EXECUTIVE TEAM
Click to find out more about Foss Maritime’s Executive Leadership.
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Peter Pietka has been with Saltchuk Marine since 2021. He brings a vast working knowledge of marine transportation and commercial management, combining an entrepreneurial mindset with strong execution and collaboration skills.
He has served as CEO at Svitzer, overseeing all aspects of business in the Americas. He has served as CEO at Ardent, an emergency management and subsea service provider in Houston and also as GM of Corporate Affairs at Maersk. Throughout his career, he has managed global business development, towage operations and corporate affairs. He currently serves as the EVP for Saltchuk Marine and President of Foss Maritime.
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Jeff has been with Foss since 2007. He earned his Bachelor of Science from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Prior to joining Foss, he had a successful 20-year career in Logistics and Freight Forwarding, having held executive level commercial leadership positions at two of the largest global logistics firms.
He has managed hundreds of commercial professionals at locations around the world delivering multi-model solutions to thousands of customers while producing positive financial results. He prides himself on being a teacher of product presentation and the sales process to his colleagues. In his free time, he enjoys golf, travel and spending time with friends.
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Matthew has been at Foss since 2021 in New Bedford, MA. He has worked at Foss as a Chief Engineer aboard harbor and ocean tugs in 2006 and 2012. He earned his Marine Engineering degree at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. He has a well rounded 20 year career in the maritime industry working as a Marine Engineer, ABS Class Surveyor, Technical Representative on USN and USCG vessels and Project Manager. He started on lobster boats in Scituate, MA at 14 years old. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with wife and children, church activities and fishing.
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Conti has been with Foss Maritime since 2004. He is a graduate of Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Prior to joining Foss Maritime, he was an owner of Constellation Tug Corporation based in Boston, MA. He and his partners sold Constellation to Foss in July of 2006. Before starting the company in Boston, he sailed for many years as Captain. In his free time, he enjoys skiing, boating, cooking, and traveling with his family.
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Chris has been at Foss Maritime since 2004. He is a graduate of California Maritime Academy with a Bachelor’s degree in marine Transportation and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Chris started at Foss Maritime directly out of California Maritime Academy as an able seaman in the Foss Marine Transportation Fleet. In his free time, he enjoys boating during the summers on Puget Sound with his wife and three kids. He also enjoys playing golf and spending time with his large extended family of nieces and nephews.
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Courtney has been with Foss since 2018. He earned a B.E. in Naval Architecture from SUNY Maritime College, holds an Unlimited Tonnage Mates License, and is a registered Professional Engineer in Washington State. Prior to joining Foss, he has been involved in many aspects of the marine industry, including design, building, vessel operations, salvage, and wreck removal. As Director of Business Development, he oversees a variety of unique and innovative projects. These include offshore wind projects, offshore installations, heavy lift marine transports, and special projects such as autonomous vessel development. In his free time, he enjoys cycling and boating.
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Kari has been with Foss since 2007. She attended Cypress College in Cypress California. Prior to joining Foss, she provided custom wiring for motorcycles (mostly Harleys and customs) and ORVs such as sand rails. She joined Foss as Petroleum Coordinator and learned dispatch as she spent many extra days covering for other dispatchers. She then transitioned into a commercial role from operations. In her free time, she enjoys surfing and playing soccer. With her husband, she enjoys taking her Californian trawler to Catalina or cruising around San Diego Bay.
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Leiv Lea
Senior Director, Project Services
Leiv has been with Foss since 2002. Leiv has a BA in Economics from the University of Texas, Austin and has completed the Executive Development Program at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business and is a certified Project Management Professional. He has 29 years of experience in the marine transportation industry. He has held positions with Sunmar Shipping, Inc. and Pacific Trawlers, Inc. At Foss, he has focused his work in the commercial side of the business from Contract Manager, Director of Sales in Houston, General Manager of Pacific Northwest Region to his current position of Director, Project Management. In his free time he enjoys biking, boating, snowboarding, hiking and working on never ending home improvement projects.
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Carly has been at Foss since 2021. She graduated with a degree in Marine Engineering from the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Prior to joining Foss, she spent time as a Port Engineer for tankers and petroleum ATBs for eight years. While there, she pioneered an engineering Reliability program for a fleet of 80 vessels sharing best practices, aligning maintenance plans and sharing lessons learned from equipment failures. In her free time, Carly enjoys spending time with family, boating, scuba diving, bike rides and soccer games with her husband (mariner) and two children.
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Whit started with Foss in 1993. He attended Portland Community College and earned his USCG 1600 Masters Oceans License. Prior to Foss, he worked for Western Tug and Barge Corp out of Long Beach, Ca. where he started out as a deckhand and worked up to a captain. He moved onto Knappton where he managed ship assists, barges, log rafts and towing marine equipment along the US West Coast. In his free time, he enjoys water activities and day hikes with his family and also enjoys riding Harleys.
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Matt has been with Foss since 1998. He is a graduate of California Maritime Academy, 1995 (2D-95). Prior to joining Foss. Prior to Foss, he spent a year working as a bulk ship agent with North American Shipping Agencies in the Columbia River. He later transitioned to Sunmar Container Lines, a Seattle-based ocean carrier, starting off as a documentations clerk and then moving into a commercial role. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, skiing, music and more recently, long urban walks.
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Mike started at Foss in 1999 shortly after earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington. He later earned his MBA from Washington State University and transitioned to The Boeing Company. In 2005, he returned to Foss where he has held several positions, most recently as the General Manager of the Pacific Northwest prior to his current role. In his free time, Mike enjoys spending time with his family skiing at White Pass Ski Area during winter months and boating on the waters of Puget Sound and inland lakes of the PNW at Lake Roosevelt and Lake Coeur D’Alene during summer months.
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Steve started started at Foss in 2015. He graduated from California Maritime Academy, class of 1990 w/ Marine Engineering degree. Prior to joining Foss, he spent 23 years in the Port Engineer field with varying degrees of responsibility for major tug and barge operators on the US West Coast. He has held positions at Crowley, Sea Coast Towing and Kirby Offshore Marine. In his free time, he enjoys traveling with his family in their RV especially their annual summer trip to Lake Tahoe.
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Jon has been at Foss since January 2022. He earned his B.S. in Maritime Administration at Texas A&M at Galveston. He is currently Commercial Sales & Project Manager at Foss. Prior to Foss, he directed Texas business development & vessel chartering, for Signet Maritime’s fleet of harbor service/offshore tugs in the USG. He also served as Senior Commercial Manager for Boskalis (formerly Dockwise) in their heavy marine transport group from Houston. In his free time, he enjoys his son’s baseball games, daughter’s rock climbing, spring fishing in South Texas, summer boating on Lake Travis, and fall/winter hunting in West Texas.
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Justin has been at Foss since 2022. He is a native Oregonian born and raised in Bend and graduating from Linfield University. Justin has worked in logistics, specializing in cargo projects. In his free time, he enjoys the outdoors of the Pacific Northwest with his wife and daughter.
