Page 24: of Maritime Logistics Professional Magazine (Q3 2015)

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career pro? le

Parker Harrison

Vice President, Procurement

Crowley Maritime Corporation

By Joseph Keefe

Harrison harlottesville, VA and the University of Virginia are choice of undergraduate majors was not as critical as it might a long, long way from the ocean. Arguably, an even otherwise have been,” she said. Nevertheless, it might be said

Cgreater distance is the one which stretches from a that a maritime professional whose experience is ? rmly based

Bachelor of Arts degree in Italian and German, all the way to in (a.) admiralty law, (b.) the claims process, (c.) risk manage- a C-suite position at one of the nation’s premier ocean ship- ment, and now (d.) procurement – is as well rounded as an ping and logistics companies. But, that’s just where Parker ocean shipping ? rm could ask for. We asked Harrison: You

Harrison ? nds herself, a little more than 20 years after gradu- arguably couldn’t have planned it any better. Did you? Or was ating from college. Along the way, she also earned a Master’s this serendipity?

Degree, also from the University of Virginia, and eventually, “Getting here was pure serendipity, but staying here is de- a Juris Doctor from Tulane Law School (magna cum laude), liberate,” she replied, adding, “I am from New Orleans and in May of 2001. had planned to make my career there, so attending Tulane for

Looking back, a much younger Parker Harrison had no in- law school was the logical choice, given Louisiana’s civil law kling of what was to come next. “I actually grew up in New system. When I started at Tulane, I knew nothing about mari-

Orleans – we moved there when I was 12 – and I crossed the time law but decided to try an introductory course to see what

Mississippi River twice each day to go to and from school. it was about, especially given Tulane’s excellent admiralty law

But although I watched the ships pass by, it never occurred to program.” A job at the admiralty law group at Chaffe McCall, me that those vessels and the cargoes they carried might be in New Orleans’s oldest law ? rm, immersed her in the area of de- any way relevant to my life. Not even once. After I ? nished fense of maritime litigation – chie? y oil spills, personal injury my Master’s, I returned to New Orleans, where I worked for matters, cargo claims, and the post-Katrina litigation jugger- several years before applying to law school.” naut. Back then, she had little opportunity to learn about her clients’ day-to-day operations.

Serendipity – or good planning? Eventually, and after several years of law practice, she had

Harrison’s undergraduate degree in Italian and German an opportunity to get one step closer to the industry by taking studies merits more than passing attention. That’s because she a role with the American Club, a member of the International discovered that she had a knack for languages at a very young Group of P&I clubs, which dramatically increased her expo- age and has actually studied French, German and Italian. “Not sure to the commercial realities of operating a shipping com- a very practical choice, but it was something I was good at pany. At Crowley, you might say she’s ? nally at the epicenter and I also knew that graduate school was in my future so my of that commercial reality. “It doesn’t get much more real or 24 Maritime Professional 3Q 2015| | 18-33 Q3 MP2015.indd 24 9/18/2015 9:43:09 AM