"John is a role model for leadership at Matson. He embodies values to which we all aspire – teamwork, mutual respect, integrity, accountability and innovation – and lives them every day. During his tenure, John has influenced the evolution of virtually all of our business processes and made them better," said Matt Cox, Chairman and CEO. "I want to express my deep gratitude to John for his years of dedicated service and many contributions to Matson's success."
Under Lauer's leadership, Matson has reinforced its standing and reputation as the leading carrier in its core domestic markets. He has also led the company's organic growth internationally, expanding its industry leading expedited services between China and the U.S. West Coast and introducing Matson's brand of service into important new markets with oversight responsibility for all operations in Asia. He has also been a driver of company initiatives leveraging the latest technology to introduce new management tools that will improve strategic decision making into the future.
"As a result of our longstanding bench development and succession planning efforts, we have a dynamic veteran Matson leader in Chris Scott, who is well prepared to take the baton," said Cox. "Chris will bring 34 years of broad industry experience to his new role - the majority of which has been in leadership roles across Matson operations and commercial departments. Working alongside John and Qiang Gao, our SVP, Asia, he has been integral to the successful growth of our China services over the past decade."
Having begun his career in transportation and logistics in 1992, working in trucking and warehousing operations, Scott joined Matson in 1995 as a customer service representative at Matson's Customer Service Center in Phoenix, rose to a leadership position in that organization and later served in a series of increasing leadership positions in operations and sales at Matson. He was promoted to senior vice president, transpacific services in February 2021 and was appointed to his current role in January 2026.
The company also announced that its succession plan will elevate Tony Crisafulli, Director of Trade, Transpacific Service, to the position of Vice President, Transpacific Service when Scott's appointment becomes effective on July 1.
Crisafulli, a 30-year industry veteran joined Matson in 2025 and in his current role is responsible for key commercial aspects of Matson's China service, including assisting in management of the trade relating to overall strategy, customer relationships, and allocation management. In his new role, he will be responsible to lead the commercial efforts for Matson's China services, reporting to Scott.
About the Company
Founded in 1882, Matson (NYSE: MATX) is a leading provider of ocean transportation and logistics services. Matson provides a vital lifeline of ocean freight transportation services to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam, and to other island economies in Micronesia. Matson also operates premium, expedited services from China to Long Beach, California, which includes cargo from other Asia origins, provides service to Okinawa, Japan and various islands in the South Pacific, and operates an international export service from Alaska to Asia. The Company's fleet of owned and chartered vessels includes containerships, combination container and roll-on/roll-off ships and barges. Matson Logistics, established in 1987, extends the geographic reach of Matson's transportation network throughout North America and Asia. Its integrated logistics services include rail intermodal, highway brokerage, warehousing, freight consolidation, supply chain management, and freight forwarding to Alaska. Additional information about the Company is available at www.matson.com.
Contact:
Keoni Wagner
Matson
510-628-4534
[email protected]
SOURCE Matson, Inc.
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