Outgoing Port Nelson Limited Chief Executive Officer Martin Byrne has joined an elite group of only three New Zealanders
to be awarded honorary life membership of the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH).
The announcement was made at the AGM of the IAPH during the recent 2019 World Ports Conference in Guangzhou, China which
was attended by more than 1,000 delegates from 60 countries and regions.
Honorary life membership of IAPH was bestowed upon outgoing IAPH Secretary General Susumu Narase, former Chair of the
Cruise Committee and long serving member IAPH member and current member of French Parliament, Monica Bonvalet and Martin
Byrne.
The IAPH has been the global ports forum for industry collaboration and excellence since 1955. It is headquartered in
Tokyo, Japan and has a membership of 230 ports from 90 different countries.
During his time with IAPH Mr Byrne served as the NZ Executive Director from 2011 until he was appointed as Vice
President representing Asia / Oceania in April 2016, a position he held until stepping down in late 2017. He also served
as Chairman of the IAPH Communications and Community Relations Committee.
The announcement of the honorary life membership took Mr Byrne completely by surprise and he expressed his sincere
appreciation for the honour bestowed on him by the IAPH members and was proud of the contribution he had made to the
organisation. During his tenure with the organisation, the IAPH faced a time of considerable change as it sought to meet
the evolving expectations of their members.
Previous New Zealand recipients of honorary IAPH membership include former Ports of Auckland CEO Robert Cooper and
former Port of Napier CEO Garth Cowie.
Mr Byrne has served as Chief Executive of Port Nelson since January 2004 and will step down from that position in the
coming months.