b'SPECIALREPORTQ&A: Interview with John WaggonerBy Bob Shaw, Industry Expertfor a licensed captain with an MBA to lead the construction and operation of a 1,000-passenger vessel in southern California. As an avid cyclist, I initially wanted no part of southern California but fell in love with that challenge and the business. What a ride the past 30 years have been!American Empress American Queen How did you start HMS Global Maritime? In 1994 I sensed an opportunity for John Waggoner is the Chairman and CEO of HMS Global Maritimemaritime management and founded and the American Queen Steamboat Company. Johns inspiringHornblower Marine Services (later keynote presentation A Boy, A Boat and a Dream at the PVAHMS Global Maritime) with Terry Annual Convention at MariTrends 2019 New Orleans in NewMacRae, CEO of Hornblower Cruises Orleans, chronicled how he built HMS Global Maritime into a& Events. While our first contract was dynamic maritime leader and brought the American Queena San Francisco ice skating rink (no steamship back to life. John Waggoner kidding!) we entered the fast-growing riverboat casino business. I moved the John, how did you get started on the water?company headquarters to New Albany, My family moved to San Diego from the Midwest when I was a boy. I hungIN to be near our first casino boat client, around a fishing pier and pestered a captain to take me out in exchange for work.and from there we grew a thriving That single voyage hooked me and from then on, I dreamed of being on the water.maritime consulting company. As we Eventually I earned a BS in Marine Biology from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo andbuilt-up world-class capabilities and worked almost nonstop as a commercial sport fisherman.expertise we became the go to people How did you join Hornblower?for many unique situations.After I received my MBA at Cal Poly in 1988, I was focused on entering a careerAnd then you added a Ferries Division. in maritime banking. I saw a Hornblower advertisement in the Wall Street JournalOver time, we handed the daily op-erations back to the casino boat owners. They certainly had time to do that as so many were dockside and not cruising. We wanted sticky, longer-term clients who would appreciate our expertise and who couldnt focus on marine operations that demanded constant attention. We found several municipal and state ferry contracts that were perfect marriages. Today, we manage a fleet across the country including our first client, the St. Johns River Ferry in EASY MANEUVERABILITY Jacksonville, FL. Weve been partners for over 20 years, while the contract Give your passengers a smooth ride with reliable John Deere PowerTech propulsion and generatormoved between four different govern-drive engines. With high torque and low-ratedment agencies. rpm, they deliver excellent vessel control and quietNext up was Government Contracting. operation. For easy navigation on the water 60 to 559 kW (80 to 750 hp)Nothing Runs Like A Deere. We certainly raised our industry profile and were approached during several U.S. Navy contracting op-JohnDeere.com/Marine portunities. We won a large contract and learned we needed a strong track 28 APRIL 2019FOGHORN'