Governor appoints Tom Koger to HCPHC

May 25, 2018

Tom Koger has been appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant to the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission. He is a resident of Diamondhead and has lived in Hancock County for more than 50 years. He replaces Sherri Bevis who had served on the Commission since 2013.

During his career, Koger worked in numerous civilian and defense space programs. As a senior vice president of Boeing, he was responsible for business development, space policy and government affairs in a commercial space program.

Prior to his career with Boeing, Koger worked with the leadership at Stennis Space Center to develop an aerospace industry cluster known as the Mississippi Space Commerce Initiative and later renamed The Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions. He developed the initial concept in 1998 and served as EIGS executive director from 2011 to 2014. EIGS has been nationally recognized as one of the most successful industry clusters in the country. 

As a small satellite technology business owner, Koger worked with national and international aerospace executives including Elon Musk of SpaceX to commercialize and advance low-cost space technologies.

As a consultant to the aerospace industry, Koger has participated in several Economic Development Administration studies related to Stennis Space Center centric economic development efforts including primary authorship of a strategic plan that examined economic development themes centered on aerospace technologies, propulsion systems, and space port development. The Stennis study included a critical examination of the opportunities and barriers to economic development along with recommendations for leveraging Port and Harbor assets through Enhanced Use Leasing Authority and Space Act Agreements.

As an entrepreneur and business owner, Koger is involved in projects that include supercomputer flood modeling for the insurance industry and unmanned aerial systems development.  He has three patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission was established in 1963 to lead the county’s economic development activities. Stennis International Airport and Port Bienville Industrial Park are home to 30 companies with more than 1,000 employees. For more information visit www.portairspace.com.