WASHINGTON: The State Ports Authority on Tuesday hired a new chief financial officer to replace Peter Hughes, who will retire at the end of June after holding the maritime agency’s top financial post for more than two decades. Stan Van Ostran, the former vice president and CFO of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, will replace Hughes beginning July 1. Van Ostran, an attorney and CPA with 35 years of finance experience, will join the SPA on May 1 and work with Hughes during the transition to a new fiscal year.
The SPA’s board of directors held a special meeting Tuesday to approve Van Ostran’s salary of $220,000 a year. He also will be paid a $700-per-month car allowance. Hughes’ salary is $240,000 per year. During Van Ostran’s nine-year tenure in Nashville, the airport authority’s operating revenues increased from $76 million to $119 million and operating income grew from $26 million to $46 million. He previously was comptroller for the state of Oklahoma’s lottery commission. “He is an experienced CFO, and his expertise in the financial management role makes him a valuable addition to the port,” said Jim Newsome, the SPA’s president and CEO. “The financial health of our organization is critical to meeting the demands of our capital plan and ensuring the port remains competitive for years to come.”
Hughes has been with the SPA for 34 years, including the past 21 as CFO. He was promoted to senior vice president in 2010 and has been responsible for all of the agency’s financial, procurement, risk management, real estate and administrative functions. He will continue to work for the SPA in a consulting capacity, focusing on such projects as the agency’s new headquarters construction and the sale of real estate that isn’t essential to port operations. “His considerable knowledge, competence, integrity and logical thinking have been a great asset,” Newsome said of Hughes. “He has been an indispensable resource for me personally in my seven years at the port, and I speak for many when I say that I admire his substantial accomplishments as the head of our finance and administration departments.”
