Boca Raton, FL - The American Caribbean Maritime Foundation (ACMF), host of the Anchor Awards, today announced appointment of Rick Sasso, Chairman MSC Cruises USA and three other industry leaders recently to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Sasso brings fifty-plus years of cruise industry experience to the foundation as it pursues its goal of increasing professional capacity within the Caribbean shipping industry and addressing the global shortage of officers.
Sasso who has been a long-time supporter of the ACMF and Anchor Awards honorees, said,“The growth of the Caribbean shipping industry is critically important to the livelihoods of people all over the region, and the ACMF is a vital part of ensuring aspiring Caribbean nationals get the training they need to enable them to be a success in the industry”.
Appointed with Rick Sasso are David Harding MBE, President Shipping Association of Barbados; Charles Gittens, President of Trade at King Ocean Services—both major supporters of ACMF; and Tatiana Bowe, Chief of Staff to the President of the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington—and new to the shipping industry network.
ACMF has focused on building out a board of industry leaders who ensure the organization’s objectives are aligned with the talent needs of the cruise, cargo and oil and gas sectors and strategic direction of the shipping industry as it pertains to the Caribbean.
“Our ability to grow from five scholarship recipients from the Bahamas in 2018 to almost four hundred recipients from nine Caribbean countries in 2025, is a testament to ACMF’s industryled board and their critical support and commitment to the mission”, says Geneive Brown Metzger, ACMF’s President
