Port of
Oakland Commissioners appoint New Director of Engineering
Gerald M. Serventi Tapped for Post
The Port of Oakland has a new
Director of Engineering. Gerald M. Serventi (known as Jerry Serventi)
was appointed by the Port Board of Commissioners in August. He
succeeds Joe Wong as Director of Engineering. Wong’s promotion to
Deputy Executive Director was announced last month.
Serventi joined the Port in 1978
as the Junior Engineer in the Construction Department. He has been
promoted steadily throughout his career, where he now leads a
division with over 200 people and a construction budget of more than
$600 million.
In his tenure at the Port,
Serventi was the project engineer of the Jack London Square Task
Force, responsible for the design of Jack London Square. As the Port
Principal Engineer on the Vision 2000 maritime expansion program, he
had oversight of the planning, design, and construction of the
project.
"Jerry was selected because
he has knowledge and experience in all aspects of engineering at the
Port having worked with all three lines of business - aviation,
maritime, and commercial real estate," said Port of Oakland
Executive Director Tay Yoshitani.
When asked about his career, Jerry
Serventi remarked that one of his most gratifying projects was
rebuilding the Oakland International Airport runway that had been
damaged during the Loma Prieta quake in 1989. "Thirty-eight
hundred feet of a ten-thousand foot runway had to be repaired,"
Serventi said. "I was asked to have the runway in full
operation in time for the Christmas holiday rush." The job was
completed in a quick 20 days.
"I see my job as working with
the revenue divisions to find the most efficient and economical ways
to accomplish their goals," Serventi added.
In addition to remaining active in
civil engineering on a national level with the American Society of
Civil Engineers, Jerry also makes time to coach youth soccer,
baseball, and basketball teams.