OAKLAND’s FOSTER RETIRES, RECOMMENDS YOSHITANI AS REPLACEMENT

OAKLANDÆS FOSTER RETIRES, RECOMMENDS YOSHITANI AS REPLACEMENT    Charles W. Foster, the Port of Oakland’s executive director, said he will retire in September.
   Foster has served as the head of the port for six and half years. Prior to his appointment in February 1995, he served as the port’s director of aviation for nine years.
   “We have successfully transitioned from the visionary stage for port expansion and achieved milestones in obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals to move ahead,” Foster said. “The Port of Oakland is now well grounded for the construction phase that is already underway for a number of expansion projects.”
   The port credits Foster for his work on the Vision 2000 project, a plan to significantly expand the port’s container handling, and for his push to dredge the Oakland’s navigation channels to 50 feet to accommodate the new generation of 6,500 TEU and larger containerships. Vision 2000 is the biggest maritime expansion project at the port since the 1970s.
   Some of Foster’s other achievements include laying the groundwork to build a new $1.5-billion airport complex, starting in 2002, and his reorganization of the port’s commercial real estate division in 1999.
   While the board of port commissioners will discuss his successor at its July 10 meeting, Foster has personally recommended Tay Yoshitani, the Oakland’s deputy executive director, as his successor.