Board of Directors
Bill H. Stern - Chairman, Columbia, SC
John F. Hassell, III - Vice Chairman, Charleston, SC
S. Richard Hagins - Treasurer, Simpsonville, SC
Colden R. Battey, Jr. - Secretary, Beaufort, SC
Whitemarsh S. Smith, III - Charleston, SC
Harry J. Butler, Jr. - Georgetown, SC
David J. Posek - Pawleys Island, SC
Karen K. Floyd - Spartanburg, SC
Douglas M. Robertson - Bluffton, SC
H.B. “Buck” Limehouse (ex-officio) - Charleston, SC
Joe E. Taylor, Jr. (ex-officio) - Columbia, SC
Executive Management
James I. (Jim) Newsome, III
President and CEO (843) 577-8600
Paul G. McClintock
SVP and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) (843) 577-8151
William A. McLean
SVP, Operations (843) 577-8603
Peter N. Hughes
SVP and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) (843) 577-8140
Joe T. Bryant
VP, Terminal Development (843) 577-8611
Stephen E. Connor
VP, Security, Risk Mgmt. and Human Resources (843) 577-8134
Sarah S. Gaillard
VP, Carrier Sales (843) 577-8689
Barbara L. Melvin
VP, Government Relations (843) 577-8799
Pamela A. Everitt
Chief Information Officer (CIO) (843) 577-8678
Peter O. Lehman, Esq.
Director, Business Development (843) 577-8601
L. David Schronce
Director, Port of Georgetown (843) 527-4476
Byron D. Miller
Director, Marketing, Public Relations and Planning (843) 577-8197
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James I. (Jim) Newsome, III
Mr. Newsome became President & CEO of the South Carolina State Ports Authority on September 1, 2009 and is only the fifth leader in the history of the organization. He was previously President of Hapag-Lloyd (America), Inc., which is part of the world’s fifth-largest ocean shipping company. Prior to joining Hapag-Lloyd in 1997, Mr. Newsome was with Nedlloyd Lines from 1987 to 1997. He was Executive Vice President of the Americas for Nedlloyd Lines and President of Nedlloyd Lines (USA) Corporation based in Atlanta. In this capacity, he was the first non-Dutch member of the Executive Committee of Nedlloyd Lines and was responsible for North and Latin America and the Transatlantic trade. He held other senior management positions within that company. Before that, Mr. Newsome spent 10 years with Strachan Shipping Company, where he was President of their Hoegh Lines Agencies subsidiary in Jersey City, NJ. He held other positions in Houston, Texas and New York City, with Strachan. A Savannah native, Mr. Newsome received a bachelor’s degree in Transportation and Logistics in 1976 and an MBA in Transportation and Logistics in 1977 from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Paul G. McClintock
Mr. McClintock is Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for the S.C. State Ports Authority. His areas of responsibility include all sales and marketing efforts for Charleston and Georgetown, as well as real estate and cruise development functions. Mr. McClintock has more than 26 years of experience in maritime, logistics, sales and operations management experience. He previously served as Vice President North America Sales for MOL (America) Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), one of the world’s largest multi-modal shipping companies. Mr. McClintock earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Scranton. He joined the Authority in 2009.
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William A. McLean
Mr. McLean earned a bachelor of science degree from Appalachian State University. Mr. McLean’s experience in port operations began in 1979 with US Lines where he started as a manager trainee and held various positions in increasing levels of responsibility including the position of US Lines Port manager at Baltimore. In 1987 Mr. McLean joined Sea-Land services as Terminal Operations Manager in Jacksonville. In 1994 he moved to Houston, where he was promoted to Port Manager. Mr. McLean joined the Authority in 1997.
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Peter N. Hughes
Mr. Hughes earned a degree in business administration (accounting) from the College of Charleston. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Internal Auditor. Before joining the Authority, he worked in the public accounting industry. Mr. Hughes joined the Authority in 1983 and has held the positions of Internal Auditor, Manager – General Accounting and Controller before his promotion to Chief Financial Officer in 1996. Mr. Hughes is a member of the South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants, The American Association of Port Authorities Finance Committee and the Institute of Internal Auditors.
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Joe T. Bryant
Mr. Bryant earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a licensed professional engineer in Tennessee, Texas and South Carolina. Mr. Bryant was an engineer with Quaker Oats and the Lemm Corporation of Memphis, Tennessee. Before joining the Authority in 1985, Mr. Bryant was president and chief operating officer of the Lemm Corporation, an operator of bulk storage facilities. Mr. Bryant is a frequent lecturer at the College of Charleston’s Intermodal Transportation Professional Training Course and has taught transportation classes for the College of Charleston’s College of Business Administration. Mr. Bryant was the Senior Director, Engineering and Operations prior to being promoted to Vice President, Terminal Development in 1997.
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Stephen E. Connor
Mr. Connor earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the College of Charleston. He joined the Ports Authority in 1981 working in Operations. In 1982, he transferred to the Finance Division as Claims Investigator and was promoted to Manager, Risk and Claims in 1987. Mr. Connor was appointed to Director, Security, Risk Management and Human Resources in 2004 and was recently promoted to Vice President, Security, Risk Management and Human Resources. Mr. Connor is a South Carolina licensed all-lines adjuster. He serves as president of the Palmetto Chapter of the Risk and Insurance Management Society and is an active member of the Propeller Club of the Port of Charleston. Mr. Connor serves on emergency planning and response committees at the federal, state and local levels. He is also very involved in church and civic activities.
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Sarah Gaillard
Ms. Gaillard is Vice President, Carrier Sales, leading ocean carrier sales efforts for South Carolina’s public ports system. A native of Charleston, Ms. Gaillard has more than 33 years of experience in the shipping industry. Most recently, she was Director of Container Logistics at the North Carolina State Ports Authority, where she spent 19 years in various sales and management positions. Prior to that, she was Vice President of Sales for the Charleston-based Palmetto Shipping and Stevedoring Company, where she developed an extensive background in container operations. Gaillard attended the College of Charleston and joined the Ports Authority in 2010.
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Barbara L. Melvin
Ms. Melvin is responsible for lobbying local, state and federal public officials on the Authority's behalf. She received a bachelor's degree in political science from Georgia Southern University with a minor in international relations. Before joining the SPA in 1998, Ms. Melvin was Director of Government Relations for the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce. She previously served as a policy analyst for the Georgia Governor's Office of Planning and Budget. Ms. Melvin is a member of the South Carolina Advisory Council of the United States Global Leadership Coalition and serves on the Public Policy Committee of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce. She formerly served on the board for Communities in Schools and the South Carolina Maritime Foundation.
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Pamela A. Everitt
Ms. Everitt earned a Masters of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Citadel and received an A.S. in Computer Science from the University of Indianapolis. Before joining the Authority Ms. Everitt worked for Coleman Information Services and the Medical University of South Carolina for a combined 17 years of information systems knowledge including extensive project management and software development experience. Ms. Everitt is an active member of Charleston Women in International Trade, the Propeller Club of the Port of Charleston, the American Association of Port Authorities Information Technology Committee, and Terminal Operator and Port Authority Subcommittee for EDI Standards Development.
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Peter O. Lehman, Esq.
Mr. Lehman earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Stetson University, earned a certificate of advanced study from the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird), and obtained his juris doctorate degree from the New England School of Law. He is a licensed attorney and is a member of the South Carolina, New Jersey and District of Columbia Bars as well as 10 Federal Courts including The Supreme Court of the United States.
Before joining the Authority in 1997 he was executive director of the S.C. World Trade Center-Charleston for four years. He has prior experience in international trade and marketing with two private companies and as senior foreign-trade representative for the State of New Jersey’s Department of Commerce. Mr. Lehman is a past president of the Propeller Club of the Port of Charleston and a past chair of the American Association of Port Authorities’ Planning and Research Committee.
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L. David Schronce
Mr. Schronce received his business degree from Washington University, Washington, DC. He also received an associated degree in Transportation Management from Greenville Technical College. Mr. Schronce joined the Authority in 1980 as Assistant Regional Manager, Piedmont Region. He was promoted in 1984 to Manager, Trade Development at the Port of Georgetown. He has served as Director of both the Port of Georgetown and Port of Port Royal since 1993. Before joining the Authority he worked for nine years with a major trucking company serving in both operations and sales. He also worked for Flour Daniel Construction as the Traffic Manager, Puerto Rican Projects for two years.
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Byron D. Miller
Mr. Miller is Director of Marketing, Public Relations and Planning for the South Carolina State Ports Authority, where he is responsible for external communications and serves as the Authority's spokesman. Mr. Miller earned bachelor's degrees in French and in business administration from The College of Charleston, with a concentration in global logistics and transportation. Mr. Miller is an active volunteer on the boards of various associations, including the Propeller Club and the Charleston Motor Carriers Association. He currently serves as Southeast Regional Vice-President for the International Propeller Club. Mr. Miller joined the Ports Authority in 1993.
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