People News: Miner Enterprises, PANYNJ

Ross Hartley, International Sales Manager, Miner Enterprises (left); and Amy Fisher, General Counsel, PANYNJ (right).

Miner Enterprises, Inc. hires Ross Hartley as International Sales Manager. Also, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) announces Amy Fisher as General Counsel overseeing the agency’s law department.

Miner Enterprises

Railcar component manufacturer Miner Enterprises announced Oct. 26 that Ross Hartley has been hired to the position of International Sales Manager taking over for Peter van der Haas, who is retiring after serving the company in the same position since 2010.

A well-known rail technology engineer and respected leader within the international railway and freight transportation industries, Hartley has served for 18 years with multi-national South African firm Transnet SOC Ltd, most recently as Principal Engineer. An expert in coupling systems, he has been involved in the design, testing and commissioning of heavy haul freight trains, and all manner of railway technology research and development, product design and quality assessment.

Hartley is a registered professional with the Engineering Council of South Africa and has always been an active participant in the industry, serving as president of the South African Society for Railway Engineering (SASRE) from 2015 to 2019.

PANYNJ

PANYNJ announced Oct. 26 that Amy Fisher will serve as the new General Counsel following her nomination by the Port Authority’s Board of Commissioners.

Fisher has served as Acting General Counsel since May of this year, after joining PANYNJ in 2017 as First Deputy Counsel. She will continue to oversee all aspects of the agency’s law department, including litigation, transactions, employment, finance, leases, public securities, regulatory compliance and ethics, and other legal matters.

According to PANYNJ, Fisher is the first woman to hold the position in the agency’s 102-year history. She succeeds Michael Farbiarz, who departed in May following his nomination and confirmation to the federal bench of the District of New Jersey. Fisher was selected following a wide-ranging review process conducted through a nationally recognized search firm.

“Following a national search, Amy consistently stood out thanks to her extensive experience with the Port Authority and her in-depth knowledge across a wide variety of areas,” said PANYNJ Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “We’d like to thank Judge Farbiarz for his steadfast service, laying a foundation we will continue to build on for years to come.”

“In her six years with the Port Authority, Amy has been a steady hand guiding us through a multitude of complex projects and negotiations,” said PANYNJ Executive Director Rick Cotton. “We are excited to have someone with her legal skills and leadership qualities heading the Law Department during this time of major transformation for the Port Authority and the region.”

Since joining PANYNJ, Fisher has been the agency’s lead on in-house legal support for airport development activities, lease negotiations in support of the Perelman Performing Arts Center, and the extension of the agency’s air and marine terminal leases with New York City and the city of Newark. She also has been the legal lead on multiple critical matters with local, state, and federal regulators, and her efforts have been critical to successfully resolving long-standing commercial litigation.

Before joining PANYNJ Fisher served as Managing Director at GE Energy Financial Services for 17 years, where she worked in the investment origination and project development, regulatory risk and legal and compliance areas of General Electric Capital Corporation’s equity investing business.

Fisher has also been a transactional partner in several New York City law firms, including partner and head of the New York corporate practice at the Sonnenschein law firm (now part of the AmLaw 100 Dentons firm), specializing in project finance, banking, and insurance insolvency. She earned a B.A. at Wesleyan University and a J.D. at Columbia University’s School of Law.

“I’m honored and excited to continue this important work at such an important time,” said Port Authority General Counsel Amy Fisher. “I’d like to thank the Port Authority’s leadership for their trust and confidence, and I look forward to working together as we advance the agency’s bold, transformative agenda.”