Recent Connie Honorees
2007
James J. Devine
President & CEO
New York Container Terminal
Mr. Devine is responsible for the operation as well as the modernization and expansion of the 180 acre New York Container Terminal facility on Staten Island. Over the last seven years he has worked closely with both the Port Authority and New York City Economic Development Corporation to expand the berth, revitalize the Staten Island rail connection and introduce new state of the art container handling equipment, including four post panamax Liebherr container cranes.
Raymond P. Ebeling
Founder, Chairman & CEO
American Roll-On Roll-Off Carriers (ARC)
Mr. Ebeling is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of American Roll-On Roll-Off Carriers (ARC) established in 1990. ARC is a U.S. flag liner shipping company which operates eight U.S. Flag Ro-Ro ships between the United States, the Middle East and Europe. Mr. Ebeling is also Founder, Chairman and CEO of American Auto Logistics (AAL), a logistics management firm which manages the global transportation of all military service members’ vehicles.
2006
Philip C. Yeager
Chairman of the Board and Founder
Hub Group
Mr. Yeager has been Hub Group's Chairman of the Board since October 1985. He became involved in intermodal transportation in 1959, five years after the introduction of intermodal transportation in the United States, as an employee of the Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Central Railroads.
In 1991, Mr. Yeager was named Man of the Year by the Intermodal Transportation Association. In 1995, he received the Salzburg Practitioners Award from Syracuse University in recognition of his lifetime achievements in the transportation industry. In October 1996, Mr. Yeager was inducted into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame sponsored by the University of Illinois at Chicago. In March 1997, he received the Presidential Medal from Dowling College for his achievements in transportation services. In September 1998, he received the Silver Kingpin award from the Intermodal Association of North America and in February 1999, he was named Transportation Person of the Year by the New York Traffic Club.
Dr. Anil J. Vitarana
President
United Arab Emirates Inc.
Dr. Anil Jay Vitarana is President of United Arab Agencies Inc. and has had an exemplary role in ocean shipping worldwide. Dr. Vitarana, a native of Sri Lanka, has been in his present position for 11 years, overseeing nine offices in North America for the national shipping line of six Arabian Gulf countries. He has also held leadership positions in the various shipping conferences that represent his company’s service routes around the world.
2005
James A. Capo
Chairman & CEO
U.S. Maritime Alliance, Ltd.
Jim Capo heads USMX, a formal alliance of carriers, stevedores, and port associations in the East Coast and West Coast Gulf regions, established to preserve and protect the interests of the management groups in labor relations issues of the Master Contract on containerization and automation in the longshore and related maritime fields. USMX is at the forefront of important industry issues that affect seaport security, safety, and productivity. Presiviously, he served as President of USMX. He also served as President of New York Shipping Association, Inc. (NYSA), which represents waterfront management in the Port of New York and New Jersey.
Peter J. Gatti, Jr.
Executive Vice President
National Industrial Transportation League
Peter Gatti has been affiliated with the transportation industry for most of his career. He has served the NIT League for the past 19 years in a number of capacities. Mr. Gatti was named in September 2003 as the League’s Executive Vice President. In this position he is responsible for developing, managing and coordinating many of the League’s overall operations. He has specialized in organizing the international operations of the League, particularly on maritime affairs. In this regard, Mr. Gatti currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Maritime Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce headquartered in Paris, France. Prior to becoming the League’s Executive Vice President, he served as their Vice President of International Policy. Mr. Gatti maintains extensive contacts with overseas organizations and individuals representing freight shippers, suppliers and intermediaries.
Rudiger (Rudy) Mack
Past President
Hapag-Lloyd (America) Inc.
Rudy Mack served as the President of Hapag-Lloyd (America), Inc. from 1999-2007. He was also a Managing Director and part of the Hapag-Lloyd Container Line Management Board. Mr. Mack was responsible for the Western Hemisphere (North America, Latin America and the Caribbean) for Hapag-Lloyd Container Line, GmbH. Mr. Mack has held several positions with Hapag-Lloyd since joining the company in 1972. Prior to assuming his past position, he was Managing Director of Hapag-Lloyd (Asia) Pte. Ltd in Singapore, where he was responsible for the Eastern Hemisphere and the Transpacific EB trade. Mr. Mack was Managing Director of Hapag-Lloyd (Japan), based in Tokyo, and Managing Director of Hapag-Lloyd (France), based in Paris.
Previous Connie Honorees
Nicola Arena
Karl Bakke
Don C. Becker
Honorable Helen Delich Bentley
Lillian Borrone
John Bowers
Robert Bray
Dr. Y. F. Chang
L. Stanley Crane
Harold Creel Jr.
Thomas B. Crowley, Sr.
Manuel(Mike) Diaz
James D. English
Conrad Everhard
Alan Glass
David Howard
Jesse C. Jessen
Dr. Leslie Kanuk
Christopher Koch
C. Peter Lambos
Richard Larrabee
Jacques Leblanc
M. Brian Maher
Michael Maher
Malcom P. McLean
Ray Miles
Michael B. Northen
Clifford B. O’Hara
Robert Pfeiffer
Olav Rakkenes
Charles G. Raymond
Paul F. Richardson
Eric Ridder
Michael Sacco
Clifford Sayre
Anthony Scioscia
Bruce Seaton
Warren Serenbetz
David J. Tolan
William F. Toohey
Hays Watkins
Special Connie Award Honorees
Michael B. Berzon
Richard A. Simpson
| 
