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Pacific Harbor Line (PHL) President Otis Cliatt II has been appointed to the board of trustees of his alma mater, Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU), by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Based in Tallahassee, FAMU was founded in 1887 and is the third-largest historically black university in the United States, with a student enrollment of 10,000. Cliatt graduated from the university in 1987 with a degree in business economics.
Also named to the FAMU board by DeSantis was Michael Dubose, president of Fisher Healthcare, based in Alpharetta, Ga., and a division of Thermo Fisher Scientific.
“Florida A&M University is fortunate to have these two talented, hardworking and visionary alumni join our board of trustees,” said FAMU President Larry Robinson. “They bring a wealth of experience and the tools to assist the university as we navigate current challenges and forge a prosperous future.”
Peter Gilbertson, chairman and CEO of Anacostia Rail Holdings, which owns PHL, joined FAMU in its recognition of Mr. Cliatt. “We’re very proud of Otis and his latest achievement,” said Gilbertson. “It’s wonderful news, but not entirely a surprise to us. For more than a decade at PHL, Otis has contributed his time in talent assisting various rail, civic and now educational organizations.”
Cliatt joined PHL as vice president in 2010 and has served as president since 2012. He previously held senior management roles at Union Pacific Railroad and CANAC Railway Services.
As an industry leader, Cliatt has served on the board of directors of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association and the California Short Line Railroad Association, as well as on GE Transportation’s Customer Advisory Board. He also has been chairman and vice chairman of World Trade Week, a major annual business conference sponsored by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
A former FAMU scholarship football player, Cliatt served eight years in the Army’s Special Operations Command Airborne, earning a Bronze Star in Operation Desert Storm. In 2019, he was named a FAMU National Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni honoree.
Pacific Harbor Line is one of six railroads operated by Chicago-based Anacostia Rail Holdings and provides rail transportation, maintenance, and dispatching services to the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Together, they form the largest container port in the U.S. PHL connects with BNSF Railway and Union Pacific.