart
Member, Board of Directors
Anthony Mark Hart is a founder and the Executive Chairman of Caribbean Producers (Jamaica) Limited (CPJ), a leading, fast growing food/service distributor listed on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange. He brings to the company considerable management experience and a legacy of entrepreneurial leadership success. He began his career at the Hart Group of Companies which invested in Agriculture, Manufacturing, Distribution, Finance, Port Services & Logistics and Exports. In 1986, Mark established the Apparel Industries Group which grew to five factories and became the largest locally owned 807 Apparel Company in Jamaica.
In public service, Mark is Chairman of Montego Bay Freezone and previously served as Chairman of the Airports Authority of Jamaica, Director of NMIA Ltd., the Port Authority of Jamaica Ltd, CMU, Director of TEF, CITO and JAMPRO.
Mark Hall
Member, Board of Directors
Mark Hall is a life-long entrepreneur and corporate director. Over the years, he founded multiple companies, including Boomerang Tyre Sales, Western Phone Cards and Halls Investment Ltd, which is now the leading distributor of LPG cooking gas refills, servicing approximately 300 authorized dealers in western Jamaica. Mark currently serves as Chairman of the Compensation Committee and Member of the Audit and Corporate Governance for the Jamaica Junior Stock Exchange Company. He has served as Board Member of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and multiple Jamaican government boards, including the Montego Bay Free Zone Company, Kingston Free Zone Company, E-Learning Company of Jamaica and the Universal Access Fund.
Ricardo Hutchinson
Member, Board of Directors
Ricardo Hutchinson has more than 15 years of experience in the Caribbean financial sector. He is currently Vice-President – Investments at Portland Private Equity. Prior to joining Portland Private Equity, he worked with some of the Caribbean’s leading financial institutions where he successfully closed several capital market transactions. He currently serves on the boards of Productive Business Solutions, Diverze Assets, Chukka Caribbean Adventure, Tropical Battery and Outsourcing Management Limited. Ricardo holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of The West Indies and is a CFA Charter Holder.
Yoni Epstein
Founding Chairman & CEO, Chairman of the Board
Yoni Epstein is an entrepreneur and the Founding Chairman and CEO of the Caribbean’s largest home-grown CX provider, itel. Ranked among the 50 most influential executives for the Latin American & Caribbean region, Yoni is known for keeping a laser-sharp focus on creating a business of the future and having an impact that goes beyond profit.
Yoni, who is a Jamaican, demonstrated a flair for business from an early age. Growing up in Miami, Yoni and his siblings would help out at the local Sandals Resort, folding brochures and collecting lost golf balls for extra pocket money. Yoni moved to Kingston, Jamaica at age 11 and then later returned to Miami to study hospitality at Florida International University. With some call center work experience under his belt, Yoni left University in 2004 to return to Jamaica to start a call center for Sandals.
During his time with Sandals, Yoni developed and managed the worldwide contact center operations with over 20 business units and five different cultures simultaneously. As he observed the growth of the Sandals contact center, Yoni could see the enormous potential for the Caribbean to compete on a global scale due to the strengths, abilities and culture of the people. In 2012, Yoni set out on his own to create a new breed of contact centers that would surpass the expectations of the customer.
itel, originally named Island Outsourcers, was started with a strong family-like culture and maintains that culture today, even as the company has grown to over 6,000 employees and expanded into nine countries. Yoni’s commitment to growing and innovating the Caribbean economy is demonstrated by his intrepid participation in the business community. Yoni was founding President of the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ) and is currently chairman of CarRental8.com; and sits on the governing board of the Global Services Sector Project, a 5-year project focused on talent up-skilling.
Lisa Lake
Co-Founder and Member, Board of Directors
Lisa Lake is co-founder of itel and played a considerable role in the development of the company’s strategic development, culture building and sustainability initiatives. She is currently the Group CEO of the Lake Group of Companies with executive oversight that covers multiple industries including Quick Service Restaurants (franchisees of Burger King, Popeyes and Little Caesars across three islands), construction and development, as well as logistics and manufacturing. Lisa previously served as Chief Executive Officer of the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship, and prior to that was the Director of Operations for Brand Extensions at Sandals Resorts International. She also worked with the Bank of Jamaica and the New York-based economic consulting firm, NERA, as well as the OTF Group, a consulting firm focused on issues of competitiveness in developing countries.
Lisa holds a Master of Public Administration in International Development from Harvard University’s Kennedy School, a B.A. in Economics (magna cum laude) and a B.A. in Architectural Studies (magna cum laude) from Tufts University.
Joanna A. Banks
Member, Board of Directors
Joanna A. Banks is the CEO of PanJam Investment Limited, an investment holding company committed to growing the Jamaican economy and listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. During her time at PanJam, she has held several roles focused on strategy and evaluation of potential investments. Joanna is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Joanna is a Director of Sagicor Life Jamaica Ltd., Sagicor Investments Jamaica Ltd., Jamaica Property Company Ltd., Agostini’s Limited, Outsourcing Management Limited and Term Finance (Jamaica) Limited. She also serves as a Trustee of the C. B. Facey Foundation, the charitable arm of PanJam.
Ricardo Hutchinson
Member, Board of Directors
Ricardo Hutchinson has more than 15 years of experience in the Caribbean financial sector. He is currently Vice-President – Investments at Portland Private Equity. Prior to joining Portland Private Equity, he worked with some of the Caribbean’s leading financial institutions where he successfully closed several capital market transactions. He currently serves on the boards of Productive Business Solutions, Diverze Assets, Chukka Caribbean Adventure, Tropical Battery and Outsourcing Management Limited. Ricardo holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of The West Indies and is a CFA Charter Holder.
Connie L. Harvey
Member, Board of Directors
Connie Harvey was formerly the COO of the Healthcare Services for Xerox Corporation, managing a BPO business of over $1.5 billion in revenues. The portfolio of services included analytics, consulting, digitalization services, customer care and software solutions for payers, providers and life science companies. She was appointed a corporate officer and senior vice president of Xerox in February 2012.
Connie also previously served as Group President and Senior Vice President for the Caribbean region for Affiliated Computer Services.
Connie currently serves as an Independent Director for C. I. Thornburg Company, Itelbpo and The Boler Company. She also served as an Independent Director for the board of Mettler Toledo International from 2015 to 2019. Connie is involved in various community and business organizations including serving on the board of CASA of Lexington, Goodwill of Kentucky, and is Chairman of the Board for the Bluegrass Community and Technical College Foundation. She is a past director of CommerceLexington and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.
Connie graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering. She resides in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband and has three daughters.