Leadership changes at Centennial Foundation
Annarita Marion will take over as chairwoman of the board of the philanthropic organisation, Centennial Bermuda Foundation, before the end of the year.
On December 5 she succeeds Tom Conyers, who is stepping down after becoming chairman in 2015.
Having joined the board in 2012, Mr Conyers commented: “I do this work because, while Bermuda is a great place, there are naturally many issues and problems that need improvement.”
“Despite the frustrations people have about the island’s direction and what needs to be done, we believe it is worth investing in the work we do. We see hope and improvement.”
The Foundation stated that Mr Conyers led a period of “profound and meaningful change, guiding it through a period of steady transformation”.
He introduced the Theory of Change, a two-year strategic planning process which set out to establish clearer criteria for the organisation’s funding decisions, which it is to revisit to ensure it “stays relevant to the needs of the community”.
Under Mr Conyers’ leadership, a need for full-time staff was also identified and in 2017, Vivien Carter was appointed as director of programmes.
In 2019, Allison Towlson was appointed as full-time managing director and in 2022, operation co-ordinator Terré Smith joined Centennial.
The statement said the Theory of Change also helped to “heighten awareness and acknowledged the presence of structural racism in Bermuda and its significant impact, leading to the disadvantage of certain community groups over time”.
As a result, the board instituted an open advertisement for board and committee members, with a focus on diversifying positions.
Mr Conyers added: “We recognised the old way of doing things could be improved to ensure equitable opportunities for more people in our community, and I wish to acknowledge the board, and particularly, Margaret Hallett, my deputy chair at the time, whose leadership and insight were instrumental in shaping the structure and direction of this transformative process.”
Ms Marion joined Centennial as a board member in 2015 and has held the deputy chair position for four years.
She is also the chairwoman of the Foundation’s scholarship committee and the audit committee and until this year was chairwoman of the Economic Participation Review Committee.
Ms Marion was most recently the president and CEO of Chartered Professional Accountants of Bermuda until her retirement and has held director positions in the finance industry.
She has also served on the boards of chief executive officer including the Berkeley Institute, the Bermuda Festival, the Board of Education and Family Centre.
“We’re quite deliberate in how we fund charitable or social enterprise organisations, and we ask for success markers, so we know the organisations we fund are really making a difference,” said Ms Marion.
“Even then, we’re thinking, are we just scratching the surface? So we are contemplating a strategic direction that gets us into the root cause of social issues, not throwing money at issues but rather bringing about real, sustainable change.”
On the Foundation’s management team, she said: “This is an incredible team. The three ladies amaze me with what they can accomplish. I’ve never seen anything like it.
“I’ve worked with some great teams, but these three ladies, their heart and soul is in Bermuda, and I’m fortunate to be working with them.
“And the board is great, a very diversified group who take on responsibilities despite having their own careers. They all come from the heart.
“I also love that we opened our committees to the public and the diversity of the committee members is incredible; it’s a balance of business vs charitable vs education, black and white — we have committees and a board that truly represents Bermuda, and I think that's very important.”
• To read the Foundation’s full statement, see Related Media
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