Maher Terminals gets new leaders
Brian and Basil Maher, the brothers who run the busiest container terminal in the Port of New York and New Jersey, are retiring from their respective jobs as chief executive officer and president of Maher Terminals LLC.
In July, the Maher brothers sold their terminal in Elizabeth, N.J., and the recently completed container terminal in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, in July to RREEF Infrastructure, an asset management business of Deutsche Bank.
The Mahers will become members of the board of directors of Maher Terminals on Nov. 1.
Executive leadership will be assumed by John Buckley, who will become CEO, and Joe Curto, who is being promoted to president.
Buckley worked previously for P&O Ports, most recently as operations director with responsibility for P&O’s global operations of container terminals and port operations. He has worked at terminals in both the United Kingdom and in Asia.
P&O Ports was subsequently sold to Dubai Ports World. (When furor about a Dubai-based company controlling U.S. port assets erupted, the DP World’s assets were sold to an investment arm of insurance giant AIG to become what today is known as Ports America.)
Curto has been with Maher Terminals for more than 35 years and most recently served as executive vice president, Port Elizabeth Operations.
“John and Joe have over 60 years of combined experience managing marine terminals, and we are confident they will be extremely effective leading Maher Terminals into the future,” said David Kerr, managing director and portfolio manager with RREEF Infrastructure.
“John’s history of operating terminals around the world and Joe’s long service with Maher Terminals will provide strong leadership and innovation to the highly skilled workforce at Maher Terminals,” Kerr added.
“We are also pleased that Maher Terminals will continue to benefit from the knowledge and leadership that Brian and Basil have accumulated over 30 years each in the industry and look forward to their guidance in the years to come,” he said.
Maher Terminals was founded by Brian and Basil’s father, Michael, after World War II. He was one of the first stevedores to move from New York to Port Elizabeth, N.J., which along with Port Newark became the center of container operations in the Port of New York and New Jersey. His business grew rapidly with the development of containerization.
His sons followed him into the business, and took over day-to-day operations. By the time of Michael’s death in 1995, Maher Terminals was the largest container terminal in the Port of New York and New Jersey.
In the past two decades, Maher has expanded its footprint in Port Elizabeth, acquiring neighboring facilities and combining its Fleet and Tripoli terminals and modernizing its terminal.
The Mahers have been important leaders in the port community, seeking support for deeper access channels and improvements to the port’s on-dock rail facility.
Maher Terminals has also been a pioneer in automation of port processes.
But perhaps it boldest step in recent years was the decision to build an entirely new container terminal in northern British Columbia, hundreds of miles from any population center.
Maher contributed more than $60 million to build the $176 million terminal, which is aimed at moving cargo between the Far East and the U.S. Midwest. Cargo will be shuttled between Prince Rupert and cities such as Chicago, Toronto, Detroit and Memphis on trains operated by CN Rail.
The initial call at that container terminal, by the COSCO Antwerp, is scheduled for next week, Oct. 31. The terminal is initially capable of handling 500,000 TEU per year and has the potential to quadruple capacity.
In addition, Maher announced the following promotions:
* Donald McBeth to executive vice president, strategy and business development.
* Randall P Mosca to executive vice president and chief financial officer.
* Anthony Ray to executive vice president, Port Elizabeth operations.
* Frans van Riemsdyk to executive vice president, sales and marketing.