Keynote Speakers
Dr Todd S. Bridges
Biography
Dr. Todd Bridges is a Professor of Practice in Resilient and Sustainable Systems in the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia and Senior Scientist with Environmental Science Associates (ESA). Prior to joining UGA in 2023, Dr. Bridges was a research scientist for 30 years with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), where for 17 years he served as the Army’s Senior Research Scientist (ST) for Environmental Science. He’s led >$250 million in research projects and programs. In 2010, he founded and then led the USACE Engineering With Nature® program. Among his 100 publications, Bridges led a 5-year collaboration across the public and private sectors to develop and publish International Guidelines on Natural and Nature-Based Features for Flood Risk Management. He served as the Chair of PIANC’s Environmental Commission from 2017-2022. Dr. Bridges has received many awards, including a Distinguished Presidential Rank Award from President Biden in 2021 for exceptional leadership, accomplishments, and service.
Keynote Address: Leading Transformation for Nature-Positive Infrastructure and Resilient Ports
The 21st century presents a consequential leadership opportunity for ports and the navigation sector. The combination of hazards, climate change, development pressures and resulting landscape transformation poses growing challenges across coastal, estuarine, river, and infrastructure systems. New thinking and conceptions of infrastructure development are needed. Innovation in the development of nature-positive infrastructure provides a path for reducing risks and building system-scale resilience. Ports and the navigation sector can lead the way to building more resilient systems by making substantive commitments to beneficial use of dredged sediment, ecosystem restoration, and the integration of conventional engineering and nature-based solutions. Working toward nature-positive infrastructure will also require innovation in regulatory processes that can facilitate and balance conservation, restoration, and sustainable development. Current conditions and commitments demonstrate the need and potential for change. The history of modern engineering demonstrates the power of innovation to transform.
Dr Giles Lesser
OMC International & John Clarke, Senior Pilot, Port of Auckland
Biography
Dr. Giles Lesser is OMC International’s New Zealand Business Development Manager and a Senior Coastal Engineer with more than 30 years’ experience in coastal and civil engineering and coastal science in New Zealand, The Netherlands, the USA, and Australia.
Giles managed OMC’s Research Department in Melbourne for 10 years before returning to New Zealand in 2018 to establish OMC International’s New Zealand office.
In addition to looking after the needs of OMC’s New Zealand clients, Giles has led the development of OMC’s TransitAnalyst software since its inception in 2020.
Giles has worked closely with Australasian maritime pilots for more than 20 years and is proud to have OMC’s backing to support the Pacific Pilots Training Group (PPTG) initiative.
Keynote Address: Building Connection: Elevating Pilotage in the Pacific Region
The Pacific Pilot Training Group (PPTG) is a New Zealand-based not-for-profit organisation that works with volunteers and industry partners to strengthen connections between ports and pilots across the Pacific. Through its engagement, PPTG has observed that many Pacific ports and pilot services operate in geographically dispersed settings and often face resource constraints, which can make it challenging to keep pace with evolving customer expectations for port pilotage services.
PPTG collaborates directly with Pacific pilots to support improved preparation, refinement of operational practices, and the adoption of appropriate technologies, with the aim of aligning with recognised best practice. In addition, PPTG organises and delivers annual conferences and workshops that provide professional development opportunities, bringing together Pacific pilots, industry peers, subject matter experts, and suppliers in a forum that has previously not existed.
Since commencing activities in 2023, PPTG, in partnership with OMC International and Navicom Dynamics, has introduced transit monitoring and analysis systems in three ports, provided “upcycled” portable navigation systems to three ports, and developed port pilotage passage plans and standardised checklists for five ports. PPTG has also delivered three annual conferences, held in Fiji (2024), the Cook Islands (2025), and Tonga (2026). Looking ahead, PPTG’s strategic focus includes expanding its technology support initiatives and continuing to deliver relevant training and professional development opportunities for Pacific pilots.
John Clarke
Biography
John Clarke is a pilot at an iron ore export port in Western Australia. He started his career in 1981 as a cadet with the Union Steam Ship Company. At that time USSCo was the dominant cargo carrier on the Trans-Tasman cargo routes and operated a fleet of twenty ships of a wide variety of sizes and types. After gaining a second mate’s certificate John worked for Blue Star Line on their refrigerated container ships carrying Central American bananas, South African apples, and Argentinian beef to Europe and North America. John then moved onto Blue Star’s Pacific cargo liners running between the West Coast of North America to NZ, stopping at Hawaii, Tahiti, American Samoa, Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji along the way. Returning to NZ waters he worked on small container ships where he spent two years in command trading between NZ, Australia, and Pacific Island ports. During that time, he held pilotage exemption certificates for six New Zealand ports that allowed him to bring his ship in and out of those ports without a pilot.
John then went on to a port pilotage career working as a pilot in Lyttelton, Otago, and Queen Charlotte Sound/Tory Channel before taking up his present pilot’s role in Dampier.
John has authored or co-authored a number of significant publications that have been published and adopted within the industry including the NZ Maritime Pilots Association Good Practice Guide for Pilots. Other publications include works on night visual pilotage, threat and error management, pilotage assessment, and dual pilot operations. He provides expert pilotage consultancy services to several Australian and NZ ports and simulator facilities.
For his work in the field of pilotage human factors, he was elected a Fellow of the Nautical Institute, and a life member of the NZ Maritime Pilots’ Association. John’s charitable work includes being a co-founder and volunteer presenter at the not-for-profit Pacific Pilots Training Group.
Keynote Address: Building Connection: Elevating Pilotage in the Pacific Region
The Pacific Pilot Training Group (PPTG) is a New Zealand-based not-for-profit organisation that works with volunteers and industry partners to strengthen connections between ports and pilots across the Pacific. Through its engagement, PPTG has observed that many Pacific ports and pilot services operate in geographically dispersed settings and often face resource constraints, which can make it challenging to keep pace with evolving customer expectations for port pilotage services.
PPTG collaborates directly with Pacific pilots to support improved preparation, refinement of operational practices, and the adoption of appropriate technologies, with the aim of aligning with recognised best practice. In addition, PPTG organises and delivers annual conferences and workshops that provide professional development opportunities, bringing together Pacific pilots, industry peers, subject matter experts, and suppliers in a forum that has previously not existed.
Since commencing activities in 2023, PPTG, in partnership with OMC International and Navicom Dynamics, has introduced transit monitoring and analysis systems in three ports, provided “upcycled” portable navigation systems to three ports, and developed port pilotage passage plans and standardised checklists for five ports. PPTG has also delivered three annual conferences, held in Fiji (2024), the Cook Islands (2025), and Tonga (2026). Looking ahead, PPTG’s strategic focus includes expanding its technology support initiatives and continuing to deliver relevant training and professional development opportunities for Pacific pilots.
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