In a listing released this week, PNM ranked 7th on a list of the 50 best companies for minorities. The only New Mexico-headquartered company to make the list, PNM was also rated as the best company in America for Hispanic employees.

"This is meaningful and welcome news for PNM and for New Mexico," said Ben Montoya, chairman of PNM’s Board of Directors. "We know that our work force reflects the great diversity of our state. But to have national recognition of this – and for PNM to compare so favorably to large companies and some with such outstanding and progressive reputations – is something for all of PNM's employees to be proud of for years to come."

The feature, "America’s 50 Best Companies for Minorities," is in Fortune’s July 10 issue, on newsstands July 3.

Jeff Sterba, who recently replaced Montoya as the company’s president and chief executive officer, said the ranking is a tribute to the company’s 2,700-member work force – and also to its business goals and strategies. "Diversity is a clear business advantage. That’s a concept Ben helped instill in our company, and it is one PNM continues to embrace," Sterba said.

The first six companies on the list of 50 are Advantica, Levi Strauss & Co., Fannie Mae, Sempra Energy, Dole Food, and Union Bank of California. Filling out the top 10, after PNM, are Avis Rent-A-Car, U.S. Postal Service, and SBC Communications. The full listing is available on Fortune's homepage at www.fortune.com.

On the list of best companies for Hispanics, PNM ranked first, followed by Dole Food, Southern California Edison, US West, and Levi Strauss & Co.

Fortune evaluated each company based on minority representation on its board of directors and among its top 50 paid employees, officers and managers, and new hires for 1999. It also looked at the general diversity of a company’s work force and its retention of minority employees.

The issue includes a short brief of Montoya’s long-running aide program, in which promising employees were selected to "shadow’ him for four months in order to see how the business is run and how important decisions are made. Accompanying the brief is a photo of Montoya with former aide Sarita Parra Loehr, currently PNM’s vice president for human resources, and Gilbert Jaramillo, a PNM marketing director who recently served as Montoya’s aide. Sterba has said he will continue the successful aide program.

Public Service Company of New Mexico

Public Service Company of New Mexico

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