The Greater Houston Port Bureau  announced that Roger Guenther, retired executive director of Port Houston, has been named the 2025 Maritime Leader of the Year. Guenther will be honored at the Port Bureau’s Annual Maritime Dinner on August 23, 2025. The Port Bureau Board of Directors named Guenther as the 2025 honoree for his leadership and commitment to the port region.

Guenther joined Port Houston in 1988, serving as executive director from 2014 until he retired in 2024. Prior to this, he served as deputy executive director of operations and was responsible for all container and breakbulk cargo operations, management and construction of capital development projects, facility and asset maintenance, and real estate interests. Guenther was appointed by Governor Gregg Abbott to the board of the Gulf Coast Protection District and continues to support the maritime industry in this role.

“We recognize Roger Guenther as the Greater Houston Port Bureau’s 2025 Maritime Leader of the Year. For over 35 years, he demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the growth and success of our maritime industry and made a profound impact on the port of Houston and beyond,” said Vincent DiCosimo, chairman of the Greater Houston Port Bureau. “His remarkable contributions to Project 11 – the expansion of the Houston Ship Channel – ensured that our region remains a global leader in trade and commerce.”

In May 2022, Guenther was also inducted into the International Maritime Hall of Fame by the Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey for his leadership and dedication to advancing the industry through innovation and determination. He was also appointed to the Maritime Transportation System National Advisory Committee by Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, and has also served on numerous other boards and committees, including the Texas Department of Transportation’s Texas Freight Advisory Committee, the Greater Houston Port Bureau, and more.

“I am humbled and honored to receive this award. As a former board member of the Port Bureau, I know how much the Maritime Dinner means to the maritime community, and I am excited to be a part of it,” said Guenther.

The Houston Ship Channel is the nation’s busiest waterway. Collectively, the more than 200 private and public terminals along the 52-mile channel make the area the nation’s largest port for waterborne tonnage. The Channel supports 1.54 million jobs in Texas and 3.37 million jobs nationwide, and economic activity totaling $439 billion in Texas – nearly 20 percent of Texas’ total gross domestic product (GDP) – and $906 billion in economic impact across the nation

Over 800 maritime, transportation, and industry professionals and their guests attend the Annual Maritime Dinner to recognize maritime leaders or companies that have exhibited outstanding leadership and support for the port region. Recent honorees include Jürgen Schröder, founder of Schröder Marine Services, Inc., David Grzebinski, CEO of Kirby Marine Services, Port Houston Commission Chairman Ric Campo, and Jim Teague, Co-CEO of Enterprise Products Partners L.P.,

The Annual Maritime Dinner is supported by Title sponsor Port Houston and Queen of the Fleet sponsors Callen Marine, Enterprise Products Partners L.P., Kinder Morgan, Targa Resources, and Vopak. Proceeds from the Annual Maritime Dinner support the Port Bureau’s regional maritime advocacy efforts. Table and sponsorship opportunities and additional information are available online at www.txgulf.org/annual-dinner.

Source: BUSINESS WIRE