Chris Maybury has become the face of Westend Properties' plans to renovate the Fairmont Southampton and to build 261 units through a special development order.

Mr Maybury said he was part of the ownership group of Westend Properties and an investor in “many” other hotels run by Gencom, the owner of Westend.

He is a close friend of Gencom founder Karim Alibhai and said that after the successful turnaround of Rosewood Tucker’s Point, he had “led the charge” to bring back the Southampton Princess.

He said: “The role that I’ve taken here is because of my residence in Bermuda and love for Bermuda, spurred on by the success of the hotel we’re in, Tucker’s Point.

“It was me who led the charge that we could revitalise the grande dame of the Fairmont Southampton.”

Mr Maybury, who lives in Tucker's Town, said before moving to Bermuda that he had visited the island “many times” for board meetings and “fell in love” with it.

“I decided to build a house here in 2005 and enjoyed it so much that I spent more and more time here, until I’m here full time.

“I could be anywhere in the world; I feel so lucky and privileged to be in Bermuda. I have a Bermudian passport.

“And I’m a huge believer that if you’re lucky enough to be allowed to be in a country as beautiful as Bermuda, then you should try everything that you can to put something back whether it’s on a charitable front or with your business expertise, or whether it’s through revitalising an economy which will create jobs. So I was so privileged and lucky to be here and have been welcomed so assiduously.”

The businessman and Bermuda resident is also the chairman and founder of Beacon Events Hong Kong.

He was previously chief executive officer and a shareholder of the Institute for International Research (IIR) which he said was the world’s largest conference and performance improvement company.

The company, founded by Lord Laidlaw, with Mr Maybury as his “right hand man” according to a newspaper report, was sold to rival Informa in 2005 for $1.3 billion, which he said was still the largest private sale of a company in the UK.

Mr Maybury was reported to have earned 38 million pounds as a result of the sale.

Previously, Mr Maybury was the chief executive of Times Newspapers in the UK, overseeing The Times, The Sunday Times and The Times Literary Supplement, “which was quite good fun”.

Before that, he was chief executive for European marketing for News Corporation, the parent company of Times Newspapers, owned by media magnate Rupert Murdoch.

He joined News Corporation from Marks and Spencer where he had served as Property Director.

Mr Maybury is the deputy chairman of Bermuda Commercial Bank, which was bought in July 2021 by Provident Holdings Limited from Somers Limited. Mr Maybury is one of the principals of Provident.

He serves on the board of a string of charities and research organisations and is a director of several property development companies.

He is deputy chairman of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation and is a Fellow of the Bermuda College.

He also set up a scholarship to his alma mater, St Andrews University in Scotland, where two Bermudian students have gained degrees. That scholarship, which is administered through the education ministry, is co-funded by Mr Alibhai.

He was a long serving trustee of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.

Mr Maybury enjoys sailing, car racing and is an avid wine collector.