Port cities sit at a sensitive health crossroads: they are potential entry points for global health threats, sites of industrial exposure for residents, while at the same time can gather the best conditions for improving everyday wellbeing, with access to water and green spaces. This session examines how port authorities and municipalities can build coordinated responses that span pandemic preparedness, environmental health, and citizen wellbeing.
Hervé Martel has been a Civil Engineer since 1989. He holds a Master's degree in Transport Economics (1991) and a Master's degree in Public Management (1999). He began his career at the Port of Réunion and has held various management positions, notably at the Port Autonome de Paris, the Seine-et-Marne Departmental Equipment Directorate, and the office of the Minister of State, Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Planning. In 2009, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Ports de Paris, then of the Port of Le Havre in 2012. Since 2019, he has been Chairman of the Executive Board of the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille.
Commissioner GilAnthony Ungab was sworn in to the Board of Port Commissioners on June 14, 2024, as an appointee of National City. A native of National City, Commissioner Ungab is a retired private practice cardiac electrophysiologist and former medical director of cardiac electrophysiology at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center. He served as a member on research and development committees at Boston Scientific, St Jude, and Biotronik. Dr. Ungab is co-founder and chief medical officer for Lucia Health Guidelines, which applies artificial intelligence to advance guideline-based treatment focused on atrial fibrillation and stroke prevention. Commissioner Ungab was also a co-founder of Geneva Healthcare Solutions, a cloud based remote data monitoring company (acquired by BioTelemetry Inc.).
Born in the UK in 1971. He worked in the humanitarian aid sector in the Balkans and the Middle East before joining the port of Barcelona where he held the position of Strategy Director for 20 years. He is now the Secretary General of the Mediterranean port association and works as a free-lance consultant as well. He is the author of there books (the latest published this year titled “The new world disorder” and regularly contributes to national newspapers such as La Vanguardia.
