Mr. Allan Herbert was elected to the Board of Directors of the Barbados Olympic Association Inc. in September 2021. He is President of the Barbados Chess Federation (BCF), a position he has held since 2015, and served as its Treasurer from 2011 to 2015. He has been Barbados’ Delegate to the Fédération Internationale des Éches (FIDÉ), the governing body for the sport of Chess, from 1986 to present.
Regionally, Mr. Herbert has served since 1998 as Treasurer for Confederacion de Ajedrez para America Inc. (CCA), the governing body for Chess in the Americas Continent and in 2018, he was instrumental in convincing the CCA’s Board to incorporate and headquarter the organization in Barbados.
At the world level, Mr. Herbert Co-Chaired FIDE’s Technical Assistance Commission between 2006 and 2010 and was Chairman between 2010 and 2018. During his tenure he spearheaded the restructuring of the development level categorization for Federations based on objective criteria and the UN’s Human Development Index and refocused its programmes to a more performance-based system tracked by key activity indicators.
Currently, Mr. Herbert is a member of FIDE’s Social Commission, the body in FIDE responsible for promoting the use of chess as an equalizer, especially in the areas of women’s equality and children at risk and bridging the gap between the social and economic differences that impact people across the world.
Mr. Herbert is a recently retired Executive of the Massy Group and in his last posting managed the creation of the English-Speaking Caribbean’s largest consumer loyalty programme, the Massy Card, which today rewards over 400,000 card holders in Barbados, Guyana, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago.
Still an avid Chess player, he continues to compete at the National level and is Head Coach for a grassroots programme called xPloreChess Barbados which provides, among other things, free learn to play classes for children wishing to learn Chess.
Email: anherbert@olympic.org.bb
Tel: 246 231-3710