Academy of Distinguished Alumni

  • Alumni Image #1:
  • Image Caption Title #1: Houston Ship Channel - Houston, Texas
  • Image Caption #1: Kornegay began his career with the Port of Houston Authority in 1972, rising through the ranks of the engineering department before becoming managing director. He was instrumental in the completion of $700M Houston Ship Channel deepening and widening project.
  • Alumni Image #2:
  • Image Caption Title #2: Bayport Container Terminal - Seabrook, Texas
  • Image Caption #2: Kornegay’s oversaw the construction of the Bayport Container Terminal which helped propel the Port of Houston Authority into a leader in global containerization. His deep knowledge of port operations is also recognized well beyond the borders of Texas through his affiliation with the International Association of Ports and Harbors.
headshot of H. Thomas Kornegay

tom kornegay

H. Thomas Kornegay, Jr.

M.S., Oklahoma State University, 1966
B.S., University of Texas at Austin, 1964

Tom Kornegay was the longest-serving executive director in the Port of Houston Authority's history. During his 37-year career, he held numerous positions at the Port Authority, working his way through the ranks. Throughout his career, Kornegay also served in a leadership role in many of the maritime industry’s most prominent policy-making organizations.

Kornegay holds an M.S. in architectural engineering from Oklahoma State University and a B.S. in architectural engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. In 1998, he was certified by the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) as a professional port manager.

While working in the Port Authority engineering department, Kornegay developed the Master Plan for the Fentress Bracewall Barbours Cut Container Terminal, which opened in 1976 and is the busiest container terminal on the U.S. Gulf Coast. This container terminal also set the course for continued economic development in the Houston metropolitan region since its inception.

He served in the engineering department for 15 years before being appointed managing director and finally executive director. In this role, he was instrumental in completing the $700M Houston Ship Channel deepening and widening project, which included significant environmental, safety and economic benefits for the Houston region and the State of Texas.

 He has been affiliated with the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) for more than 25 years and has risen through the ranks of IAPH leadership, serving as president from 2005-2007. He also represented the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) as an advisory member of the U.S. delegation to the International Maritime Organization. He served as chairman of the board and chairman of the U.S. Delegation for AAPA as well.

Kornegay received the Russell H. Perry Award, presented by the Texas Department of Transportation, in 2005 for outstanding contributions to transportation.