Philip J. Shapiro
Philip Shapiro is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Maritime Corporation, a company he founded in 1988. As Liberty’s President and CEO, Mr. Shapiro heads one of the largest independent privately-held U.S. and foreign flag dry bulk shipping companies. In 2004, Mr. Shapiro founded Liberty Global Logistics LLC, a diversification for Liberty into the international Roll On/Roll Off (Pure Car and Truck Carrier) commercial vehicle trade.
Prior to founding Liberty in 1988, Mr. Shapiro served for eight years as Vice President and General Counsel of Apex Marine Corporation, a large privately owned U.S. tanker owner/operator with 26 ships. Before joining Apex Marine, he practiced corporate and real estate law for two years with a New York City law firm.
Mr. Shapiro currently serves as a Director on a number of corporate and charitable boards including the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), the National Maritime Historical Society, the United Seamen’s Service, and the American Maritime Congress. He is an elected member of ABS and also serves on its North American Committee as well as its ABS Council. Mr. Shapiro is an Associate Trustee of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Hospital Health System, the largest health care provider on Long Island, and a member of its Executive Associate Trustee Committee.
In 1998, he was named Management Man of the Year by the Maritime Port Council of Greater New York and Vicinity. In 2001, he received the Admiral of the Ocean Sea (AOTOS) award from the United Seamen’s Service for his distinguished service and outstanding contribution to the American shipping industry. In 2002, he was presented with the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his leadership and achievements in the international shipping community. More recently, he received Hofstra University’s Distinguished Service Award in 2007.
Mr. Shapiro has appeared before numerous congressional committees and administrative agencies as a spokesman for the U.S. flag shipping industry. Most notably, he was the dry bulk shipping sector’s representative to President Reagan’s Commission on the Merchant Marine and National Defense and one of three industry representatives selected to serve on President Clinton’s Maritime Policy Working Group, headed by then Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena. The Group helped to develop the government’s Maritime Security Program which was subsequently enacted into law by the United States Congress.
Mr. Shapiro was born on December 8, 1952 in New York City and attended Columbia University, graduating in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. In 1975, he enrolled in the Hofstra University Law School, receiving his Juris Doctor degree in 1978. He was then admitted to practice law by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York as well as by the United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
