Mike Wilson to Receive CII Connie Award in December 2018

Roy Schleicher to Be Given Lifetime Achievement Honor at Newark Event

Holmdel, NJ - Michael (Mike) Wilson, Senior Vice President of Business Operations for Hamburg Sud North America, has been chosen to receive the 2018 Connie Award, award, presented by the Containerization and Intermodal Institute. Michael J. DiVirgilio, CII President, made the announcement.

In his current position, Mike Wilson is responsible for all Marine and Terminal Operations, Equipment and Intermodal, Finance and Accounting, Information Technology, Human Resources, Quality Management and Administration.

In addition, Roy Schleicher, who retired recently as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of the Port of Jacksonville (Jaxport) FL, will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The 2018 awardees were chosen following an industry-wide poll and were announced today by Mr. DiVirgilio. “Mike Wilson joins a stellar list of Connie recipients who have made significant contributions to the containerization industry. In addition, we are honoring Mike for his voluntary leadership in organizations that help the industry navigate through changes,” said Mr. DiVirgilio. “Roy Schleicher’s nearly half-century of commitment in many phases of our industry has made him deserving of the Lifetime Achievement honor.”

Mike Wilson has more than 39 years of experience in International Shipping, where his past duties have included senior positions in Logistics, Operations, and Customer Service covering a geographical scope that includes North America, Europe, Central America, the Caribbean and North Coast of South America. Mike has worked for some well-known companies in the industry including United States Lines, Crowley Maritime, United Arab Shipping and Atlantic Container Line, in addition to Hamburg Süd.

Mike is also active in several industry organizations. He is a Board Member and past Chairman of the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA), he is also Vice-Chairman and a member of the Executive Committee of OCEMA (Ocean Carriers Equipment Management Association), and he serves as Chairman of OCEMA’s CCM (Consolidated Chassis Management) subsidiary. Mike is also a past Board Member of the NYSA (New York Shipping Association), and is an active participant on the NYNJ Council on Port Performance.

Philanthropically, Mike is Vice President of the Board of Directors for Samaritan Inn, a 501C3 serving homeless families in Sussex County NJ. Mike is also a member of St. Kateri Parish where he has been an active member for over 30 years. Mike was also a member and coach in the Sparta NJ Community Football and Lacrosse programs for over eight years and is a past member of the National Youth Sports Coach’s Association. Mike holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the State University of NY at Cortland, and Advanced Logistics training at Northwestern University. Mike lives in Sparta, NJ and works out of the company’s Morristown NJ office.

Roy Schleicher retired as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Jacksonville Port Authority. Schleicher has more than 40 years of experience in the maritime industry. He served as JAXPORT’s Executive Vice President since 2011 following 10 years leading the port’s international cargo marketing efforts and has oversaw more than a decade of volume and revenue growth. Schleicher was a leader of the negotiating team, which secured the contract with MOL for the TraPac Container Terminal at Dames Point and led the port’s development of future terminals.

Roy is a seasoned transportation & logistics professional with over 49 years of experience in various positions in the industry. Prior to Roy forming his new company, Schleicher Solutions LLC, he was, for the past 17 years, the Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer at the Jacksonville Port Authority. Along with leading the port’s business development initiatives, Roy was also involved in every facet of the port’s operation, terminal expansion and strategic planning. During Roy’s tenure, total annual port revenue more than doubled, and record numbers were achieved in autos, cargo tonnage and containers, which alone increased by over 1 million TEUs, making Jacksonville the premier container port in Florida.

Prior to his joining JAXPORT, he was the Senior Director of Marketing at the Port of Baltimore, Maryland Port Administration. He also served in senior management roles at container, breakbulk and RoRo Ocean Carriers, Stevedoring, trucking and barge companies, including NSCSA (America), Hale Intermodal, U. S. Navigation, F.W. Hartmann & Co, Penn-Maryland/Terminal Shipping, Maher Terminals and Eckert Overseas/OOCL. His expertise includes commercial marketing and sales, vessel and terminal operations, intermodal and international relationships. He currently resides in Atlantic Beach, FL with his wife Pam.

At the Connie Awards event, CII also carries out its education mission by presenting scholarships to students and institutions that share the same commitment to educating the future generations. Under the auspices of CII, nearly $900,000 in scholarships has been awarded since 1992.