Former Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Louis Sola has joined Washington lobby firm Thorn Run Partners as a partner.
Sola, who built a successful mega-yacht business before entering politics, was a Trump appointee to the FMC in 2018. He was re-appointed by President Joe Biden in 2024, then named by Trump to serve as chairman in 2025 before stepping down in June after a holdover period from his expired term.
The FMC oversees and enforces policy governing U.S. international ocean trade, including container shipping lines, most of which are based outside the U.S., as well as port terminal operators.
As FMC chairman, Sola led efforts during the Covid pandemic to safely resume cruise operations, Thorn Run said in a release, and was a strong advocate for development of liquefied natural gas fuel resources in ports. The release also said Sola was among the first federal officials to formally expose foreign influence in Latin American maritime infrastructure.
An Army veteran and counter-intelligence officer, at the FMC Sola helped defend U.S. national security interests against strategic encroachment at global shipping chokepoints.
Sola founded Evermarine, a global yacht and ship brokerage, and later consulted for the Inter-American Development Bank on Latin American port and infrastructure finance.
The lobby firm said Sola’s wide-ranging expertise will help it continue to expand its capabilities across key sectors.
“Lou Sola will add a unique and important capability to our firm,” said TRP Co-Founder Chris Lamond, in the release. “His experience and extensive network of relationships in the area of maritime trade and tariff policy will help us address a growing area of client need.”
“We are excited at the prospect of bolstering our firm’s offerings in such an important area as international trade,” said TRP Co-Founder Andrew Rosenberg, also in the statement. “Coupled with our current team of experts, Lou is going to instantly establish TRP as the leader in maritime and trade lobbying.”
Thorn Run has offices in Washington, Portland, Ore., and Los Angeles.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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