Crowley Promotes Jose Pache Ayala to Vice President, Puerto Rico

Crowley Maritime Corporation announced that Jose “Pache” Ayala has been promoted to vice president, Puerto Rico. Ayala will remain in San Juan, and will now report to John Douglass, senior vice president and general manager of Puerto Rico and Caribbean services.

In his new role, Ayala will oversee all liner operations on the island, provide support for local sales management, and work to enhance Crowley’s service offerings. He will also act as the primary company representative when dealing with the Puerto Rico Ports Authority, government officials, shipping associations and major customer accounts in the region.

“Pache has made great strides managing costs, forming an extremely efficient management team and building an outstanding rapport with customers,” said Douglass. “His experience and determination to streamline operations and find the best solutions for customers have helped improve the company’s responsiveness and services in Puerto Rico, and will only continue driving operational excellence.”

Prior to his promotion, Ayala had been general manager of the company’s Puerto Rico liner operations, directing port operations, equipment control, information technology, and materials management, as well as carrying out financial and administrative duties. He joined Crowley in 2009 as an intermodal manager in Jacksonville, and prior to that, had spent 12 years with Crowley in the late 1980s-90s in barge operations.

“I look forward to working with everyone on the Crowley team to take our operations to the next level, create more growth opportunities and expand our capabilities and offerings for our customers,” said Ayala.

Crowley and its predecessor company have been serving the Puerto Rico market since 1954, longer than any other carrier in the trade. The company, with about 200 Puerto Rico employees, is the number one shipping line between the U.S. and Puerto Rico, transporting more goods to and from the island than and other line, and has the most weekly sailings between the island commonwealth and the U.S. mainland.