Dr Tufton is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, Jamaica, and Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA, where he received degrees in Management Studies and Marketing respectively. He completed his Doctorate in Business Administration at the Manchester Business School, University of Manchester in the United Kingdom in 2002.
He is Jamaica’s former Minister of Industry, Investment & Commerce, having served with distinction as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries from September 2007 to June 2011. Dedicated, passionate, and goal-driven, Dr. Tufton’s numerous achievements during his tenure as Minister of Agriculture includes the successful divestment of Jamaica’s loss-making sugar assets, expansion of greenhouse farming technology and the creation of agro-processing facilities.
Dr. Tufton re-defined the Sector’s strategic importance to the Jamaican economy, re-positioning agriculture as a business. This was achieved through modernization and re-structuring of the Ministry; expansion of extension services, revamping of agricultural research to be demand-driven, augmenting the marketing division and creating the Agro-Investment Corporation to mobilize investments in that sector. For his impact on the Agricultural sector Dr. Tufton was named by the influential Jamaica Gleaner Newspaper Man of the Year for 2010.
He brought the same drive and passion to the Ministerial portfolio in Industry, Investment & Commerce where he identified his priorities as investment facilitation, international market competitiveness, consumer protection and the creation of a climate of confidence to attract investors.
Since January 2012 Dr. Tufton has focused on his business advisory services as chairman of CNT Global Limited. He is also Chairman of Greenfield Investments and Bahama Traders, both family controlled retail businesses, Director of DESMOND MAIR Insurance Brokers LTD, Elite Diagnostic- Medical Imaging, Barnett Limited, Institute of Technological and Educational Research (ITER), and Executive Director of the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI), an economic policy think tank based at the University of the West Indies Mona, Jamaica.
Dr. Tufton is married and has three children.
