Michael Bernard was elected President of the Shipping Association of Jamaica for 2006. He has been serving on the Association's Managing Committee for eight years and was Vice President from 2003 to 2005 with responsibility for Industrial Relations. He and his team have been responsible for industrial harmony on the port for the past 20 years.

A graduate of the University of the West Indies, Mr. Bernard has over 30 years of experience in the field of Shipping, particularly in the areas of agency operations, cargo claims, ship broking, accounts, marketing, stevedoring & equipment services at the highest level of management.

Mr. Bernard also holds the post of President of the Marine & Allied Industries Co-operative Credit Union. He sits on the Boards of the National Quarantine Committee, Caribbean Maritime Institute, Amalgamated Stevedoring Limited. He is also the Managing Director of Shipping Services Stevedoring Limited and member of the Port's Award Committee of the Caribbean Shipping Association (was instrumental in establishing the scoring system used in the adjudication process).

He was inducted in June 2005 as a Gold Member of the International Association of Business Leaders. Mr. Bernard is married with four children. His hobbies are reading, listening to music, theatre, sports.