Who’s on the move this week: April 27, 2015

Eric Simard is now a director of the Montreal Port Authority. Simard was appointed to this office by the City of Montreal for a three-year term ending March 23, 2018. He replaces Claude J. Melançon, who has served on the Board since March 24, 2012. Simard is a partner with the law firm Fasken Martineau and co-president of the Commercial Litigation section. He also leads the Construction Practice Group. He practices law as a civil and commercial litigant.  Simard is a member of the Quebec Bar, the Canadian Bar Association and the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.

MOL (Canada) Inc is pleased to welcome Allison Watson as the new sales and customer service manager, working out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. He will report to Tim Harrington, vice president, Canada and will focus on Eastern Canada and sales activities for Atlantic Canada supported by colleagues in Mississauga and in Lombard, Illinois. Watson joins MOL after 27 years at NYK Line (Canada) where he served as a district manager of sales and a district manager responsible for the Halifax branch office. Watson also spent five years at March Shipping Ltd as an export coordinator and office manager.

Daifuku North America Holding Company promoted Aki Nishimura to CEO. Aki was named President of Daifuku North America on January 1, 2015. Brian Stewart, Chairman & CEO is stepping down after 34 years of dedicated service on April 24, 2015, In Nishimura’s new role, he will focus on expanding North American sales, increasing profitability and promoting the importance of workplace safety. He is a graduate of Hiroshima Institute of Technology, located in Saeki, Hiroshima, Japan. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. He has over 25 years of experience in the material handling industry and has worked with Daifuku since 1987. He has held several instrumental positions within the organization, such as President of Daifuku America Corporation, a subsidiary of Daifuku North America Holding Company.

Bill Broyles joins Patriot Rail Company LLC as Senior Vice President, Business Development. Broyles brings over 40 years of experience in the rail industry to his new position with Patriot. His experience spans the areas of general rail operations, mechanical, engineering, traffic management, customer solutions, freight claims, labor relations, and risk management. Immediately previous to Patriot, Broyles was the President and co-founder of Foster Townsend Rail Logistics, Inc. (FTRL Railway), a rail services company that provides rail switching and rail management, mobile railcar repairs, and rail consulting. Prior to FTRL Railway, he worked and served as President of the Terminal Railroad Association (TRRA).