People News: IntelliTrans, GATX, Port NOLA, STV

From Left to Right: Jim Bell, Chief Technology Officer, IntelliTrans; Ronald J. Wendel Jr., Acting President and CEO of Port NOLA and Acting CEO of NOPB; Philip Hanegraaf, Senior Vice President, STV; and Patricia Macchi, Vice President, STV. (Photos Courtesy of IntelliTrans, Port NOLA and STV)

IntelliTrans hires Jim Bell as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Also, GATX Corporation (GATX) announces a transition plan for Vice President – Government and Industry Affairs at Rail North America; the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) appoints Ronald Wendel Jr. as Acting President and CEO of Port NOLA and Acting CEO of New Orleans Public Belt Railroad (NOPB); and STV promotes Philip Hanegraaf to Senior Vice President and Patricia Macchi to Vice President.

IntelliTrans

Multimodal transportation management solutions provider IntelliTrans on May 21 announced that it has hired Jim Bell as CTO. In this role, Bell will lead the company’s technology initiatives to “enhance existing and future IntelliTrans transportation management solutions,” the company stated in a release.

“The addition of Bell to the senior leadership team is a strategic move for IntelliTrans, and his 25 years of extensive experience and technical expertise will help drive the strategic vision of innovative, best-in-class solutions for customers,” the company added.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jim Bell to the IntelliTrans team,” said IntelliTrans President and CEO Chad Raube. “Jim is a visionary technologist with a demonstrated history of building world-class teams and innovating processes at leading SaaS and technology-driven service companies. Our goal is to lead the way in excellence within the bulk and break bulk TMS sector, and Jim’s deep expertise and strategic insights will be pivotal in achieving these goals and empowering our customers to succeed.”

Most recently, Bell served as Senior Vice President of Engineering at Transcendent, an operations management software company whose platform facilitates the management of billions in assets and inventory, where he shepherded the technology roadmap, development, testing, and infrastructure of enterprise inventory, asset management, and supply chain optimization software. For private equity-backed SaaS ventures and various other companies, including AT&T, Chick-fil-A, and KPMG, Bell has delivered a host of mission-critical projects, led distributed technology teams in a dozen countries, and held multiple executive-level positions.

“With IntelliTrans’ impressive history, I am deeply honored to be joining a company so devoted to excellence and a leading provider of transportation management solutions around the world,” said Bell. “As we evolve and expand our offering to tackle the supply chain’s biggest opportunities, I look forward to working with our talented teams to ensure IntelliTrans’ continued growth. Like myself, our people are excited and committed to making a positive impact by solving critical challenges for our clients, launching new products and features, and introducing innovative new concepts.”

Bellearned his Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Duke University, a Master of Science in Engineering degree in Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley, and an MBA from the Scheller College of Business at Georgia Institute of Technology.

GATX

GATX on May 21 announced that Wesley J. Lujan will be appointed Vice President, Government and Industry Affairs, succeeding Terrence G. Heidkamp, who will retire at the end of 2024. In his new role, Lujan will be responsible for GATX’s relationships with North American rail industry associations and regulatory and legislative bodies.

Lujan will join GATX from Union Pacific (UP) after his tenure ends on July 5, 2024. At UP, Lujan has served in a variety of government and public affairs roles for 17 years, most recently as Assistant Vice President of External Relations. Lujan and Heidkamp will work together over a six-month transition period once Lujan formally joins GATX.

“We are pleased to welcome Wes to GATX,” said Paul F. Titterton, Executive Vice President and President of GATX Rail North America. “His extensive experience makes him well-suited to represent and promote GATX’s interests with the many government and industry bodies with whom we interact regularly. This announcement is bittersweet for GATX as we will miss Terry. We are grateful for Terry’s three-plus decades of dedicated and capable service to GATX and the rail industry, and we wish him the very best in his retirement.”

Lujan holds a bachelor’s degree from California State University at Chico and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California. He will continue to be located in the Washington, DC area.

Port NOLA

The Port NOLA Board of Commissioners on May 21 formally confirmed Ronald J. Wendel, Jr., who is currently serving as Port NOLA’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, to become the Acting President and CEO of Port NOLA and Acting CEO of NOPB in June following the departure of current President and CEO Brandy Christian, who has accepted the role of CEO of Patriot Rail.

Wendel, who joined Port NOLA in 2015, “brings a wealth of experience to the role and is poised to ensure that key strategic initiatives,” like the $1.8 billion-dollar Louisiana International Terminal, move forward without interruption, according to the Port.

“The Port NOLA Board and its executive team are focused on assuring a smooth and transparent process to maintain operational continuity during this leadership transition period,” said Board Chairman Walter Leger, Jr. “We are confident in Wendel’s experience and welcome the opportunity to work alongside him and the Port NOLA / NOPB teams to drive growth and success. Simultaneously, the Board is committed to ensuring a thoughtful process for determining the permanent President and CEO of Port NOLA and CEO of NOPB. We will continue engaging with the Governor’s Office, State officials, the maritime industry, and other stakeholders to ensure that the State’s priorities, including the Louisiana International Terminal at Violet and any additional port infrastructure projects, are given the foremost consideration to drive Louisiana toward the top of the global supply chain.”

According to the Port, Wendel has been a key figure in securing $800 million in commitments from future private Louisiana International Terminal operators Ports America and Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), the investment arm of Mediterranean Shipping Company, and has been a mainstay in commercial negotiations across Port NOLA and NOPB’s lines of business. Additionally, he spearheaded an improvement in Port NOLA’s bond rating while financing more than $260 million in public and private placement bonds to fund the Capital Investment Program, including the $140 million expansion of the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal.

“We are grateful for Brandy Christian’s visionary leadership and contributions to Port NOLA and NOPB throughout her tenure, which have set the stage for continued progress and success,” Wendel. “I am proud to have been part of the management team that Brandy developed over the past nine years and even more humbled for the opportunity to work alongside our staff and stakeholders in a new role to drive innovation, enhance efficiency, and foster sustainable growth.”

STV

STV on May 22 announced that Philip Hanegraaf, FAICP, has been promoted to Senior Vice President. With this promotion, Hanegraaf will continue to serve as STV’s National Planning Director where he oversees a data-driven multidisciplinary practice that includes transportation planning, multimodal planning, regional and community planning and project development.

“Phil brings a forward-thinking vision of urban, environmental and transportation concepts that extend beyond the traditional approaches to planning,” said Marcos Díaz González, Executive Vice President and Director of the Centers of Excellence at STV. “His leadership has allowed our team to provide planning services with a focus on sustainability and equity to make a generational impact on our communities.”

Since joining STV in 2016, Hanegraaf has “significantly expanded the footprint of the firm’s planning practice and played a key part in integrating new and expanded capabilities, including infrastructure economics, grant advisory, mobility technologies and zero-emissions master planning,” according to STV. He is an accomplished leader in planning with more than 40 years of experience with a focus and passion for transportation, land use planning and civic purpose. Hanegraaf collaborates with STV’s rail, transit, highway, MPO/regional and multimodal planning teams and clients to create better outcomes for communities.

Additionally, Hanegraaf has led or played key leadership roles in winning and executing work on landmark planning projects, such as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s Cross Harbor Freight Program Tier II EIS; Go Triangle’s Commuter Rail Feasibility in Raleigh, North Carolina; the Dallas Fort Worth Airport Landside Planning and Program Management in Texas; and on-call planning and program management for bus rapid transit in Montgomery County, Maryland.

He is an active industry steward, most recently being named a Fellow at the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University. He was also elected Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and is a member of the American Planning Association (APA), American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and the Lambda Alpha International Land Economics Fraternity.

Hanegraaf earned his Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Additionally, STV on May 22 announced that Patricia Macchi has been promoted to Vice President. In this role, Macchi will serve as STV’s national director of infrastructure economics and grants advisory, “providing guidance and leadership on grant strategy, development and management, benefit-cost analyses, economic impact assessments, financial advisory and other services.”

“Patricia has an exceptional understanding of the grant economics environment and delivered an impressive track record for securing crucial funding for our clients,” said González. “With an unprecedented number of funding programs at the federal, state and local levels, Patricia’s skillset and leadership has allowed STV to meet this watershed moment for clients and help communities get the funding they need for transformative infrastructure.”

Since joining STV, Macchi has led successful grant applications and economic analysis for a broad range of clients including Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in Texas, Maryland Department of Transportation, Pace Suburban Bus in Illinois, Hampton Roads Transit in Virginia and New York City School Bus Umbrella Services.

Last year, she led the development of G.R.A.N.T.S. (Grant Research and Analysis Navigation Tool System), STV’s digital tool to aid in grant research and analysis. “Leveraging advanced and targeted analytics, the tool compiles federal, state, regional and local grant information from trusted websites about upcoming application opportunities, allowing clients to more efficiently and effectively identify grant opportunities that apply to the unique infrastructure needs that will most benefit their local community,” according to STV.

Macchi is an active steward and leader within the industry. She was most recently elected to the Board of Directors for the 2024-2026 WTS Foundation, which initiates research and provides scholarship opportunities, as well as educational opportunities to advance women in transportation. She is also an active member of the WTS Washington, D.C., Chapter and Women of Electric Vehicles, and recently completed the Eno Center for Transportation’s 2024 Senior Executive Program.

Macchi earned her Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and her Master of Arts in Economics from Boston University.