All Guests Welcome:
Join the Galveston Pachyderms for our April 4th Meeting with Rodger Rees.
Guest Speaker: Rodger Rees, Galveston Wharves Port Director and CEO
Topic: Port of Galveston Updates!
Rodger Rees 2024 BIO
Rodger Rees, Galveston Wharves Port Director and CEO, oversees the fourth most popular cruise port in North America, located on one of the nation’s top 50 cargo waterways. This self-sustaining city entity generates more than 14,000 jobs and has an estimated annual state economic impact of $2.1 billion. 
Since Rees took the helm in January 2018, the Port of Galveston has grown its business, increased revenues, developed and implemented a 20-Year Strategic Master Plan, and executed a public-private partnership with Royal Caribbean International to build a $125 million cruise terminal. The port’s third terminal opened in 2022. Rees is currently negotiating an agreement with MSC Cruise Line for a fourth terminal.
The port also was awarded $42.3 million in state grants in 2023, the largest grant amount in the port’s history, to fund critical cargo and transportation projects.
The Galveston Regional Chamber of Commerce honored Rees as its 2022 Galvestonian of the Year for positively contributing to the betterment of the region’s business community. In addition, the Houston Business Journal named Rees one of the most admired CEOs in the Houston metroplex in 2023.
Rees previously served as Deputy Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer for Port Canaveral, the world’s busiest cruise port.
Rees spent his early years in Tennessee and is a graduate of East Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. In addition, he is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in the state of Georgia, with over 25 years of executive management in private and public arenas. Rodger and his wife, Luci, have two sons at Ball High School in Galveston.
