A local businessman was appointed this week as chairman of the Virginia Port Authority Board of Commissioners.

Jeffrey D. Wassmer received the unanimous vote of his fellow commissioners to succeed William H. Fralin Jr. He has been on the board since 2011 and has been reappointed to serve until June 2017.

He was the vice chairman from November 2012 until the most recent appointment.

“In this last year we have really come through some things and it has been a total team effort — there are a lot of people involved with this port,” Wassmer said in a press release announcing the appointment. “We still have a lot of work to do; we’re in a great place and have a lot of advantages at the Port of Virginia and we’re going to begin to focus and capitalize on those things.”

Wassmer is president and chief executive officer of Spectrum Comm Inc., a company he founded in 1999. He has more than 20 years of experience in network security and program management of Department of Defense command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance programs.

Commissioner Scott R. Bergeron was named the board’s vice chairman to replace Wassmer. He is the chief executive officer of the Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry. Bergeron serves as chairman of the board’s finance/planning committee, vice chair of the marketing/business development committee and is a member of the executive, compensation and investment and administrative committees. His term ends in June 2017.

The board’s newest member, Martin J. Briley, also was welcomed this week. Briley is president and chief executive officer of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and became a member of the board on July 1. He is a senior executive with 25 years of leadership experience in local, state, national and international business development and management.