Four Added to Steamship Authority Management Team

FALMOUTH – The Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority is adding its management team.

General Manager Robert B. Davis made the announced on Tuesday at the Authority’s monthly board meeting in New Bedford.

Two of the individuals are filling positions created as part of the implementation of recommendations made by HMS Consulting, Glosten Associates and Rigor Analytics in the recent comprehensive review of the Authority’s operations.

The Steamship Authority conducted both an internal search for the four positions and a national search, both of which produced a slate of candidates that gave the Authority a wide range of candidates from which to choose.

“I was extremely pleased with the quality of candidates we had for these positions,” Mr. Davis said.

“Being able to choose from so many highly qualified individuals ensured that the Authority is getting the very best of the best to join our team.”

The new hires are listed as follows:

Angela Sampson –Health, Safety, Quality and Environmental (HSQE) Manager

Angela Sampson has spent more than a decade in the environmental, health and safety field, both at sea as an environmental officer with Celebrity Cruises Inc. and shoreside with Hasbro, where she most recently worked as an environmental health and safety engineer. Ms. Sampson’s expertise lies in developing and implementing environmental, health, safety and sustainability programs to ensure compliance to environmental laws and industry standards. At Hasbro, she supported global and corporate sustainability initiatives and served as the hazardous waste coordinator, a position that resulted in cost and waste reduction measures. She is a graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, where she received a bachelor’s degree in marine safety and environmental protection; she also received her master’s degree in environmental sustainability at The University of Edinburgh.

“I am very excited to join the Steamship Authority. With my collective knowledge in maritime regulations and corporate environmental, health and safety experience, I bring a vast array of best practices from both shipboard and shore side sectors.  I am excited to share industry best practices with the SSA team,” Ms. Sampson said.

Janice Kennefick – Human Resources Director

Janice Kennefick has more than 20 years of experience in the human resources field, most recently as the HR director at Tribe Mediterranean Foods in Taunton. She has also served as a human resources manager at Ocean Spray Cranberries in Lakeville, where she also was a senior human resources generalist, and also worked in similar roles at Computershare and Fluor Daniel GTI. She has led talent review and talent calibration sessions, implemented business unit succession planning and talent management plans, created employee training and organizational development programs, and driven the achievement of company goals through objective and development plan setting, performance calibration, and talent development. She studied business management at Lesley University.

“To say that I am thrilled to join the SSA team is an understatement. I am proud to be joining such an iconic organization and look forward to bringing new ideas and energy and contribute to pushing the organization forward,” Ms. Kennefick said. 

Captain Jordan Baptiste – Port Captain

Captain Jordan Baptiste is a born and raised fifth-generation islander hailing from Vineyard Haven (Tisbury). He is 2000 graduate of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School and a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, serving from 2002-2009. He has more than 15 years of professional maritime experience, including both shoreside and afloat management-level positions, and holds a Master of Unlimited Tonnage Upon Oceans. For the past six years, Baptiste has served as captain of multipurpose support vessels in the offshore oil and gas industry. Operating in one of the most heavily regulated sectors of the maritime industry has given Baptiste extensive knowledge and experience in the application of process-based management, including International Safety Management (ISM) code, safety management systems, learning management systems, and quality management systems. He has a bachelor’s degree in transportation and logistics management from American Public University, where he is also currently enrolled in graduate school completing his master’s degree in management and organizational leadership.

“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to be joining the SSA. This has truly been a dream come true for me to return home and make the transition from a seagoing career to a shoreside role, where I can continue to utilize my training, education, and leadership experience to make a positive impact on the maritime industry,” Captain Baptiste said.

Mark Amundsen – Director of Marine Operations

Mark Amundsen brings more than 30 years of experience in operations, strategic planning, technical management, and engineering in the international shipping industry to his role as the Steamship Authority’s first-ever director of marine operations. His expertise includes strategic transportation business development, oversight of safety compliance, structuring and negotiating long-term contracts, cost control and purchasing elements, and presiding over dry dockings all over the world. He was most recently operations manager for Singapore Technologies Marine, operating ferry services in Europe. Previously, he was managing director for Nova Star Cruises Ltd., a ferry service operating between the US and Canada; and director, ship repair, at Irving Ship-building Inc. (ISI) in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He received his bachelor’s degree in Marine Engineering at Maine Maritime Academy, Castine, Maine, and is a licensed chief engineer of steam and motor vessels.

“After working with international passenger ferry services in Europe, I’m pleased to return to my native state of Massachusetts. It’s an honor to join Steamship Authority as I believe in the company’s mission, values and vision. I look forward to settling into the community and contributing to the future success of the company and our service,” Amundsen said.

The addition of the director of marine operations and HSQE positions were both among the ten (10) recommendations to emerge from HMS Consulting review. The port captain position was held vacant at the request of HMS Consulting representatives while they conducted their review for the latter half of 2018, and the human resources director position was left vacant following the 2018 retirement of Philip J. Parent.

Also among the HMS Consulting recommendations was to increase efforts to recruit from outside the organization; to that end, the Authority engaged the services of Flagship Consulting to recruit for the director of marine operations, port captain and HSQE positions and KLR Executive Search to recruit for the director of human resources position.

Captain Baptiste and Sampson started their employment with the Authority today; Ms. Kennefick plans to start April 29, 2019; and Mr. Amundsen plans to start May 6, 2019.

Photos of Capt. Baptiste, Mr. Amundsen and Mses. Sampson and Kennefick are attached to this statement.

For more information on the Steamship Authority’s implementation of the HMS Consulting recommendations, visit steamshipauthority.com/HMSreport.

By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center 

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