A concluding debate with international experts to synthesize key insights and draw conclusions from the various discussions held throughout the conference on port city development.
A concluding debate with international experts to synthesize key insights and draw conclusions from the various discussions held throughout the conference on port city development.
Elected city councillor for the Montcalm-Saint-Sacrement district of Quebec City in November 2021, Catherine Vallières-Roland is deputy mayor and a member of the Quebec City executive committee responsible for international relations and aboriginal affairs, major events, culture, family and youth.
She represents the Communauté métropolitaine de Québec on the boards of the Société de développement économique du Saint-Laurent, the Table de concertation régionale de Québec pour la gestion intégrée du Saint-Laurent and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Alliance. She is also a member of the maritime committee of the Union des municipalités du Québec.
With a master's degree in political science from Université Laval, her studies and work have taken her to Geneva, Paris and Barcelona. She is fluent in English and Spanish, as well as French.
From 2004 to 2021, Catherine Vallières-Roland held various positions at the Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie du Québec. She contributed to the development of relations with countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia-Pacific, as well as with the United States. She was also given the mandate to promote and oversee the implementation of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in the Digital Environment at UNESCO. From 2018, she was team leader for human rights and indigenous affairs. In this capacity, she represented the Québec government at the United Nations.
Thanos Pallis is Professor Port & Shipping Economics and Policy at University of Piraeus, Greece where he holds the Jean Monnet Chair in European Port Policy. A founding member and co-director of the PortEconomics network, and vice-chair of the Port Performance Research Network (PPRN), For five years he was the Secretary General of MedCruise, the association representing more than 150 cruise ports in 20 countries in the Med. In Greece, he served as General Secretary of the State for Ports & Port Policy. The immediate past President of the International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME) he was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University NY. in 2025 he was included in the top-2% of the world's most cited researchers in transport & logistics, due to his research in port economics and policy,. He co-authors the IAPH World Ports Tracker, and the book and on-line project Port Economics, Policy and Management (Routledge 2022; 2026).
Jeffrey S. Nesbit is an architect, urbanist, and founding director of the research group Grounding Design. His experience spanning over a decade includes leading design teams for public architecture and large-scale urban projects, along with managing sponsored design research projects for city governments, local institutions, and NGOs. Nesbit’s research focuses on processes of urbanization, infrastructure, and the evolution of "technical lands." His current research projects explore the architecture and infrastructure of planetary ports, the American rocket launch complex, and distant sites at the ends of the world.
Giacomo leads NYCEDC’s Asset Management division, which manages a portfolio of 40 sites and 150+ unique and iconic assets spanning 64 million square feet across commercial and industrial real estate, critical infrastructure, and energy assets.
Giacomo has a broad experience within international transportation, finance, and consulting in the United States and abroad. His focus for NYCEDC’s Asset Management division is to be a market-recognized, forward-thinking team that develops and manages assets on behalf of New York City residents through a double-bottom-line framework.
Giacomo earned BA from the University of Vermont and an MBA from IMD in Switzerland.
Carola Hein is Professor History of Architecture and Urban Planning at Delft University of Technology and Professor at Leiden and Erasmus University. and director of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus PortCityFutures Centre. She holds the UNESCO Chair of Water, Ports and Historic Cities and leads the LDE PortCityFutures Centre. She has published widely in the field of architectural, urban and planning history, tying historical analysis to contemporary development. Her recent (co-)edited books include: Hustle and Bustle (2025), Port City Atlas (2023), Oil Spaces (2021), Urbanisation of the Sea (2020), Adaptive Strategies for Water Heritage (2020), The Routledge Planning History Handbook (2018).