Port Manatee names Appice senior director, adds Zimmermann to marketing team

JOC Staff |

PALMETTO, Fla. - With several major initiatives on the horizon,
Port Manatee has promoted Matthew F. Appice to senior director of trade
development and sales and further bolstered its team with the addition of
Virginia Zimmermann as marketing and public relations assistant.

Appice, who joined Port Manatee in 2010 as director of
international sales, has 36 years of maritime industry experience.
Immediately prior to joining Port Manatee, he was director of corporate
sales and marketing for Riviera Beach, Fla.-based Tropical Shipping. Before
that, he spent 29 years with Tampa-based CP Ships and predecessor entities,
last as vice president for U.S. sales. He earned his business administration
degree from Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J.

In implementing Port Manatee's comprehensive marketing strategy,
Appice is currently actively engaged in such efforts as development of a
roll-on/roll-off terminal for import and export of vehicles, in conjunction
with The Pasha Group; the opening of a new 40-foot-draft berth; and
capitalizing upon the future Cuba ferry market.

Zimmermann joins the Port Manatee team after serving as public
relations assistant for Munich-based Loyalty Partner GmbH, operator of one
of the world's largest multichannel marketing platforms. She holds an honors
degree in business administration from the University of Applied Sciences in
Munich.

Port Manatee is a multipurpose deepwater seaport near the
entrance to Tampa Bay that serves bulk, breakbulk, container, heavylift,
project and general cargo customers. The port generates more than $2.3
billion in annual economic impact for the local community, while supporting
more than 24,000 jobs regionally, without the benefit of ad-valorem taxes.