Port Manatee names Appice senior director, adds Zimmermann to marketing team

PALMETTO, Fla. - With several major initiatives on the horizon,Port Manatee has promoted Matthew F. Appice to senior director of tradedevelopment and sales and further bolstered its team with the addition ofVirginia Zimmermann as marketing and public relations assistant.Appice, who joined Port Manatee in 2010 as director ofinternational sales, has 36 years of maritime industry experience.Immediately prior to joining Port Manatee, he was director of corporatesales and marketing for Riviera Beach, Fla.-based Tropical Shipping. Beforethat, he spent 29 years with Tampa-based CP Ships and predecessor entities,last as vice president for U.S. sales. He earned his business administrationdegree from Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J.In implementing Port Manatee's comprehensive marketing strategy,Appice is currently actively engaged in such efforts as development of aroll-on/roll-off terminal for import and export of vehicles, in conjunctionwith The Pasha Group; the opening of a new 40-foot-draft berth; andcapitalizing upon the future Cuba ferry market.Zimmermann joins the Port Manatee team after serving as publicrelations assistant for Munich-based Loyalty Partner GmbH, operator of oneof the world's largest multichannel marketing platforms. She holds an honorsdegree in business administration from the University of Applied Sciences inMunich.Port Manatee is a multipurpose deepwater seaport near theentrance to Tampa Bay that serves bulk, breakbulk, container, heavylift,project and general cargo customers. The port generates more than $2.3billion in annual economic impact for the local community, while supportingmore than 24,000 jobs regionally, without the benefit of ad-valorem taxes.