International Trade and Transportation Infrastructure Development

Juan Villa is Research Scientist and Manager Latin America for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) based in Mexico City, where he is responsible for performing research in freight transportation, logistics, and trade. He is a researcher with 39 years of experience in the U.S., Europe, Mexico, and other Latin American counties. Villa serves as a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness, and is the Chair of the Transportation Research Board International Trade and Transportation Committee. He has been published in several journals, including Elsevier's Research in Transportation Business and Management and Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board.Maria Boile is Professor at the Department of Maritime Studies, University of Piraeus; Director of Research at the Hellenic Institute of Transport (HIT), Greece; and Senior Research Scientist, CAIT, Rutgers University, NJ, United States.Her research interest and expertise is in the areas of passenger and freight intermodal transport system modeling, freight and maritime logistics, port and inland terminal operations and management. She has authored and co-authored 12 book chapters and over 170 scientific journal and conference articles, including in Elsevier's Research in Transportation Business and Management, Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, and Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review.Sotiris Theofanis is the Chairman of the BoD and Chief Executive Officer of the privatized Thessaloniki Port Authority SA and Member of the BoD of the South Europe Gateway Thessaloniki (SEGT) Ltd. An internationally acknowledged expert and manager in the fields of freight transportation; logistics; and ports. Former Expert; Head of Unit; and acting Director for Ports with the Ministry of Merchant Marine, Greece (1985-1999). He is former Chief Executive Officer of Thessaloniki Port Authority SA, Greece (1999-2002) and Chairman of the BoD and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Piraeus Port Authority SA, Greece (2002-2004). He led the efforts for the restructuring and listing of the two port companies in the Athens Stock Exchange. He is also Former Director, Freight and Maritime Program (FMP) (2006-2012) at the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT), Rutgers University, United States. He is currently Senior Research Scientist at CAIT, Rutgers University.