Odgers Berndtson Selected by the AAPA to Find New CEO
March 21, 2019 – The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has turned to global search firm Odgers Berndtson to find its next chief executive officer, following the retirement of long-time leader Kurt Nagle. Vice chairman and partner Tim McNamara is leading the assignment along with partner and practice leader Conrad Woody.
William Friedman, chairman of the AAPA and CEO of Port of Cleveland, indicated that the process to identify Mr. Nagle’s successor will begin immediately, with the goal to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of the work of the association on behalf of the public port industry.
AAPA is the unified voice of the seaport industry in the Americas, representing more than 130 public port authorities in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America. For more than a century, AAPA membership has empowered port authorities and their maritime industry partners to serve global customers and create economic and social value for their communities.
Odgers Berndtson delivers executive search, leadership assessment and development strategies to organizations globally. The firm’s 250-plus partners cover more than 50 sectors and operate out of 59 offices in 29 countries. The U.S. wing of the firm launched in 2011. Under Steve Potter, CEO of Odgers Berndtson U.S., the organization has become one of the fastest growing search firms in the Americas. Odgers Berndtson has U.S. offices in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
Veteran Recruiters
Mr. McNamara heads Odgers Berndtson’s transportation infrastructure practice. His focus areas include aerospace and defense, and cybersecurity. With over 25 years of management consulting and industry experience, he consults to international clients including governments, mergers and acquisitions advisory, private equity and P3 firms.
Prior to Odgers, Mr. McNamara held global leadership roles with three international search firms and formerly was with Booz Allen Hamilton’s Applied Science Center. Earlier in his career, he represented American, Danish, French, German and Mexican companies in the global engineered logistics sector. Mr. McNamara was knighted in 1989 by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in recognition of his service to the country. He has also been named to BusinessWeek’s Top 100 World’s Most Influential Headhunters.
As head of the U.S. corporate and government affairs practice, Mr. Woody specializes in senior placements for companies, trade associations and non-profits in the government affairs, corporate communications, public affairs and economic development verticals. He came to the firm from Korn Ferry where, as a principal in its corporate affairs practice, he conducted senior-level searches for corporate communications, government affairs, trade association and non-profit professionals.
Transportation Companies Turning to Search Firms
Over the past year, a growing number of transportation companies have enlisted executive search firms to help them find senior talent. Here are some recent examples from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:
The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) board of directors voted to approve the hiring of search firm Isaacson, Miller to assist in identifying candidates for its next CEO. After six years with the authority, CEO Thomas Glynn stepped down two weeks ago. The board has appointed Massport CFO John Pranckevicius to acting CEO while the search is underway.
KL2 Connects placed Dawn Distler as the new executive director of the Metro Regional Transit Authority (RTA) in Akron, OH. She previously served as the transit director at Knoxville Area Transit in Knoxville, TN. The organization reportedly payed the Asheville, NC-based recruiter $42,500 to conduct the search.
ADK Consulting & Executive Search has placed Dan Mann as the new executive director for the Louisville Regional Airport Authority. Mr. Mann has more than 25 years experience in airport management and air service development. He most recently served as executive director of the Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina.
Krauthamer & Associates placed Randy Clarke as the general manager and president/CEO of Capital Metro in Austin. Mr. Clarke previously served as vice president of operations and member services at the American Public Transportation Association since 2016.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
