Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority Appoints Executive Director

The Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority (DWCPA) Board of Directors announced today they have appointed John Jamian to be Executive Director of the Port Authority.

Jamian will be responsible for business management and political affairs for the DWCPA and work with federal, state and local officials for development projects in the Port of Detroit.  This is a second term as executive director for Jamian, who also served in the position from 1997 to 2001. 

The appointment comes as the authority is preparing to open its most high-profile project in years with the grand opening next month of the DWCPA’s new $22 million public dock and terminal facility located at 130 E. Atwater Street between the GM Renaissance Center and Hart Plaza. 

“John brings extensive maritime experience to the job and we are fortunate that he was available at this important moment in the authority’s history,” said Chairman Arthur Blackwell.  “The port authority is preparing to play a more prominent role in developing the Detroit riverfront and the City of Detroit and John’s skills provide a perfect match for the job.”

Jamian was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2003 to serve as Deputy Administer for the U.S. Maritime Administration under the U.S. Department of Transportation where he oversaw the administration’s $205 million budget and managed more than 900 employees. Jamian successfully led procurement and grant projects funding ports, highways and rails,  helped negotiate international bi-lateral maritime treaties with Vietnam, China and Mexico and worked to strengthen transportation systems to meet the economic and maritime related security needs of the United States. Jamian was the first appointee from the Great Lakes region to serve in this role, a position he held for three years.

During his previous tenure as executive director for the DWCPA, Jamian helped reestablish the presence of the Great Lakes cruise ship industry, bringing the first cruise ship to back to Detroit since 1967. He also led the Detroit River Seawall improvement study project and other environmental mitigation programs with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Jamian worked with government planning organizations Foreign Trade Zone Board, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), the Detroit Regional Chamber and the City of Windsor to promote the history, benefits and economic future of the Port of Detroit.  During that time he served on Detroit’s Tercentennial commission and managed the Great Lakes Tall Ship Challenge Race and other events with the City of Windsor and the Port of Windsor.   

Prior to returning to the DWCPA, Jamian was the president of the Seaway Great Lakes Trade Association in Birmingham, Michigan, where he was an advocate for maritime environmental affairs representing shippers, carriers, manufacturers, grain companies, terminals and employees in all eight Great Lakes states.

Jamian also served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 1991 to 1996 as a State Representative for the 40th District. While in the Legislature he was chair of the House Maritime Committee on the Great Lakes and was named “Most Outstanding New Legislator” by the Detroit News.

Jamian graduated in 1977 from Oakland University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences. He was an adjunct faculty member of the Intergovernmental Health Policy Project at George Washington University, and is a contributing writer to various health care and maritime publications.