The Board of Directors for Port Saint John announced the appointment of Craig Bell Estabrooks as President and Chief Executive Officer.
Over the past decade, Craig has worked in progressively responsible leadership positions at Port Saint John. These roles have included managing both government relations and the strategic planning process and being instrumental in the Port’s rebranding. Recently Craig had been promoted from Director to Vice President of Corporate Services, a department which included his former areas of responsibility in government relations and strategic planning but added leadership of the finance, human resources, and information technology functions for the Port.
Craig holds both a Bachelor of Arts (UNB) and Master of Arts (Dalhousie) in political science. He has recently achieved alumni status at Harvard Business School having completed its Comprehensive Program for Leadership Development (PLDA).
Born and raised in Saint John, Craig is a strong community advocate, he has been awarded both the Community Builder Award by FUSION Saint John (2013) and the YMCA Red Triangle Leader to Watch (2016). Over the past ten years, Craig has contributed his skills on Boards such as Sculpture Saint John, Crescent Valley Resource Centre, Living Saint John, Saint John Learning Exchange, Fort LaTour Development Authority, and Saint John High School Alumni Association.
“The Board of Directors selected Craig Bell Estabrooks as our next President & CEO due to his clear and strong vision for how Port Saint John will continue to adapt to major global issues around climate change, energy transition, and supply chain resiliency. He is keenly focused on how we can all continue to grow as a community and Province by leveraging the infrastructure capacity created by the West Side Modernization, as it comes online in 2023. Also, as evidenced by his involvement in this community, Craig is committed to ensuring that the relationship between the Port, City and citizens is at the core of decision making on the waterfront,” said Lisa Keenan, Chair of the Board of Directors.
Craig is thrilled at the opportunity to work with a dynamic Board and management team, and with the innovative and energized group of employees at Port Saint John who commit day-in and day-out to the Port’s core purpose of providing infrastructure and facilitating business which drives economic activity for the region. Craig and his wife Emily Teed live in Uptown Saint John.
Craig will assume his new duties November 22, 2021.
The Board of Directors wishes to thank Captain Chris Hall for his dedication to the role of Interim President & CEO over the past several months. Since the beginning of July, Chris has done an exemplary job leading the organization through the search period all the while he continued to carry out the vital functions of his role as Vice President, Operations and Harbour Master for Port Saint John.
Port Saint John is Canada’s Atlantic Canada’s largest port by tonnage and has a diverse cargo base, including dry and liquid bulk, break bulk, containers, and cruise.
