is importing a new boss to oversee operations and some 400 staff. An announcement is expected today.

The staff of the BTC Group of Companies were being told this week that the new CEO is Lorraine Lyle, who was last posted in the Yukon at Northwestel Inc. as corporate vice president. Ms Lyle also becomes chief operating officer of the Bermuda Telephone Co., Ltd.

Ms Lyle was president of Northwestel Mobility and Northwestel Cable and was responsible for business development, market and technology planning, strategic alliances and purchasing, public relations and corporate support services including labour relations, employee development, legal, regulatory, finance and information systems.

It has been 18 months since general manager, Ernest Pacheco, in a surprising development, abruptly left the company for retirement after 42 years.

His departure obviously caught the company by surprise, because they were left with chairman and president James A.C. King taking over day-to-day operations.

The company has faced some difficult times since Mr. Pacheco left in July 1995, including a significant drop in profit from $12.2 million in the year to March 31, 1995 to $7.4 million the following year.

The drop in net income was blamed on reorganisation, with the company claiming a $4.7-million restructuring expense.

Lyle appointed top executive removing 14 personnel from middle management in a controversial and acrimonious down-sizing move. The lay-offs came after a nine month study by Boston-based consultants, Dartmouth Research & Consulting. Other staff left the firm, as well.

The company also faced a continuing legal battle with Bermuda Cablevision for control of the company's profits. They own controlling interest in the firm, but were unable to break a consultancy agreement that automatically sent 60 percent of the profits to the US.

Telco appears set to also lose its monopoly for local telephone service and has faced no sympathy from government officials who have denied their request for the right to compete directly with Cable & Wireless for international telecommunications service.

BUCINESS BUC