Commonwealth Ports Authority Executive Director Leo B. Tudela attends a CPA board meeting in the Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting classroom of the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport on Tuesday.
THE Commonwealth Ports Authority board of directors is upbeat about the new executive director, Leo B. Tudela.
CPA Board Chairman Jose C. Ayuyu introduced Tudela during a board meeting on Tuesday, and said: “On behalf of the other members of the board, we really have high expectations for you leading this organization.”
In his remarks, Tudela, the 80-year-old retired U.S. Postal Service area manager, said he was very pleased to be selected for the job. He has a wide range of experience in running a large organization and in implementing policies and decisions, he said, adding that he worked for the nation’s postal service until his retirement in 2018.
Tudela said he is “very happy” to work with CPA’s board, management and employees, and he expects them to work closely with him as well.
He said he would like to do something a little different in terms of reporting to the board. “I need your support,” he added. “I can’t do anything without your support. And I want you to know, I’ll do my very best.”
The only Chamorro who became a high-ranking official in the nation’s postal service, Tudela said after retiring, he returned to Saipan to help the CNMI.
“I was always thinking about the CNMI, and what can I do for the CNMI. And then I got a chance to apply for this job. Bingo, now I’m going to do something for the CNMI,” he said.
He said he wants to do what needs to be done.
“We are getting paid by the CNMI people — they are public funds even though we’re autonomous,” Tudela said, adding that things might look complicated, but “if we all work together, we will be successful.”
Also attending the CPA board meeting on Tuesday were its vice chairman, Antonio B. Cabrera, and members Dolores P. Kiyoshi, Ramon A. Tebuteb, Joseph Diaz and Steve Mesngon, as well as CPA legal counsels Robert T. Torres and Joseph M. Hallahan.
