Posted on: 15 February 2024
International shipping industry veteran JB Rae-Smith was elected as President of the UK Chamber of Shipping, taking over from Graham Westgarth.
JB Rae-Smith is a member of the John Swire & Sons Executive Committee, and the majority of his career has been with the Swire Group’s marine interests.
He graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in engineering and joined the Swire Group management training programme. He has lived in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States and Singapore. In 2016, JB returned to the United Kingdom and is Chairman of United States Cold Storage and a Director of a number of the Group’s private businesses.
Before being elected as President, JB has served as the Chamber’s Vice President since 2022. Karrie Trauth, Senior Vice President, Shipping and Maritime at Shell, has now been elected to this role.
Commenting on his election, JB said: “I’m delighted to be elected as President of the UK Chamber of Shipping.”
“Shipping faces a number of challenges in the years ahead as we speed up the pace of decarbonisation, improve seafarer welfare and the rising risk to security of the global supply chain. At the same time, we need to continue to play a central role in the country’s economic and social wellbeing.
“With a General Election due within a year, the Chamber’s role is to provide strong leadership advocating on behalf of our members and looking at the future to be ready for the issues of tomorrow. I will be working with colleagues and stakeholders to ensure that the UK Government and our international partners deliver the environment our members need to thrive.”
Chief Executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping Sarah Treseder said: “Congratulations to JB on his election as President of the Chamber. His broad international experience and passion for ensuring that the UK remains a great environment for shipping, will be hugely valuable in guiding us through the challenges ahead. He will be very ably supported by Karrie as Vice President, who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role.”
“I would also like to thank Graham for his guidance over the last two years. His clear mindedness and determination to help the industry succeed has yielded tangible results and I’m delighted that he will remain involved with the Chamber as our immediate past president.”
JB and Karrie were elected at the Chamber’s AGM on 14 February and will each serve a one year term with the possibility of being elected for a further 12 months at the 2025 AGM.
