The current bid war for the island’s lone conglomerate continues to be the talking point in Barbados. BU see one of the many positives to have emerged as the kick in the ass which a passive Barbados public and business community needed to get. If we are to compete in the world we have to efficiently manage our resources__it is not business as usual my friends! The energy rich Trinidadians companies have shown that they are willing to eat-up the spineless Barbadian companies who up to now have been happy to sit and milk a domestic market.
We hear you Bush Tea and we know what you are going to say. The reality is that the directorate of Barbados is marching to the beat of globalization; that means entities within our Caribbean structures must follow the leader.
Listening to the recent debate a further concern was triggered regarding the make-up of the directorship of Barbados Shipping and Trading and whether it reflects an accurate mix of the population, our interpretation is that race is not the only factor being considered. BU list the current directors for your information and ask our readers to evaluate for themselves whether there has been enough democratization at the BS&T board level.
BS&T Board of Directors
G. Anthony King, BSc., MBCS CITP – Chief Executive Officer
Allan C. Fields – Chairman
Dave A. Blackman – Executive Director
Philip F.D. Corbin – Executive Director
Frere F.C. Delmas – Executive Director
Ralph W. Taylor, M.H.C.I.M.A., C.H.A. – Non-executive Director
Paul B. Altman, BCH – Non-executive Director
Bernard S. Dulal-Whiteway F.C.C.A. – Non-executive Director
Sandra K. Osborne BSc. LL.B – Non-executive Director
Peter G. Symmonds, LL.B, LL.M, J.P. – Non-executive Director
Christian D. Maingot – Non-executive Director
Let us dispense with our usual preamble and cut to the point! The strategy of any company can always be tied to the Chief Executive officer. So what do we know about the CEO of BS&T Anthony King:
G. Anthony King, BSc., MBCS CITP
Position: Chief Executive Officer – B. S. & T
Date of birth: 12 November 1952
Nationality: Barbadian
Mr. Anthony King assumed the post of Chief Executive Officer on October 1, 2004.
Education
Educated first at Harrison College in Barbados, Mr. King then attended the University of Essex, England where he graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Computer Science. He was subsequently admitted to membership of the British Computer Society ultimately being accorded Chartered status as an Information Technology Professional. Over the years, he has also undertaken various training in management, finance and marketing.
Career
Mr. King began his business career in a technical capacity and then moved into sales, eventually progressing into management. After some five years with an international computer manufacturer, he joined the Neal & Massy (N&M) Group in 1981 as the General Manager of a subsidiary and rose to positions of increasing seniority including Chief Executive Officer of various N&M companies and then Chairman of Neal & Massy’s group of companies in the Eastern Caribbean. While he has now relinquished his directorships of all Neal & Massy subsidiaries, he currently serves on the Boards of a select number of other companies.
As at the date of his appointment to BS&T, his business career has spanned almost 29 years – many of which were spent overseeing or being a Director of a range of businesses in the Eastern Caribbean, Trinidad, Suriname, Guyana and the French Caribbean territories. These companies’ business activities, at one time or another, encompassed Information Technology, Manufacturing, the Retailing and Distribution of Food & Consumer Products, Building Supplies, Pharmaceuticals and Agrochemicals as well as services such as Shipping, Property Development, Financial Services and Security Services.
Other Interests
Complementing his wide business experience, Mr. King has also been active in the business and wider community. He served as President of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry from 1996-1998, as well as on the Councils of the Barbados Employers Confederation and the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC). He also represented the CAIC on the Board of the Caribbean Export Development Agency and has represented the Caribbean’s business interests at various meetings of Caribbean/Latin America Action (C/LAA), the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Business Forum and on various committees of Caricom. He meanwhile continues to participate in the local community as a Trustee of the Barbados Youth Business Trust and a Director of the Barbados Cadet Association Inc.
At one time an avid sailor, Mr. King now plays golf in his spare time and, when the opportunity allows, he enjoys downhill skiing. He also likes traveling and is a member of the World Wildlife Fund as well as a Life Member of the Barbados National Trust.
He is married and has one son.
It appears at a glance that Mr. King’s resume is very well displayed; although we were tempted to say padded! A simple comment from BU. Would the shareholders of BS&T have been wrong to expect that Mr. King with his vast experience, acquired while working for NEAL & MASSY, should have been able to mobilize BS&T as a regional force?
BU know so!
So far we have not had any discussion about non-traditional candidates for the job of CEO at the BS&T. We hold no brief for Ralph Taylor and in fact we know little about the man. We however have looked at his public track record of performance at Almond Hotel, especially his drive to make it a Pan-Caribbean hotel. We have observed his involvement in agencies domestic, regional and international. We notice the comfort with which he operates at the highest levels of officialdom and the question keeps arising__ if Ralph Taylor was CEO of BS&T, where would the company be positioned today?
So whose BIO is the more impressive?
Ralph W. Taylor, MBA, CHA, MCHIMA, JP
Chairman & Managing Director Almond Resorts Inc.
Ralph Taylor, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Almond Resorts Inc. and Chairman of Caribbean Hotel Association Charitable Trust is credited with introducing the all-inclusive resort concept to Barbados.Taylor established himself first in the area of hospitality accounting and finance, and later as a professional hotelier. He is an experienced hotelier with wealth of knowledge in the hospitality industry.
He is a former Deputy Chairman of the Barbados Tourism Authority and past Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Minister of Tourism in Barbados. He is also a former Chairman of the Barbados National Tourism Marketing Committee, as well as Chairman of the Caribbean Marketing Trust. He was the first Divisional Chairman of Tourism for Barbados Shipping & Trading, the sixth largest conglomerate in the Caribbean and sits as a Director of the Company’s parent board. He has served as president of the Barbados Hotel Association and Chairman of the Tourism Development Corporation. He is a longstanding Director of the Caribbean Hotel Association. In 1994 he was recognized in Barbados as Business Executive of the year and elected Caribbean Hotelier of the Year for 1995. He was the President of the Caribbean Hotel Association from 2000-2002.
Ralph Taylor is an avid golfer, and holds an appointment as Justice of the Peace. He is a member of the Hotel Catering Institute Management Association (MHCIMA), and holds the designation of Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA) from the educational institution of the American Hotel and Motel School. Mr. Taylor received his MBA from Bradford University in the United Kingdom.
Mr.King’s write-up looks very impressive when compared to Mr.Taylor but then again it depends what one is looking for. We all remember when BS&T was seeking to dump its Almond shares a few years ago. We also remembered the dumping of Neal & Massy shares. What is it about this BS&T board which makes them want to sell their most valuable assets? At BU we sense that the entrepreneurial approach by Mr. Taylor at Almond (BS&T owns 42% of Almond Resorts) is light years ahead of Mr. King’s rather bureaucratic upbringing. We agree with Hilford Murrell’s view expressed on radio that if all offers are rejected by the shareholders of BS&T we will see the shedding of the current group of the incumbent bed fellows.
Mr Hilford Murrell why are you suddenly singing the praises of the Republic Bank’s ownership of Barbados National Bank and its success? BNB was on a upward path before RBL took majority share ownership. Besides, people in the market tell BU that BNB does not have to compete for government business, it is still the government’s bank of choice and get to pick all the juicy deals. The latest appear to be the Sapphire Project!
We also know that it’s juicy proposition to sit on the BNB board.
Whether Ralph Taylor was offered the job and he refused would poke our justification for his elevation with a big hole However we feel that even if he had refused such an offer the public declaration of it would do good to create transparency and embolden a distrustful public of our publicly listed companies. The fact that BS&T is the company under the microscope makes for even more distrust.
Related BU Stories
Sir Allan Fields The Man Behind The Orchestration To Dump Barbados Shipping And Trading To The Trinidadians
Senator Lynette Eastmond Shut Up!
Prime Minister Arthur Prefers A Neal And Massy Deal~Barbados Underground Say So
BS&T Going, Going, Soon To Be Gone~ The Advocate Newspaper Should Go Too
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