JB Rae-Smith has been named as the next president of the UK Chamber of Shipping, taking over from Graham Westgarth.
He is a member of the John Swire & Sons executive committee and since 2022 has acted as the UK Chamber of Shipping’s vice president.
In a statement announcing his appointment, Rae-Smith said decarbonisation and seafarer welfare are among his priorities.
“Shipping faces a number of 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,” he said.
Rae-Smith has a degree in engineering from Cambridge University. After graduating, he joined the Swire Group management training programme and later spent time working in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the US and Singapore.
Since 2016, he has worked in the UK as chairman of United States Cold Storage and as a director of a number of the group’s private businesses.
Karrie Trauth, senior vice president of shipping & maritime at Shell, takes over Rae Smith’s position as vice president.
“Congratulations to JB on his election as president of the Chamber,” said UK Chamber of Shipping chief executive Sarah Treseder.
“His broad international experience and passion for ensuring that the UK remains a great environment for shipping will be hugely valuable in guiding us through the challenges ahead. He will be very ably supported by Karrie as vice president, who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role.”
