Objective
Seeking Senior Management position within the Maritime Industry.
Experience
Circle Line –Statue of Liberty Ferry, New York, NY February 2002 – Present
Circle Line – Harbor Cruises, LLC, New York, NY
President / Chief Executive Officer
Successfully operated the largest Maritime sightseeing company in the world with over 3.5 million passengers annually that generated over $40 million in gross revenue. Subsequent to the tragic events of 9/11, turned around the company after being completely shut down, by implementing new tours, marketing campaigns and cost cutting initiatives.
Keenly defended trademark litigation and used the lawsuit to help obtain new landing sights and additional vessels, including winning the suit. Lobbied for, and obtained, a 3-year contract extension which generated an additional $120 million in gross revenue.
Innovative management of one of the largest concession contracts with the National Park Service that carries passengers to the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island Immigrations Museum. Formed new policies, procedures, program management and steering committees. This allowed us combine business operations and marine operations to assess program risk and maximize profits. Working closely with NPS, developed a series of reports to restore full access to the Statue of Liberty.
Oversaw the design, construction and multiple financings of the company’s first catamaran vessel’s – Zephyr and Patriot. Completely rebranded the whole company and formed a new subsidiary (Circle Line Harbor Cruises, LLC) to help shelter the assets from an extremely complex Federal contract with the National Park Service. Formulated new payroll and accounting systems to achieve the desired results. Increased passenger volumes in the new subsidiary from 65,000 to 350,000 in 4 years.
Negotiated several Crew and Concession union contracts with zero wage increases and over 25% in cost savings. Key to the success was the implementation of new wage scales, pension reductions, overtime pay restrictions and Vessel schedule management.
Successfully manage the extremely complex contracts that coincide with a large Federal contract. In order to operate the business, you need to obtain contracts from New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, City of New York Department of Transportation and the New Jersey Department of State.
Led a team of internal and external experts that developed a multi volume, 1100 page proposal to the National Park Service to provide ferry transportation to the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island Immigration Museum. To insure compliance with the environmental component of the submission, personally flew to Australia to form a partnership with Solar Sailor, so we could incorporate the most environmentally friendly vessel into our proposal.
Education
University of Virginia - 1984
Certification
Skils