Board & management

David joined PD Ports in August 2002 as Managing Director of Teesport.

He started his port career at the Port of Felixstowe and in 1994 he went to Hong Kong to manage the Hutchison Port Holdings container operations in that territory. During this period he led a major expansion programme and helped create what is now the world's largest container terminal.

David was appointed Chief Executive Officer of PD Ports in 2006 and under his leadership has delivered a series of new investments, which has driven the Port's development and positioned PD Ports to be at the heart of growth in the North East economy.

In 2011 David was recognised as one of the most important 25 people in the UK’s freight industry by leading trade publication, IFW.

In 2012 David was appointed Regional Ambassador to HRH The Prince of Wales for his leadership in convening business to help improve the skills and aspirations of young people on Teesside.

Dermot joined PD Ports in March 2000 as Group Financial Controller.

A modern history graduate from Oxford university, Dermot started his career with Deloitte Haskins & Sells (later Coopers & Lybrand Deloitte) and in 1989 qualified as a chartered accountant.  Dermot went on to hold senior finance roles at Grainger Trust plc and Northumbrian Water Group.

During his career with PD Ports, Dermot was closely involved with the sale to Nikko and consequent refinancing of the business in the period 2000-2001, with the sale, flotation and Full Listing in 2004, and with the Group's acquisition by Babcock & Brown Infrastructure in 2005-06.

In May 2006, PD Ports appointed Dermot as Group Chief Financial Officer.

Dermot is a regional councillor for the CBI.

Jerry has been employed by PD Ports and its predecessors since 1976.

In 2009 Jerry was appointed Managing Directors Bulks, Ports & Logistics. Today, Jerry plays an instrumental role overseeing the Company’s commercial logistics and bulks activities. He is also a key driver in positioning the Port of Hartlepool as a centre of excellence for the European wind energy market. 

His early career involved the setting up of operations to provide port logistics to the offshore energy industry in both the Irish and North Sea. As Group Operations Director for PD Ports on the Humber he and his colleagues developed various short sea ports on the Rivers Ouse and Trent and the main stevedoring operator in the deepwater ports of Immingham and Grimsby.

Jerry was instrumental in leading the privatisation of port operations in the Humber, following the repeal of the National Dock Labour Scheme.

Frans joined PD Ports in May 2008.

Frans brings considerable experience in the development of container terminals throughout Europe and in the USA, gained during a very progressive career within APM Terminals.

As Senior Project Manager Business Development for APM Terminals International, he led the $100 million JV Project between APMT and CMA/CGM to deliver a 30 year concession for the Port of Mobile, Alabama.

In his last role as General Manager Project Implementation and Business Development, amongst other notable achievements Frans had been instrumental in the successful APMT bid for the first concession at the new Rotterdam Maasvlakte 2 development.

Michael joined PD Ports as Group Property Director in 2007.

An estate management graduate from what was then Newcastle Polytechnic, Michael qualified as a professional associate of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 1991, and has worked for a variety of organisations including holding senior positions in local Government.

A chartered surveyor with in excess of 20 years experience working in both the public and private sector, Michael has extensive experience in property valuation, acquisition, disposal, management and development.

Prior to joining PD Ports, Michael was Head of Property at the urban regeneration company, Sunderland arc, and was responsible for master planning, assembling and marketing a number of major development sites as part of a £1.3 billion programme to regenerate Sunderland City Centre and the River Wear Corridor.

In his role with PD Ports, Michael is responsible for the management of the property portfolio. Recent transactions include the Tesco distribution warehouse at Teesport and JDR Cables at Hartlepool.

Michael is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the North East Chamber of Commerce Tees Valley Committee, Hartlepool Economic Regeneration Forum and the Compulsory Purchase Association.

Russ was appointed Human Resources Director in September 2002.

Russ joined PD Ports from London Luton Airport where, as Director, he helped deliver major cost reductions and restructuring programmes, prior to the sale of the business to TBI plc. Prior to this Russ worked for the Unipart Group.

During his career with PD Ports, Russ has been instrumental in delivering a number restructuring programmes throughout the business.  He also played a significant role in positioning PD Ports as one world’s first ports to receive certification to British Standard 25999-2 (Business Continuity Management) by the Institution.  Most recently Russ was integral in PD Ports’ accreditation to International Environmental Management Standard ISO 14001.

Geoff joined PD Ports as Business Development Director in 2011.

A marketing graduate from Salford University, Geoff started his career as Transport Controller for Overseas Containers Limited (OCL).

Geoff has over 30 years experience in the logistics and transport industry with a background in operational and general management, as well as in business development. His experience includes senior appointments in the shipping and ports logistics sectors, and more recently with Kuehne + Nagel, where he held the position of Vice President, Global Business Development. During his career, Geoff has also worked at ABP, BOC and a number of other major logistics businesses in senior role.

In his role at PD Ports, Geoff is responsible for driving the commercial business development activities across the Company.