USA: Port of Oakland Commissioners Appoint New Senior Managers

The Oakland Board of Port Commissioners appointed Jean Banker as Deputy Executive Director at a January Port Board meeting (Jan. 12, 2012) and Chris Chan as Director of Engineering during the December 15, 2011 Port Board meeting. Both are Port employees who were promoted from within the organization. Mr. Chan’s official start date was December 26, 2011, and Ms. Banker officially began her position January 23, 2012.

“Jean Banker brings significant experience to her new position as Deputy Executive Director. She has been instrumental in moving our maritime strategic initiatives forward such as completing the precedent-setting 50-year Ports America Outer Harbor terminal lease, the renegotiation of the Evergreen terminal lease, and launching the capital planning for the Port’s $90 million shore power plan for cleaning the air,” said Port of Oakland Executive Director Omar R. Benjamin.

Ms. Jean Banker, as Deputy Executive Director, is responsible for assisting the Executive Director in planning, developing, organizing, and directing the activities of the Port of Oakland. Ms. Banker has worked in public service and transportation policy for more than 20 years. In her prior position at the Port, she managed the finance and administrative services for the Maritime Division since August 2007. Prior to working at the Port, she worked for 13 years as deputy director of capital programs for the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) where she assisted in getting approval of nearly $4 billion of Federal New Start funds for two of the MTA’s large expansion projects. Ms. Banker achieved her Bachelor of Arts degree from Vassar College and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

“Chris Chan has been a member of the Port team for more than 20 years and provides us with a great depth of engineering expertise,” Benjamin stated. “Chris has been a driving force for a variety of strategic engineering projects including the more than $100 million Airport Roadway Project at Oakland International, overseeing the Port’s harbor maintenance dredging, and implementation of the Port’s Enterprise Resource Planning Project,” added Benjamin.

Mr. Chris Chan, as Director of Engineering, oversees the Port’s engineering division, which consists of five departments: Project Design and Delivery – Aviation; Project Design and Delivery – Maritime; Engineering Services; IT; and Utilities. Mr. Chan joined the Port’s engineering division in 1990. Most recently, he managed the Engineering Services Department as a principal engineer. Prior to his employment at the Port, Mr. Chan worked as an engineer with the Alameda County Public Works Department and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. He is a registered professional civil engineer and graduated with both a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

“Both Jean and Chris were selected through a rigorous search for senior managers that resulted in hundreds of applicants. They are our colleagues and being promoted from within the organization, which demonstrates the high caliber of professionals that we have here. I know that Jean and Chris will continue to be great contributors to the Port team as we move forward on our strategic plan,” said Benjamin.

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World Maritime News Staff, January 27, 2012