Biography provided by participant
Christopher O. Ward is currently the Executive Director of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (and President of the Port Authority's wholly owned entities: Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation, the Newark Legal and Communications Center Urban Renewal Corporation, and the New York and New Jersey Railroad Corporation). He was appointed on May 22, 2008. He previously served at the Port Authority as Chief of Planning and External Affairs, as well as Director of Port Redevelopment from 1997 to 2002.
Immediately prior to being appointed Executive Director of the Port Authority, Ward served for over two years as Managing Director of The General Contractors Association of New York, Inc. (GCA), where he directed and managed the major trade association that represents the heavy construction industry in the City of New York.
Before joining the GCA, Ward spent a year as Chief Executive Officer of American Stevedoring, Inc., a stevedoring and port services company headquartered at the Brooklyn Port Authority Marine Terminal with major operations at the Elizabeth Port Authority Marine Terminal. Ward had previously worked at American Stevedoring in the 1990s.
Prior to leading American Stevedoring, Ward served as Commissioner of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the Bloomberg Administration from 2002-2005. Ward lead a staff of 6,500 and managed a combined capital and operating budget of over $2 billion. During his tenure at the DEP, he oversaw the maintenance and ongoing construction of the City's water supply, distribution and wastewater system, carried out Federal Clean Water Act and Clean Air regulation, and managed all conservation programs and hazardous and asbestos material emergencies and remediation.
Prior to his service at the Port Authority, Ward spent much of his professional career in service to the City of New York in various capacities, such as Senior Vice President for Transportation and Commerce at the Economic Development Corporation, Assistant Commissioner at the Department of Telecommunications and Energy and as Director of Research at the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Ward holds a Bachelor of Arts from Macalester College and a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard University's Divinity School. Ward has also served as an Adjunct Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.
