Port People: Montreal, Redwood City, San Diego, Seattle

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Sophie Roux Appointed Vice-President, Public Affairs, at the Port of Montreal

Sophie Roux has been named vice-president, public affairs, at the Montreal Port Authority, a newly-created position that reports directly to Port Authority President Sylvie Vachon. In that role, Ms. Roux is responsible for corporate communications, government relations, community relations and media relations. Her promotion took effect March 23.

Ms. Roux joined the port’s management team as director of communications in July 2013. Earlier, she served as senior director, government relations, at Imperial Tobacco; director, communications and public affairs at the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation; and senior agent in communications and government relations for the Canadian Police Association.

Her academic credentials include a bachelor’s degree in political science from McGill University in Montreal and an MBA’s in public relations and communications from Royal Roads University in Victoria (BC).

Sophie Roux

Photo/Montreal Port Authority 

Mike Giari to Mark 20th Anniversary as Redwood City Port Executive Director

Michael J. Giari this coming month will be celebrating his 20th year as executive director of the Port of Redwood City.That will make him one of the longest tenured among currently serving public port CEOs in the United States.

He joined the port in 1988 as manager of trade development and was promoted to executive director in May 1995. Earlier, he worked for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey as assistant manager of a major waterfront development project and as a marine transportation planner and before that as maritime affairs director for the American Association of Port Authorities. His port-related career began with the U.S. Maritime Administration in San Francisco.

Mr. Giari is past president of the Bay Planning Coalition and the California Association of Port Authorities (CAPA). He also is past chairman of the Redwood City/San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce where he has been an active member for 20 years, chairing various committees and currently serves on the board of directors. He is also sits on the AAPA board of directors.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from St. Mary’s College, California and a Master’s in Marine Affairs and Maritime Policy from the University of Rhode Island.

Michael J. Giari

Photo/Port of Redwood City

San Diego’s DeAngelis Again Named ‘CFO of the Year

The San Diego Business Journal has named the Port of San Diego’s Robert DeAngelis Chief Financial Officer of the Year in the "government category" for the second consecutive year. The awards, which were announced March 31, recognize local financial professionals for their roles in the success of their businesses and their positive impact.

Mr. DeAngelis came to the port in 2013 from Teleperformance, an international call center provider of customer service and technical support where he was senior vice president, operational reporting. Prior positions included CFO and vice president of operations for a Teleperformance subsidiary, vice president of finance for Dexpo.com, and working at one of the "Big Four" accounting firms, KPMG; all in the Philadelphia area.

At the port, he oversees financial services, risk management, treasury and business and information technology services. During his first year as a port employee, he refinanced the 2004 bonds realizing interest savings of about $2.5 million over the life of the bonds, and increased transparency of financial and operating results through revised performance metrics.

He has successfully led organizational initiatives aimed at revenue generation and cost containment resulting in a reversal of a $4 million deficit in the prior year to a $12.5 million surplus in Fiscal Year 2014/15.

He is a member of the AAPA Finance Committee.

Robert DeAngelis

Photo/Port of San Diego 

Seattle Hires Julie Collins as Senior Director of Public Affairs

Julie Collins will be joining the Port of Seattle as senior director of public affairs on May 1. Her portfolio will include government relations, community outreach, strategic communications and airport public relations. She will serve as a member of the executive team supporting the executive office and commission and report directly to CEO Ted J. Fick.

"Julie brings deep knowledge of ports, elected officials throughout the state, and a proven ability to lead dynamic teams," said Mr. Fick."Her long background in a similar role at the Port of Tacoma makes her uniquely qualified to continue public affairs work here at the Port of Seattle."

As chief external affairs officer at the Port of Tacoma, she had oversight of government affairs, communications and community relations functions and also served on the CEO’s executive team. Additionally, she serves on the executive Due Diligence team to develop the Seaport Alliance.

Prior to joining the Port of Tacoma in 1998, she worked as district director for U.S. Representative Jennifer Dunn and U.S. Representative Rod Chandler. She also served as Congressman Chandler’s senior legislative assistant in Washington, D.C. Her local experience includes issues management for the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and event planning/fundraising at Columbia Resource Group.

Ms.Collins holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and has completed the business executive development program at the UW Foster School of Business.

Julie Collins