Bill Wyatt has been the Executive Director of the Port of Portland since October of 2001. The Port of Portland, governed by a nine member Commission appointed by the Governor, operates four marine terminals, three general aviation airports and Portland International Airport (PDX). The Port has over 700 employees and annual revenues of approximately $250 million. The value of foreign trade moving through the Port exceeds $10 billion annually.
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. Wyatt served as a state representative from the Astoria area from 1974 – 1977.
Wyatt is a native of Astoria, Oregon. He attended public schools in Astoria, and Alexandria, Virginia, and later attended both Willamette University and the University of Oregon, where he was also student body President.
Wyatt was appointed by Governor Ted Kulongoski in January of 2008 to serve on the Board of the Oregon Global Warming Commission. He formerly served as Board Chair of the Urban League has been a member of the Board of Directors of Oregon Public Broadcasting.
June 2, 2010
Flying the Good Flight: Part 11
May 27, 2010
Presently riding the high speed train between Tianjin and Beijing. As you can see by the attached photo, we’re going 321 kilometers per hour or, almost 200 miles per hour. The trains are quite nice and clean, all in all a very civilized way to travel.
Photo credit: Courtesy of the Port of Portland
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June 1, 2010
Flying the Good Flight: Part 10
May 27, 2010
A delegation from the Port of Portland visited the Port of Tianjin in Northern China today. We are working with them to develop an executive exchange program. The Port of Tianjin is on reclaimed land (that’s what the Dutch call it…we would just say landfill) and it is enormous. 300 million cubic meters of fill were used to create the Port area which has marine terminals, warehouse and distribution facilities, a cruise terminal, housing and recreation facilities. Read more »
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June 1, 2010
Flying the Good Flight: Part 9
May 26, 2010
We visited the Chinese car maker BYD. They are rapidly becoming a leader in electric vehicle technology and production. They are also the fastest growing auto brand in China. BYD began as a maker of cell phone batteries and has expanded into cars (including electric vehicles), solar panels and related technology, smart energy, net energy homes and most recently, electric buses. The Port first visited BYD about 3 years ago and was visited by BYD at about that same time.
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June 1, 2010
Flying the Good Flight: Part 8
May 26, 2010I had the chance to visit the flagship Nike store in Shanghai today. Aside from being quite large, I was struck by the unique to China product line, and not one, but two Nike iD studios where customers can select shoes from the Nike product line and then pick custom colors and other amenities to their own taste. The customized shoes are shipped directly to the customer. -
June 1, 2010
Flying the Good Flight: Part 7
May 25, 2010The delegates on the Governor’s Asia Trade mission were treated to a water-side tour of the port area of Hong Kong harbor, one of the busiest in the world. That was followed by a visit to the Hutchison International Terminals’ logistic center, an enormous building with 5 million square feet of space devoted to stuffing containers with manufactured goods from Hong Kong and southern China. Many, many household and electronic items that you and I purchase everyday pass through this facility. Read more » -
May 24, 2010
Flying the Good Flight: Parts 5-6
Asia Trade Mission Blog #5 (05/19/10): The Governor’s Asia Trade Mission delegation has arrived in South Korea on the very day that the South Korean government will announce the findings of an international investigation into the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel which has concluded that North Korea bears responsibility. In South Korea the proximity of the North and the hostilities between North and South are never very far from any conversation. Read more »
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May 21, 2010
Flying the Good Flight: Part 4
Here are two different perspectives on Japanese bullet trains. One on the outside and one from the inside looking out. These trains connect all the major cities of Japan and travel at speeds of approximately 180 miles per hour. Read more »
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May 21, 2010
Flying the Good Flight: Part 3
Asia Trade Mission Blog #3 (05/17/10): The attached video shows members of the Governor’s Asia trade delegation test driving the Mitsubishi I-miev, their plug-in electric auto. Mitsubishi intends to introduce this vehicle to the US in 2012. The Governor is hoping that Mitsubishi will choose Portland as the launch site for North American sales of the I-meiv which goes over 100 miles per charge. Each charge costs roughly $2.00 in electricity costs. Read more »
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May 20, 2010
Flying the Good Flight: Part 2
Asia Trade Mission Blog #2 (05/16/10): While traveling, I pay attention to what other airports and marine terminals are doing. Below is a picture of a variable speed moving walkway which stops when no one is riding it…a big energy saver. These are common throughout Asia and Europe but not in the US. In fact, the very first installation in the US is at PDX in the tunnel to the new garage, inspired by walkways like this one at Narita airport in Tokyo. Read more »
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May 17, 2010
Flying the Good Flight: The Governor’s 2010 Asia Trade Mission
While attending the Governor’s 2010 Asia Trade Mission in Japan, China and South Korea, Port of Portland’s Executive Director Bill Wyatt will be documenting his travels and sharing valuable observations from the Mission. This is the first post of his blog series. Read more »