Savannah, Ga. – November 27, 2012 – The Georgia Ports Authority has named George H. Hearn as senior director of Trade Development for carrier and non-container sales.
Hearn comes to the Georgia Ports Authority with 27 years of experience in the maritime industry.
“I know of no one in the industry better suited to lead this facet of our trade development effort,” said GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz. “Having worked on the carrier side of our industry for nearly three decades, George is a customer-focused leader who brings a wealth of resources that will complement our senior team.”
Most recently Hearn served as the vice president of sales for the Eastern Region and Gulf for US Lines. Previously, he held senior positions at American President Lines (APL) Ltd. as vice president and managing director of the Eastern, Southern and Western regions where his responsibilities included all liner and logistics activity for both sales and operations.
Hearn also served as vice president of Eastern region operations for APL from 2003 through 2004 and has held senior positions with Orient Overseas Container Line in both the U.S. and the Philippines. He started his shipping career as a management trainee with Sea Land in 1985.
“It’s an exciting time to be joining such a dynamic team,” Hearn said of his move to the GPA. “With a top-tier container terminal, the third busiest autoport, and premier breakbulk, bulk and project cargo handling, Georgia’s ports are on the forefront of business growth and customer service.”
As Senior Director of Trade Development (Carrier Sales & Non-Container Sales), Hearn will guide all client development and sales functions for these business areas, including sales planning, sales administration, tariff structure, and associated service functions to be provided in addition to the sales efforts.
Hearn will report to Chief Commercial Officer Cliff Pyron.
“George’s industry insights will be an important asset in his new duties, which include maintaining high-level contacts with steamship lines, both in the U.S. and abroad, as well as coordinating activities with GPA domestic and foreign agency offices,” Pyron said.
Hearn and his wife Meg come to the Savannah area from New Jersey. His first day on the job will be Monday, Nov. 26.
Georgia’s deepwater ports and inland barge terminals support more than 352,000 jobs throughout the state annually and contribute $18.5 billion in income, $66.9 billion in revenue and $2.5 billion in state and local taxes to Georgia’s economy. The Port of Savannah was the second busiest U.S. container port for the export of American goods by tonnage in FY2011. It also handled 8.7 percent of the U.S. containerized cargo volume and 12.5 percent of all U.S. containerized exports in FY2011.
