In commemoration of Gregory M. Kiez

Global Ports Holding Plc, the world's largest independent cruise port operator, is today commemorating the sixth anniversary of the passing of Gregory M. Kiez, a former chairman and Co-Founder of the Group.

Mr. Kiez was a Canadian-born lawyer and businessman who spent the final 20 years of his life in Turkey, where he and current Chairman Mehmet Kutman acquired the Group's first port at Kuşadası in 2004.  He oversaw the initial growth of the Group, firm in his vision and belief that a cruise port should be much more than a place of embarkation and disembarkation.

Although he is no longer with us, the examples that Mr. Kiez set through his meticulous work ethic, self-discipline and considered wisdom continue to inform and guide the Group's management on a day-to-day basis. 

Outside of the Group, Mr. Kiez is remembered as a doyen of the Turkish maritime sector and a philanthropist who both founded and supported numerous causes within his adopted Turkish homeland and abroad.