Mario Cordero, executive director of California’s port of Long Beach, has formally stepped up as the chairman of the board of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA).

Mario Cordero

After being selected for a two-year term during March, the AAPA officially installed Cordero as chairman during its virtual 2020 annual convention held during September. He succeeds Gary G. Nelson, executive director of Washington State’s port of Grays Harbor.

At the annual membership meeting, it was decided to extend board member terms from one to two years; reduce the board of directors from 45 to 11 members; and eliminate the board’s duplicative 12-member executive committee.

The association also agreed to restrict the number of board positions available to any of its represented geographic regions and special representation areas to two. Only port ceos or their equivalent will be able to serve on the board.

“By restructuring and modernising AAPA’s board of directors, I believe it will vastly improve the association’s ability with regard to policymaking and other governance issues, enabling us to be more nimble, efficient and effective as a hemispheric membership association,” said Christopher J. Conner, AAPA’s president and ceo. “In reducing the size of our board, we still have a diversity of ports of varying sizes and geographic locations represented. I think we have struck just the right balance so all voices of our member ports will be heard in crafting AAPA policy and programmes, both now and in the years to come.”

www.aapa-ports.org

Topics