Shipping industry veteran John Bruce Rae-Smith was elected as the president of the UK Chamber of Shipping, taking over from Graham Westgarth.
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 has lived in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States, and Singapore but returned to the UK in 2016. He is also the chairman of United States Cold Storage and a director of several of the group’s private businesses.
Before being elected as president, Rae-Smith has served as the Chamber’s vice president since 2022. Karrie Trauth, senior vice president of Shipping and Maritime at Shell, has now been elected to this role.
“Shipping faces several challenges in the years ahead as we speed up the pace of decarbonisation, improve seafarer welfare, and the rising risk to the 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 well-being,” the newly appointed president said.
“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,” he added.
“Congratulations to JB on his election as president of the Chamber. 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,” said Sarah Treseder, chief executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping.
Rae-Smith and Trauth were elected at the Chamber’s AGM on Wednesday and will each serve a one-year term with the possibility of being elected for a further 12 months at the 2025 AGM.
