HOUSTON, Sept. 14, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Houston City Council today unanimously reappointed businessman Kase Lawal to the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority for a seventh term. He was initially appointed in June 1999. Commissioners serve two-year terms without pay.
A photo accompanying this release is available at http://media.globenewswire.com/poha/pages/exec.html
Lawal, who is the chairman of Port Authority's Small Business Development Task Force, indicated this will be his last term on the commission.
"Representing the city of Houston as a Port of Houston Authority commissioner is a true honor and significant responsibility, particularly given the port's vital economic role to not only the city, but this nation," Lawal said. "I appreciate the full confidence of the City Council and will continue to strive to represent the city and the port well."
City Councilmember James Rodriguez, who nominated Lawal for the reappointment, said Lawal's continued presence on the Port Commission is positive for the Port Authority as well as the city.
"It was my distinct honor to nominate Dr. Kase Lawal to the Port of Houston Authority," Rodriguez said. "Dr. Lawal's knowledge and experience in international affairs make him a major asset to the Port Commission. I am confident that his reappointment will keep our port and regional economy thriving."
Port Commission Chairman Jim Edmonds lauded the reappointment.
"Commissioner Lawal is a well-known and well-respected leader in the international business community," Edmonds said. "His work on the commission, particularly as a supporter of small business development and education, is welcomed."
Lawal is chairman and chief executive officer of CAMAC International Corporation, a multi-national energy corporation. CAMAC and its affiliates are engaged in oil and gas exploration and production, engineering services and crude oil and natural gas trading for worldwide markets. CAMAC has consistently ranked on the Forbes Magazine list of the 400 largest privately-owned corporations in the United States and on the Black Enterprise Magazine list as the second largest African-American owned company in the United States. In 2006, CAMAC was named the Company of the Year by Black Enterprise Magazine. Lawal is also the chairman of Allied Energy Corporation. Lawal is a significant stakeholder in Unity National Bank, the only federally insured and licensed African-American-owned bank in Texas, and also serves as vice chairman of the bank's board of directors.
Lawal brings an extensive history of civic service to his port position. He serves as a member of the White House Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN). He was appointed to the United States Trade Advisory Committee on Africa, reporting to President Bill Clinton, and was the U.S. Trade Representative on trade policy in Africa. He is a former member of the United States Council on the Business Development Committee of the U.S.- South Africa Binational Commission and the Board of Directors of the Corporate Council on Africa in Washington, D.C. He is also a former member of the Board of Directors of the World Trade Council of the Greater Houston Partnership.
In 2003, Lawal established a $1 million endowment at Texas Southern University to establish the Kase and Eileen Lawal Center for Global Trade at Jesse H. Jones School of Business. In 1992, he established a petroleum engineering endowment at the University of Houston's Cullen College of Engineering to benefit graduate petroleum engineering students. Lawal serves as the director of the Cullen Engineering Research Foundation and as a trustee for The Kinkaid School, which is a leading college preparatory school. He also co-chairs Unite for Children, United Against AIDS, a $300 million UNICEF campaign, with his wife Eileen Lawal.
Lawal is a graduate of Texas Southern University with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and later obtained a master's degree in business administration, finance and marketing from Prairie View A&M University of Texas. He was awarded honorary doctorates from Fort Valley State University and Texas Southern University.
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, there are more than 7,700 vessel calls at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage and second in overall total tonnage. The port authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. The second recertification of those facilities in 2009 included an extension for the state-of-the-art Bayport Container Terminal. PHA is the first port authority in the world to receive ISO 28000:2007 certification for Port Police and the perimeter security operations at both the Barbours Cut and Bayport Terminals. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com
To access the port's Web site photo gallery, please visit http://www.portofhouston.com/publicrelations/publicrelations.html and click the link for PHA Photo Gallery.
The Port of Houston Authority logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=720
