NEW ORLEANS—February 22, 2018—Gov. John Bel Edwards appointed William H. Langenstein, III to the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans. Langenstein, who was sworn in during today’s monthly Board meeting, will serve a five-year term, succeeding Michael W. Kearney, one of four Orleans Parish representatives on the seven-member regional Board.
With the Port’s acquisition of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad effective Feb. 1, 2018, Port Commissioners also serve as directors of the New Orleans Public Belt board, Langenstein will become NOPB’s newest director with this appointment.
“The Port of New Orleans is glad to welcome Bill Langenstein aboard,” said Brandy D. Christian, Port of New Orleans President and CEO. “In addition to being an accomplished tax, real estate, and corporate attorney, Mr. Langenstein brings invaluable experience having served as a former New Orleans Public Belt Railroad commissioner. We look forward to his knowledgeable contributions to the Port and Public Belt.”
Langenstein is one of Louisiana’s leading tax, corporate and transaction attorneys at Chaffe, McCall in New Orleans. He is an honorary consul to the Republic of Korea and a member of the New Orleans Estate Planning Council.
“It is a great honor and privilege to serve on the Board of Commissioners and I am excited to work with my fellow board members, Port leadership, and staff to continue the work of creating economic opportunities for the metro area,” Langenstein said.
Langenstein is a member of the New Orleans Economic Development Advisory Committee and the Louisiana Children’s Museum Early Learning Village Steering Committee. He also serves on several economic development and community boards, including Greater New Orleans, Inc., the World Trade Center (Transportation Committee), the New Orleans Board of Trade, and the Greater New Orleans Educational Television Foundation (WYES-TV). He is a 2004 graduate of the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute and a former member of the National Kidney Foundation. He served as a New Orleans Public Belt Railroad commissioner from 2006-2010.
Langenstein earned a Juris Doctorate from Loyola University New Orleans in 1977 and received his Bachelors of Science in Accounting from Louisiana State University in 1974. He is a board- certified tax attorney, a licensed title insurance agent, and an inactive certified public accountant.
Langenstein has received many awards throughout his professional career including being selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Corporate Law, and Business Organizations in 2018, City Business Leadership in Law Honoree in 2017 and a Top Lawyer by New Orleans Magazine in 2016.
Additionally, Langenstein has served or is currently serving on several corporate boards including Koerner Capital, LLC; IBERIABANK Corporation; Geocent, LLC; Kavanagh Family Foundation; Maritime Holdings, LLC; and Intermarine, LLC.
The Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans consists of seven commissioners, who are unsalaried and serve five-year staggered terms. The Governor of Louisiana appoints members from a list of three nominees submitted by 19 local business, civic, labor, education and maritime groups. Four members are selected from Orleans Parish, two from Jefferson Parish and one from St. Bernard Parish.
Current members include Chairman Robert R. Barkerding Jr., Vice Chairman Laney J. Chouest, Secretary-Treasurer Arnold B. Baker, William T. Bergeron, Tara C. Hernandez and Darryl D. Berger.
The Port of New Orleans is a deep-draft multipurpose port at the center of the world’s busiest port system — Louisiana’s Lower Mississippi River. Connected to major inland markets and Canada via 14,500 miles of waterways, six Class I railroads and the interstate highway system, Port NOLA is the ideal gateway for containers and breakbulk cargo, as well as passenger cruises. A growing network of ocean carrier services, along with services like container-on- barge, make Port NOLA the superior logistics solution.
