Port People: Duluth, New York/New Jersey, Oakland, Tampa

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Deborah DeLuca joined the Duluth Seaway Port Authority as government and environmental affairs directors, effective July 29. The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey announced July 23 the election of former New Jersey Attorney General John Degnan as the 19th chairman of the agency's board of commissioners. Oakland Board of Port Commissioners on July 24, elected officers for FY 2014-15, including Alan S. Yee as president, Cestra "Ces" Butner as first vice president, and Earl S. Hamlin as second vice president. Gonzalo Padron has been named Port Tampa Bay’s director of marketing & business development – Latin America.

Duluth Seaway Port Authority Adds Government & Environmental Affairs Director 

Deborah DeLuca joined the Duluth Seaway Port Authority as government and environmental affairs directors, effective July 29.

Ms. DeLuca brings to the position more than 25 years of public and private sector experience in the U.S. and abroad. Starting as a hydrogeologist with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, she went on to work with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), becoming supervisor of its Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup (VIC) Program in 1996. During that timeframe, she also helped organize an international exchange program and served as lecturer on environmental policy for master’s-level engineers in the Institute Nationale Agronomie in Paris, France. She spent two years as Site Redevelopment Supervisor for Braun Intertec Corp. in Minneapolis before launching her own consulting company in 2000. After helping to launch the Minnesota Brownfields nonprofit in 2005, she served as its board chair from 2011-13.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Ms. DeLuca holds two degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison – a B.S. in molecular biology and her master’s in land resources (with a focus on environmental chemistry and environmental policy).

Ms. DeLuca is a founding board member of Minnesota Brownfields, a nonprofit established to ensure the effective reuse of brownfield sites across the state. As principal of DeLuca Strategies for 14 years, she has provided advice to public, private and non-profit sector clients. Her areas of expertise include grant-writing, development/implementation of funding strategies, project management, government relations and outreach education. Over the course of her career, she has secured over $25 million in state, local and federal funding for clients and helped manage more than 40 of those associated grants.

"Rare is it to find one individual skilled at navigating the equally complex environmental and political landscapes," said Port Authority Executive Director Vanta Coda. "Deb joins our leadership team at a strategic time, when our economic development mission is at the fore. As we embark on redevelopment ventures on the waterfront and in other parts of the city, the port authority will rely heavily on her expertise in interpreting environmental regulations and legislative policy plus grant execution to leverage projects to successful outcomes."

Deborah DeLuca
Photo/Duluth Seaway Port Authority

New York/New Jersey John Degnan Elected Port Authority Chairman

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey announced July 23 the election of former New Jersey Attorney General John Degnan as the 19th chairman of the agency's board of commissioners.

Chairman Degnan was nominated by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and confirmed by the New Jersey State Senate on July 10. Previously, he served as vice chairman and chief operating officer of The Chubb Corporation, a worldwide property and casualty insurance company based in New Jersey.

A graduate of St. Vincent's College and Harvard Law School, Mr. Degnan served law secretary to Associate Justice John J. Francis of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1969 to 1971, worked for the Newark law firm of Clapp and Eisenberg from 1971 to 1974, and joined the administration of Gov. Brendan Byrne as assistant counsel in November 1974.

He served as an executive secretary to the governor from March 1976 through March 1977, when he became special counsel to the governor. He was appointed attorney general in December 1977 and served until 1981 when he resigned to run for governor.

After the election, Mr. Degnan joined the firm of Shanley & Fisher as a senior partner. He spent the next two decades at The Chubb Corporation, a Warren, N.J.-based insurer of businesses and luxury homes. In 1990, he joined Chubb & Son, a subsidiary of Chubb Corp., as senior vice president and general counsel. He was elected president of Chubb Corp. in 1996 and became president of Chubb & Son in 1998.

In 2002, he became vice chairman and chief administrative officer of Chubb Corp. and added the titles of chief ethics and legal compliance officer in 2005. In June 2008, Degnan was promoted to chief operating officer of Chubb Corp. He retired as vice chairman and COO in 2010 and remains an adviser to the Chief Executive Officer John Finnegan.

Oakland Board of Port Commissioners Elects Officers

Oakland Board of Port Commissioners on July 24, elected officers for FY 2014-2015, including Alan S. Yee as president, Cestra "Ces" Butner as first vice president, and Earl S. Hamlin as second vice president. The fiscal year began July 1.

An attorney for more than 30 years, Commissioner Yee is a partner in the law firm of Siegel & Yee. He has litigated commercial cases involving trade and international commerce, representing businesses in trade with companies in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. He received a bachelor's degree in 1974 from Princeton University and a juris doctorate in 1978 from the University of California's Boalt Hall School of Law in Berkeley.

Commissioner Yee also has an extensive history of community involvement and public service. Mr. Yee was elected as a trustee of the Peralta Community Colleges and served as its president in 1994. He was appointed to the City of Oakland's Police Review Commission and served as its chair 1997-2000. Mr. Yee has also served on the boards of the Chinatown/Central District Community Development Council for the City of Oakland, the Oakland Intergovernmental Council and the East Bay Conversion and Reinvestment Commission.

Alan S. Yee
Photo/Port of Oakland

Commissioner Cestra "Ces" Butner is the president, CEO and owner of Horizon Beverage Company, an Oakland-based beverage distributorship that supplies retailers in Northern Alameda County and Western Contra Costa County. Upon graduating from the University of Missouri in 1975 and working in Minneapolis and Chicago for Fortune 500 companies, Mr. Butner settled in Oakland in 1981, working for a local beverage distributorship. By age 33, he became the youngest owner of an Anheuser-Busch wholesale operation in the country. Through acquisitions and expansions over the last 25 years, Mr. Butner has more than tripled the size of Horizon Beverage Company revenues, placing it among Black Enterprise's top 100 Black Owned Businesses nationally.

Cestra "Ces" Butner
Photo/Port of Oakland

Commissioner Hamlin’s degrees include an AB Oberlin College (AB) and a JD and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley. His actual job title of general whatnot at investment bank Hambrecht & Quist describes his varied activities (financial analysis, corporate finance and venture capital) and diverse clientele. He has also worked as a warehouseman, real estate salesman, community organizer, political operative (small time), Alameda County Planning Commissioner (State County Planning Commissioner of the Year in 2001), and treasurer, Chabot Space & Science Center. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a founding member of the San Francisco Valuation Roundtable, and has been a director of several companies.

Earl S. Hamlin
Photo/Port of Oakland

The port board consists of seven members, each nominated by the mayor and confirmed by the city council for four year terms. Members serve without compensation and must reside in in Oakland during their term and at least 30 days prior to their appointment.

Port Tampa Bay Names Gonzalo Padron Director of Marketing & Business Development – Latin America

Gonzalo Padron has joined Port Tampa Bay as director of marketing & business Development – Latin America. Mr. Padron has worked in the maritime and trade sector for more than 20 years. That includes positions DHL Forwarding, Datamyne, PIERS, Seaboard Marine, and Tecmarine. Fluent in English and Spanish, he comes to the port with a professional background in trade data analysis and account management. His responsibilities will include Port Tampa Bay’s outreach and liaison with beneficial cargo owners and ocean carriers, with a particular focus on trade with Latin America.

Latin America is a major trading area for Port Tampa Bay, generating some 5.3 million tons of cargo worth more than $4.3 billion in FY 2012-2013. Ranked by tonnage, the ports top Latin trading partners were Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Honduras and Colombia.