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Massport Board Chairman Mark Robinson announces the appointment of Scott Kafker, Massports chief legal counsel, as interim Executive Director of the Authority

Kafkers appointment comes after former Executive Director Peter Blute tendered his resignation to Governor Paul Cellucci on Wednesday. Blute had been at Massport since 1997. Scott is highly regarded by the Authoritys board and senior staff and is well-respected at the State House and on Wall Street, said Robinson. In addition, Leslie Kirwan has been elevated to the position of acting deputy executive director and Lowell Richards, chief development officer, will assume broader, authority-wide management reponsibilities. Leslie and Lowell will serve as Scotts executive advisory team.

Kafker will oversee all aspects of Massport operations, including Logan International Airport, the Port of Boston, the Tobin Bridge, Hanscom Field and the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal. Massport has annual gross revenues of approximately $300 million, assets of $1.5 billion and a capital investment program of $2 billion.

He joined Massport as Chief Counsel in 1993 and was responsible for all legal matters at the Authority, overseeing 10 staff lawyers, the Departments of Risk Management and Labor Relations, and outside counsel from regional and national law firms. Areas of law overseen include aviation, bankruptcy, collections, compliance, construction, contracting, employment, environmental, ethics, finance, intellectual property, litigation, maritime, pension, real estate, securities, telecommunications and transportation.

Kafker served as an instructor at Massport-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Airport Courses, as a panelist at the American Bar Association Annual Air and Space Forum and as a speaker at the Airports Council International Annual Legal Committee Meeting. Scott is a valuable contributor to the Airport Council International-North America community and is a recognized expert on airport legal and regulartory issues, said Patricia Hahn, general counsel, Airports Council International-North America.

Prior to joining Massport, Kafker served as Deputy Chief Counsel and Deputy Legal Counsel to Massachusetts Governor William F. Weld. He was also in private legal practice at Foley, Hoag & Eliot and has held judicial clerkships with Judge Mark L. Wolf, United States District Court, District of Massachusetts, and Justice Charles L. Levin, Michigan Supreme Court.

Kafker, 40, has a B.A. cum laude from Amherst College and a J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School. He was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1985. He has published several articles on labor issues in The Labor Lawyer, and on constitutional issues in the University of Chicago Law Review.

Kafker and his wife, Lea Anne, have two sons.