The Steamship Authority board of governors voted unanimously this week to hire an outside candidate to be the next general manager of the ferry line. 

During a brief meeting Thursday, the board picked Alex Kryska, a West Coast ferry line executive, over the internal experience of the Steamship’s chief operating officer Mark Amundsen as the Steamship seeks to embark on an era of change. 

Alex Kryska.

Louisa Hufstader

Alex Kryska.

Louisa Hufstader

“It’s clear from people in my community...that this is a great opportunity for culture change,” said Peter Jeffrey, the Falmouth board member.

“I think for me, Alex is the candidate to go to so we don’t deplete our bench and that this board demonstrates that we’re moving forward with change,” he added.

The board interviewed the two finalists last week after more than a year of searching for a replacement for Robert Davis, who is set to step down from the top position at the end of the year.

Mr. Kryska will be joining the Steamship Authority from the San Francisco Bay Area, where he was the chief operating officer for Prop SF, which developed commuter ferry routes in California.

“Budget management, proposals, personnel management, operations management, the full gamut — whatever comes along is in my purview,” he said at his board interview at the Iris Hotel in Falmouth last Friday.

His past management experience ranges from running a home day care center during the last recession to supervising a staff of 1,000 Transportation Security Administration screeners, Mr. Kryska said. 

He also ran commuter ferry services for employees of the Bay Area corporations Facebook and Genentech and was a Washington, D.C.-based fleet manager for Military Sealift Command, which Mr. Kryska described as the “cargo backbone of the Navy.”

The prospect of leading the Steamship Authority was an exciting one for him, Mr. Kryska said during the interview.

“It’s an institution. It’s been around a long time. Everybody knows what the authority is and it just feels like it’s kind of the icing on the cake,” he said.

Some of Mr. Kryska’s priorities for the Steamship Authority included additional capital funding, particularly in light of Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy’s decarbonization plan for an emissions-free commonwealth by 2050, which will require investing in alternative propulsion methods.

Community relations are also key, he said. While he would be entering the Steamship Authority as a newcomer, Mr. Kryska said, he is open and willing to learn from Mr. Davis — who is shifting to an advisory position in 2026 — and Mr. Amundsen, along with treasurer and comptroller Mark Rozum.

“It’s a great organization that does some amazing things, and I’d be tickled, honored to be able to lead it,” he said.

The new general manager at the ferry line will be tasked with installing a new reservation system, completing the new Woods Hole terminal and incorporating new freight ferries into the fleet.  

There was some hesitation from one member of the board on Mr. Kryska and the initial vote was not unanimous. Robert Jones, the representative from Barnstable, said he was impressed with Mr. Amundsen’s public interview, during which the COO laid out his vision for a greener fleet with more profitable operations.

“As much as I think either candidate would do a good job, I think Mark has the experience [and] he has a lot of ideas of moving the Authority forward,” Mr. Jones said.

When the other board members threw their weight behind Mr. Kryska, Mr. Jones switched his vote to the majority side. 

“I think it’s really important that the board be unanimous on a decision of this nature [so] I’m willing to change my vote,” he said.

A veteran of the international shipping industry, Mr. Amundsen was hired by the ferry line in 2019 for the newly-created position of director of marine operations. In his role, he has overseen the purchase and conversion of the three new freight ferries, as well as the maintenance of the rest of the fleet.

Mr. Amundsen told the board that he would stay on as COO if he was not picked for the general manager position. For James Malkin, the Vineyard representative on the board, hiring Mr. Kryska and keeping Mr. Amundsen was the best of both worlds. 

“I was heartened to hear from Mr. Amundsen that he was happy to stay on with us,” Mr. Malkin said Thursday. “He brings experience, and I think with Mr. Rozum, with Mr. Amundsen and with Mr. Kryska, we would have a strong, solid team with in-depth knowledge as well as general experience to bring to the Steamship Authority going forward.” 

Thursday’s decision clears the way for Steamship Authority general counsel Terence Kenneally and human resources director Janice Kennefick to begin contract negotiations with Mr. Kryska. 

This is the first outside candidate general manager candidate hired at the Steamship Authority in at least two decades. Mr. Davis, the former treasurer, took the helm in 2017 from Wayne Lamson, who inherited the top position in 2004.