John Horan had a career in the Australian stevedoring industry spanning close to 50 years having first joined the Oversea and General Stevedoring company in Townsville in 1964.

In 1968 he moved to Patrick in Brisbane where he was Assistant Manager for the company’s Queensland business before transferring to Patrick’s Sydney operation.

Up to December 2006, John was responsible for the marketing and contracts for both stevedoring divisions of the company (container terminals and auto bulk & general) which included the preparation, negotiation and execution of terminal and stevedoring services for Patrick’s shipping line customers. From 2007 until his retirement in 2012 he was General Manager, Contracts and Marketing for Patrick Container Ports.

Always keen to provide innovative solutions to peak season congestion issues, he was instrumental in the design of AAT in which equipment and facilities were pooled for common benefit of shipping lines. He was an alternate director of AAT from 2004 until 2007 which included two periods as Chairman.

In industry parlance, John Horan is known as a “lifer'” in Australia’s stevedoring market and is renowned within the Patrick family as one of its most committed employees. He has earned a remarkable reputation for winning new business for Patrick and then ensuring that the company delivered on his promises.

He has always been culturally aware and has hosted many delegations from Asia and Europe, building long-standing relationships with overseas Principals. This was particularly critical after the 1998 dispute when customers had lost faith and required commitment.

John was a passionate advocate for 24/7 working on the waterfront and first advised the industry to count Sunday as a paid storage day in June 2005. This was finally implemented in October 2009.

In fact, it was in particularly difficult times that John Horan’s star shone brightly such as the 1998 MUA dispute, the hostile takeover of Patrick in 2007 (one of Australia’s most public takeover battles), the subsequent formation of Asciano and the automation of Brisbane.

His industry participation has been constant and varied being actively engaged in industry reform and initiatives involving the introduction of unitisation and later containerisation, bulk grain loading manning arrangements, the Inter-State Commission’s investigation into the Australian waterfront and the Waterfront Industry Reform Authority.

During our research into John’s background, we found a recurring word… integrity. His colleagues have referred to John’s integrity in striving to deliver win-win situations for both the customer and the company as the principal reason not only for his longevity in a highly competitive field but also for the esteem in which he is held by Patrick customers at home and abroad.