Port Executive Director Bill Wyatt Announces Retirement Date

Port of Portland Executive Director Bill Wyatt formally announced to the Port Commissioners that he will retire from the Port on June 30, 2017.

“It has been an enormous privilege to have served the Port for the past 16 years,” said Wyatt. “The Port’s best successes during my tenure have been the result of collaboration and partnership and I want to thank the many stakeholders and community members who have played a role in helping the Port carry out its mission of providing access to global markets and land for job creation. I also continue to be impressed by and want to acknowledge the talented, passionate employees of the Port who work every day to ensure alignment with regional needs, expectations and values.”

 “I believe the Port has never been in a stronger position to address opportunities and challenges than it is today,” he said. “I will leave in June knowing the future is bright for this organization.”

Wyatt was selected to lead the Port in 2001 and he began work just weeks after the September 11 attacks. In addition to the many changes at the airport those events generated, Wyatt’s Port career has included some major milestones in the organization’s history.

His legacy of accomplishments includes:

At PDX…

• A return of international service - In 2001 there was only one international flight to Vancouver, BC. Now PDX has nonstop international service to 11 destinations.

• Ranked best airport in the U.S. for the past four years by Travel and Leisure magazine readers and as highest in customer satisfaction for the past two years by JD Power.

• $2 billion to be invested in airport improvements in the next few years.

At the marine terminals…

• Several hundred million dollars of infrastructure investment made by Port marine terminal tenants following the $199 million Columbia River navigation channel deepening project leading to the growth and retention of key waterfront jobs.

• Significant growth in auto shipping induced by the start of exports of American-made Fords and Lincolns to Asia.

Within the Port’s property holdings…

• Completion of the state’s largest brownfield redevelopment project at Troutdale Reynolds Industrial Park. Now home to FedEx Ground and more than 800 jobs.

• Acquisition of Gresham Vista Business Park, home to a master Subaru parts distribution facility.

The Port’s environmental accomplishments…

• Reduced Port-wide greenhouse gas emissions from Port sources to 20 percent below 1990 levels.

• Planted 10,000 trees as mitigation for various airport development projects.

• Initiated the Port’s Environmental Management Program and achieved Port-wide ISO 14001 certification.

• Ranked 10th nationally in Local Government Green Power purchasers, Green Power Partner, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The port has purchased renewable energy credits equivalent to 100 percent of Port-wide electric energy since July 2010.

“Bill has been a skilled, dynamic and admired leader and I know I speak for all of the Commission when I say how grateful we are for his unparalleled service,” said Port Commission President Jim Carter.

The Port’s nine Commissioners hold responsibility for selecting the Executive Director. A recruitment process will be announced later this week.

Prior to his appointment as the Port’s Executive Director, Wyatt served as Chief of Staff to former Oregon Governor John A. Kitzhaber for seven years, preceded by six years as President of the Oregon Business Council, and five years as Executive Director of the Association for Portland Progress, then, Portland’s downtown development association. A native Oregonian, raised in Astoria, Wyatt served as a state representative from the Astoria area from 1974–1977.