Charles Merrick is a seasoned tourism expert with considerable experience in tourism and hospitality management accumulated over 25 years. He also has good experience in organizational management, financial management, human resource management, and company secretariate work.  He has worked in several sectors of the tourism industry having been involved in tourism skills development, management of tourism and hospitality business, and development and management of travel enterprises. He has undertaken tourism consultancy work in the SADC and East African countries.   

Charles has been the Executive Director for the Malawi Institute of Tourism where he presided over the transitioning of the organization from a government unit to a fully fletched commercial entity. He is the Chief Executive Officer for Westlands Consulting Limited, a tourism and business management consultancy firm. He is the current Chairperson for Mimosa Essential Support Services, a tourism and sports services enterprise. He is on the board of Rukuru Energy a renewable energy company focused on reducing emissions.  In recent years Charles has worked as the Finance and Administration Director for the 5-star Umodzi Park Resort in Lilongwe.

Charles is a graduate of the University of Stirling in Scotland with a Master of Business Administration. He has a Diploma in Business Studies from the University of Malawi and a certificate in Organization Research Management from the University of Arkansas in the USA.