Appointments are announced by the California Board of Pilot Commissioners, Gebrüder Weiss, Manatee, Oakland and Brownsville ports and Wet FFA Brokers Association
California Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed William Matthews “Matt” Brooks to the state’s Board of Pilot Commissioners for the bays of San Francisco, San Pable and Suisun.
“I am looking forward to serving the community through this vital maritime association,” Brooks (pictured) said. “The Bay Area’s shipping industry is a major economic engine for our region, and the Board of Pilot Commissioners fuels that engine by ensuring thousands of commercial and passenger ships navigate safely and successfully through San Francisco Bay.”
The entrance to San Francisco Bay is considered one of the country’s most complex for piloting. Each year, more than 4,000 oil tankers, cruise ships and commercial carriers pass through, escorted by a San Francisco bar pilot. The Board of Pilot Commissioners oversees the training, licensing and selection of the bar pilots with a jurisdiction that encompasses 1,000 miles of coastline from Redwood City to Sacramento, San Francisco to Monterey.
Brooks is known in the yachting world for his successful campaign of Dorade, a famous ocean-racing sailboat built in 1930. In 2010, Brooks and his wife restored Dorade and set out to repeat the many ocean races the boat won in the 1930s. Brooks reached the podium in all of those races, including the 2013 TransPacific Race from California to Hawai in which Brooks won first place overall, 77 years after Dorade won that race the first time.
Like his late father, Brooks served as a trustee of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. His father, John Brooks, also was appointed to the California Board of Pilot Commissioners.
Brooks is scheduled to be confirmed by the California Senate in January.
Effective Jan. 1, Günter Schmarl will take on the management of the Gebrüder Weiss branch in Hall, Tyrol. He is succeeding longtime branch manager Hannes Mayr, who has been promoted to manage the company’s west region.
Schmarl has been with the company for more than 30 years. Since 2009, he has been managing the international land transport area. As branch manager, he will be responsible for three Gebrüder Weiss locations — Hall, Wörgl and Innsbruck — with about 250 employees.
Mayr has been managing Gebrüder Weiss Tyrol for 12 years. As the regional manager, he will be responsible for Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Switzerland.
Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh has been elected to a third consecutive one-year term as chairwoman of the Manatee County Port Authority, the governing board of Port Manatee in Florida.
Affirmed to serve one-year officer terms were Priscilla Whisenant Trace, first vice chairwoman; Reggie Bellamy, second vice chairman; and Betsy Benac, third vice chairwoman. New board member Misty Servia also was affirmed.
The authority board consists of the seven members of the elected Manatee County Commission. The authority sets policy and oversees major expenditures for Port Manatee.
Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce CEO Barbara Leslie has joined the Port of Oakland Board of Port Commissioners in California.
Leslie, a former port government affairs specialist, replaces Earl Hamlin, who resigned from the seven-member board.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf nominated Leslie for the volunteer post. The City Council approved the appointment.
Leslie went to work for the Chamber of Commerce in 2014 as its first female president and CEO. She has 25 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, including service as assistant to the city manager and more than a decade directing external affairs and philanthropy for AT&T in the East Bay. She worked at the port in 1998 and 1999.
The Port of Brownsville has promoted Jorge I. Montero to the position of director of communications.
Montero has more than 14 years of experience in journalism, marketing and communications, previously serving as communications specialist for the port.
Prior to joining the port, Montero worked for the Brownsville Economic Development Council as marketing and design coordinator and for the Brownsville Herald as assistant director of Spanish publications.
Angus Procter has been elected chairman of the Wet FFA Brokers Association (FFABA).
Founded in 1997, FFABA is the worldwide association for Forward Freight Agreement (FFA) broking firms. Working with the Baltic Exchange, FFABA organizes educational workshops and industry forums in major shipping centers.
Procter has worked on the wet freight desk at Braemar ACM-GFI since October 2010. He now is a senior broker.
“I am looking forward to serving the community through this vital maritime association,” Brooks (pictured) said. “The Bay Area’s shipping industry is a major economic engine for our region, and the Board of Pilot Commissioners fuels that engine by ensuring thousands of commercial and passenger ships navigate safely and successfully through San Francisco Bay.”
The entrance to San Francisco Bay is considered one of the country’s most complex for piloting. Each year, more than 4,000 oil tankers, cruise ships and commercial carriers pass through, escorted by a San Francisco bar pilot. The Board of Pilot Commissioners oversees the training, licensing and selection of the bar pilots with a jurisdiction that encompasses 1,000 miles of coastline from Redwood City to Sacramento, San Francisco to Monterey.
Brooks is known in the yachting world for his successful campaign of Dorade, a famous ocean-racing sailboat built in 1930. In 2010, Brooks and his wife restored Dorade and set out to repeat the many ocean races the boat won in the 1930s. Brooks reached the podium in all of those races, including the 2013 TransPacific Race from California to Hawai in which Brooks won first place overall, 77 years after Dorade won that race the first time.
Like his late father, Brooks served as a trustee of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. His father, John Brooks, also was appointed to the California Board of Pilot Commissioners.
Brooks is scheduled to be confirmed by the California Senate in January.
Effective Jan. 1, Günter Schmarl will take on the management of the Gebrüder Weiss branch in Hall, Tyrol. He is succeeding longtime branch manager Hannes Mayr, who has been promoted to manage the company’s west region.
Schmarl has been with the company for more than 30 years. Since 2009, he has been managing the international land transport area. As branch manager, he will be responsible for three Gebrüder Weiss locations — Hall, Wörgl and Innsbruck — with about 250 employees.
Mayr has been managing Gebrüder Weiss Tyrol for 12 years. As the regional manager, he will be responsible for Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Switzerland.
Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh has been elected to a third consecutive one-year term as chairwoman of the Manatee County Port Authority, the governing board of Port Manatee in Florida.
Affirmed to serve one-year officer terms were Priscilla Whisenant Trace, first vice chairwoman; Reggie Bellamy, second vice chairman; and Betsy Benac, third vice chairwoman. New board member Misty Servia also was affirmed.
The authority board consists of the seven members of the elected Manatee County Commission. The authority sets policy and oversees major expenditures for Port Manatee.
Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce CEO Barbara Leslie has joined the Port of Oakland Board of Port Commissioners in California.
Leslie, a former port government affairs specialist, replaces Earl Hamlin, who resigned from the seven-member board.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf nominated Leslie for the volunteer post. The City Council approved the appointment.
Leslie went to work for the Chamber of Commerce in 2014 as its first female president and CEO. She has 25 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, including service as assistant to the city manager and more than a decade directing external affairs and philanthropy for AT&T in the East Bay. She worked at the port in 1998 and 1999.
The Port of Brownsville has promoted Jorge I. Montero to the position of director of communications.
Montero has more than 14 years of experience in journalism, marketing and communications, previously serving as communications specialist for the port.
Prior to joining the port, Montero worked for the Brownsville Economic Development Council as marketing and design coordinator and for the Brownsville Herald as assistant director of Spanish publications.
Angus Procter has been elected chairman of the Wet FFA Brokers Association (FFABA).
Founded in 1997, FFABA is the worldwide association for Forward Freight Agreement (FFA) broking firms. Working with the Baltic Exchange, FFABA organizes educational workshops and industry forums in major shipping centers.
Procter has worked on the wet freight desk at Braemar ACM-GFI since October 2010. He now is a senior broker.
