Black Bermudians fill some, but not a very big percentage, of senior executive and director positions at many locally-listed companies, according to a random review of several of their annual reports.

Of 231 posts culled from a dozen annual reports, only 43 or just under 19 percent, are held by black Bermudians -- far from representative of the Island's population.

Sixty-one percent of Bermuda's population is black while 39 percent is white or "other'', according to the 1991 Census of Population and Housing.

Ten of the companies examined are constituents of the Bermuda Stock Exchange index including two utilities and three banks, Argus Group of Companies, Bermuda Press (Holdings) Ltd., Masters Ltd., Bermuda Aviation Services Ltd.

(BAS), (BCL) and Bermuda Computer Services Ltd. (BCS).

Annual reports of Bermuda Home Ltd. and Bermuda Container Line Ltd. (BCL), listed on the exchange but not constituents of the index, were also examined.

"If you do not get the opportunity to participate in a company at management level then you miss the exposure and experience which leads to a position at the board level,'' BCS general manager Mr. Walter Ingham said.

He has been BCS general manager for the past five years and with the company, which has six directors, for 16 years.

Mr. Ingham, the company's only black director, also said that those who do well in Bermuda companies are those that have spent time overseas, specifically, those with some education overseas.

"That experience builds confidence and self-esteem and leads to the ability to offer opinions,'' he said.

But many black Bermudians get to a certain level then, for whatever reason, there is a wall, he said.

BCS has always been sensitive to Bermudianisation and to the need to have black Bermudians involved, he said.

"Once you have become a director I do not think people care if you are black or white.

"You are either a good director or a bad director,'' he said. But there is added pressure as many blacks could feel that they are under the looking glass, he said.

Efforts to be "strong, fair and honest'' could be misinterpreted while there may be added responsibility of serving as a role model, he said.

"The black Bermudian plays a major role in the success of any organisation.

"He or she has a lot to bring to the table,'' he said.

Bermudians are natural service providers and this can be seen in areas of tourism, accounting and legal services, he said.

This attribute will go along way to helping Bermuda remaining competitive in the new global environment, he concluded.

Some executives and board members opted not to be quoted on the record, citing the sensitive nature of the topic.

Affirmative action would take time and carry a significant measure of difficulty in Bermuda, said one director.

You cannot just fire a director, he said.

One executive said that Bermudianisation now means getting black Bermudians positions whereas not so long ago it meant any Bermudian.

During the recession many companies streamlined at every level, he added. This limited opportunities for employees to climb the ladder to a level of management as the number of those positions declined, he said.

Though aware of the lack of black Bermudians in senior management and director positions, promotion decisions should be based on who is best for the job, he said.

With the plethora of small companies on the Island -- with ten or less employees -- one also has to wonder how much attention Bermudians pay to the racial make-up of Bermuda boardrooms, he said.

And in a population as small as Bermuda's, finding directors willing and able to take on the responsibility can be difficult, another director added. Some individuals, white and black, hold multiple directorships.

One director said it seemed inappropriate to sacrifice productivity for an acceptable racial balance.

And one director said that, to "kill two birds with one stone'' some companies may appoint a black female Bermudian.

There are very few black board members and executives, and almost no women at these levels.

Bermuda Electric Light Company Ltd. (Belco) president and CEO Mr. Gary Madeiros, said that, at Belco, selecting a directors and senior management members must be approached differently.

Senior managers must have many years of related experience in addition to a professional degree, most likely engineering.

In many cases, there just is not a pool of black Bermudians to draw from for appointments to these management positions, he said.

In fact, three of the senior managers at Belco are not even Bermudian, he said.

You cannot just go out and hire anyone for a management position, he said. But more young Bermudians, black, white, male and female, are now pursuing careers in engineering than in the past, he said.

And Belco sees that increase as the number of engineering students applying for summer jobs is on the rise, said Mr. Madeiros.

"The overall objective is to Bermudianise and there are a lot of kids in the pipeline,'' he said.

Overall, Belco's staff is about 70 percent black, added Mr. Madeiros. When it comes to deciding who is appointed to a management position "ability and performance is the policy,'' he added.

Just under one-third of Belco's 17 directors are black.

They include; MP and retired Belco senior vice president Mr. C.E. Cox, EBT Securities managing director Ms C.E. Lister, senior partner at Milligan-White & Smith Sen. Lynda Milligan-Whyte, West End Development Manager Mr. W.E.

Williams and former senator Mr. Reginald Minors.

Blacks being left behind From Page 17 Only one of Belco's 11 member senior management team is black, Mr. Vincent Ingham.

At the Bank of Bermuda, senior vice president, retail banking, Mr. Alan Richardson is the lone black member at the top executive level.

He is the first black Bermudian to reach the senior VP echelon at the bank.

But, of the 24 people who sit on the bank's board, five are black.

They include; BAS president and CEO Mr. Eugene Bean, Home Affairs Minister Quinton Edness, Adult Education Centre director Ms Eloise Furbert, consultant surgeon and former finance minister Dr. Clarence James, and vice president and manager at Sonesta Beach Resort Mr. Dennis Tucker.

Mr. Bean and Mr. Tucker were appointed directors six months ago. The Bermuda Commercial Bank's 11-member board includes two black Bermudians; architect Mr.

Walter Brangman and Arnold Francis and Richards, Francis & Francis senior partner Mr. Arnold Francis.

Mr. Francis is the former BCB president.

Of that bank's eight executive officers, Ms Sheila Dickinson is the lone black.

The Bank of Butterfield has 25 directors and 13 corporate executives. Its annual report includes a picture of 16 group executives, among them, the lone black, Mr. Wendell Emery, senior vice president, retail banking.

Of the directors, former senator Gerald Simons, dentist Mr. E. Stanley Ratteray and Telco and Argus president Mr. James King, are the only black members.

Of Telco's 15 directors, Mr. Leon Simmons, Ms Jeanne Atherden and Ms Wenda Krupp are black.

The Argus Group of Companies' group management includes ten executives with group sales manager Mr. Gerald Simmons the only black.

Of the 11 directors, Mr. King, Environment Minister Pamela Gordon and Mr.

Reginald Minors are black.

Of the dozen directors at Bermuda Press (Holdings) Ltd., three are black; Ms Catherine Lord, Mr. Michael King and Mr. Stanley Ratteray. Masters has seven directors, one, Ms Pearl Adderley, is black.

At BCL's board level there are 14 members, three are black, veteran MP Mr.

Gilbert Darrell, Mr. Cecil Durham, and Mr. Austin Thomas.

Bermuda Home has a ten-member board and 14 managers/officers.

Senior vice president, real estate and administration Mr. Wayne Jackson, and Bank of Bermuda senior VP Mr. Richardson are the only black members of Bermuda Home's board.

At Bermuda Home, Mr. Jackson, who also fills a management position, is one of four black members of the company's top management and officers. Others are; deposit officer Ms Mariea Caisey, Mr. Ricardo Clarke and Ms Marsha Burrows.

Citing the "sensitive'' nature of the subject, a spokesman for BAS preferred not to give a racial breakdown of that company's directors and senior executives.

But at least three of the company's 15 directors are black and the percentage is in line with the overall percentage gleaned from the other companies.

EXCEPTIONAL -- BCS boss Mr. Walter Ingham.