IAPH president Jens Meier to serve another two-year term, along with vice presidents for Europe, North America, Central and South America. New vice presidents are appointed for Africa and the two Asia regions.
At the IAPH annual general meeting on the final day of the IAPH World Ports Conference, the association’s new board was officially elected unanimously for the next two years by those regular members who were present.
We warmly congratulate the re-elected president Jens Meier, CEO, Hamburg Port Authority, and the re-elected regional vice presidents Gene Seroka, executive director, Port of Los Angeles (North America), Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO, Port of Antwerp-Bruges (Europe) and Vinicius Patel, director of port administration, Porto do Açu (Central and South America).
At the opening of the IAPH 2025 Conference celebrating the association’s 70th anniversary earlier this month, re-elected president Jens Meier stated the manifesto for his next term: “I have a clear vision for my second term as IAPH president: to further develop the IAPH as a platform for a smartly networked and resilient port world, guided by the motto: Resilient by Design, Innovative by Nature.”
“At the heart of this vision is a belief that digitalisation is not an end in itself. It is a powerful enabler - of ecological transformation, of operational efficiency, and of stronger global cooperation.”
He further added that he was committed to strengthening four strategic pillars within the IAPH, namely accelerating digitalisation and smart infrastructure, advancing sustainable port development, enhancing resilience, and nurturing the next generation of port professionals to future-proof the industry.
New vice presidents for Africa and the two Asia regions
The Annual General Meeting forum also welcomed newly elected regional vice presidents Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, managing director/CEO, Nigerian Ports Authority (Africa), Dr Ichio Motono, senior executive director, Yokohama Port Corporation (Asia South and West, Middle East), and Marika Calfas, CEO, NSW Ports (Asia, East and Oceania).
The managing director/CEO, Nigerian Ports Authority, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, has been elected as regional vice president of Africa. In an Instagram post on the conference, the NPA stated : “Coming on the heels of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval of the National Policy on Marine & Blue Economy, Dantsoho’s election as Vice-President of the IAPH is a testament of Nigeria’s growing influence in the comity of Maritime nations.”
Dr Dantsoho commented himself on his appointment: “This responsibility has fired up my resolve more than ever before to be the vanguard of galvanising national and regional policy action steps geared towards institutionalising ports’ eco-friendliness in line with the dictates of IAPH’s World Ports Sustainability Program.”
IAPH’s newly elected regional vice president for Asia South and West, Middle East region is Dr Ichio Motono, senior executive director, Yokohama Port Corporation. Dr Motono has already been actively engaged with IAPH as the chair of the planning, operation and finance committee. Dr Motono recently chaired a successful meeting involving many of its members in person and online during the technical committee day in Kobe, which took place before the inauguration of the annual IAPH World Ports Conference.
Commenting on his appointment, Dr Motono said: “I look forward to engaging with our members in our IAPH region with the largest geographic footprint so we can ensure that they have access to and use the many tools developed by ports for ports by our technical committees and that they fully participate in the activities of our Association and our cooperation with the broader maritime community."
In an NSW Ports communique, their CEO Marika Calfas said she was honoured to be elected to represent the Asia, East and Oceania region’s ports and looked forward to working with local and global colleagues to collaborate on the industry’s priority issues and opportunities.
“The IAPH brings together ports globally to collaborate on key challenges and develop industry best practice. I feel privileged to have been elected by member ports to represent our region,” Ms Calfas said. “Geographically we cover a large area, but we share a common objective to make our supply chains resilient, sustainable and productive. This is a great opportunity to contribute to the industry’s global policy priorities and ensure Southeast Asia and Oceania’s interests are represented at the table.”
All the board members have been appointed with immediate effect following the Annual General Meeting on October 9, 2025.
About IAPH
Founded in 1955, the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has developed into a global alliance of 201 port authorities as well as 175 port-related businesses. Comprised of over 94 different nationalities across the world’s continents, member ports handle over one third of the world’s sea-borne trade and well over 60% of the world container traffic. IAPH leads global port industry initiatives on decarbonisation and energy transition, risk and resilience management, and accelerating digitalisation in the maritime transport chain. The IAPH’s World Ports Sustainability Program has grown into the reference database of best practices of ports applying the UN Sustainable Development Goals and integrating them into their businesses - iaphworldports.org.