HIMC 2024 Agenda
November 6 – 8, 2024 – Hilton Americas, Downtown Houston
Our comprehensive schedule of events features an exciting lineup of keynote speeches, panel discussions, and networking opportunities designed to inform and inspire attendees and to help them stay ahead of the latest trends and developments in the industry.
With a focus on the future of shipping, our conference is the perfect platform to learn from experts, network with peers, and explore innovative solutions to the maritime industry’s challenges. So take a look at our agenda and schedule, and get ready to chart a course for success at the HIMC24!
Join the conversation with #HIMC24.
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Wednesday, November 6, 2024
| 8:00 AM – 2:30 PM | Golf Outing 8:00 AM – Registration & Driving Range 9:00 AM – Shotgun Start 2:30 PM – Awards Presentation |
| 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Welcome Happy Hour Cocktail Reception, Holman Draft Hall |
Thursday, November 7, 2024
| 7:15 AM | Breakfast and Registration, 2nd Floor Outside Ballroom of the Americas, Hilton Americas Downtown |
| 8:10 AM | Opening Remarks |
| 8:20 AM | Houston Ship Channel – A Project 11 Update: Port Houston’s Lori Brownell will provide an update on the Houston Ship’s Channel’s most game-changing investment – Project 11. She will highlight how Project 11 is preparing the region to continue its leadership position into the future.
Speaker: Lori Brownell, Chief Channel Infrastructure Officer, Port Houston |
| 8:30 AM | Innovation and Safety on the Houston Ship Channel: This session will showcase Houston Ship’s Channel’s investment in innovation. Panelists will discuss the moves being made to demonstrate the commitment to ensuring the safety and security of the crews, cargo and infrastructure of the Houston Ship Channel.
Moderator: |
| 9:00AM | Gateway to Growth: Leveraging Port Houston’s Cargo Base for Success: This session will delve into Port Houston’s significance as a major cargo hub and discuss how BCOs, industrial real estate professionals and economic developers can collectively leverage the port’s cargo base for success. Panelists will also highlight emerging trends in logistics, warehousing, distribution and economic development.
Moderator: |
| 9:50 AM | Port Houston Presents its Second Annual Lone Star Award: Recognizing partnership excellence, the Lone Star Award is given to organizations that demonstrate a commitment to providing outstanding service to the region’s maritime supply chain. Lone Star Award recipient to be revealed soon. |
| 10:00 AM | Networking Break |
| 10:20 AM | State of the Economy
Speaker: Patrick Jankowski, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, Greater Houston Partnership |
| 10:50 AM | Port Houston – The Natural Export Gateway: Houston is the number one export port in the United States with a unique 50/50 split between imports and exports. The panel will discuss what factors make Port Houston the natural export gateway, including its ideal location and infrastructure. Further, panelists will explain why they choose to work with the Port – the export experts–to handle their cargo.
Moderator: |
| 11:40 AM | Lunch |
| 12:50 PM | Waterside Chat: FMC Commissioner Carl Bentzel discusses the industry’s hottest topics, offering insight about where he sees the opportunities and challenges in the future.
Speaker: Carl Bentzel, Commissioner, Federal Maritime Commission |
| 1:20 PM | Diversifying Sourcing – Shifting to Emerging Markets: As the industry continues to diversify, more and more manufacturing is moving to emerging markets, creating opportunities for new trade lanes, new suppliers, new customers and new partnerships. Panelists will discuss the opportunities and challenges of implementing a diversified manufacturing strategy.
Moderator: |
| 2:10 PM | Cold Chain is Hot in Houston: As the gateway to South America and Latin America, Port Houston is committed to becoming the Port of choice for produce importers. The panel will discuss the tremendous opportunity cold chain presents and how Port Houston’s location, network, infrastructure and innovation make it an ideal cold chain partner.
Moderator: |
| 3:00 PM | Networking Break |
| 3:20 PM | Looking at Trends, Solutions and Services that Ensure the Smooth Flow of Project Cargo and Steel: Port Houston owns, manages and operates the 8 public terminals in the Houston Ship Channel, including the area’s largest breakbulk and project cargo port complex in North America. In this panel you’ll get to hear industry experts on how bulk, project cargo, and steel are growing, and how this industry is building efficiencies to ensure continued fluidity.
Moderator: |
| 4:10 PM | Landside Fluidity – Solutions for Keeping the Cargo Moving from Dock to Door: Although cargo spends more time at sea, the landside of the supply chain is where the process becomes far more complex. This panel will look at successful shifts to improve fluidity, where the opportunities lie, and what we need to focus on for the future.
Moderator: |
| 5:00 PM | Closing Remarks |
| 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM | Evening Reception
2nd Floor Outside Ballroom of the Americas, Hilton Americas Downtown |
Friday, November 8, 2024
| 7:15 AM | Breakfast, 2nd Floor Outside Ballroom of the Americas, Hilton Americas Downtown |
| 8:00 AM | Welcome with Hall of Fame Basketball Legend Clyde Drexler |
| 8:40 AM | Going Green: Sustainability Solutions for the Future of Shipping: This panel will look at how the industry must work together to reach sustainability targets, providing a transparent view of the challenges and the costs, as well as where we have seen significant strides in the right direction.
Moderator: |
| 9:30 AM | Networking Break |
| 9:50 AM | Keynote Speaker: Dr. Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, CEO/Administrator, Panama Canal Administrator |
| 10:40 AM | Import Expert Analyst |
| 10:50 AM | Importer Insight – Reinventing Business as Global Economy Continues to Grow: This panel will look at market forces and trends driving growth and ways importers are capitalizing on the flourishing global economy.
Moderator: |
| 11:40 AM | The Voice of the Ocean Carrier: The session will speak with ocean carrier leadership on how they are approaching business as the marketplace evolves. They will share their insight on the overall market including: evolution of alliances, capacity outlook, market dynamics driving growth, and BCO/Carrier relations.
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| 12:30 PM | Closing |