Los Angeles Mayor Picks APL’s Seroka to Lead North America’s Largest Port

By Jonathan S. Reiskin, Associate News Editor

This story appears in the June 2 print edition of Transport Topics.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti nominated American Presidents Line executive Gene Seroka to be the next executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.

Seroka will be offered the job this week by city harbor commissioners, and then the nomination goes to the City Council for an approval vote.

He would replace Geraldine Knatz, who ran the port from 2006 until her retirement in November. Her interim replacement has been Gary Moore, the city engineer.

Seroka, 49, currently runs commercial operations in the Americas region for APL, a subsidiary of Singapore-based ocean carrier Neptune Orient Lines.

He has worked for APL or Neptune since 1988 and currently works out of its Scottsdale, Arizona, office.

“I look forward to focusing our operations to provide world-class customer service while continuing to invest in a healthy and vibrant harbor community,” Seroka said.

The nomination, announced by the mayor’s office May 27, must be approved by the Los Angeles City Council before Seroka can take office. If approved, he will run North America’s busiest container port on a daily basis and will report to the city’s Board of Harbor Commissioners.

“I’m confident that Gene will be a strong leader who will enhance our international trade agenda, increase reliability and efficiency through effective management and labor relations, and ensure our port is a sustainable and positive neighbor to the harbor community,” Garcetti said.

In February, executive search firm Ralph Andersen & Associates started looking for a replacement for Knatz, known for her implementation of the Clean Truck Program to modernize the drayage fleet working at the L.A. port. Representatives from the shipping industry, labor, local elected officials, business groups and residents provided input to the harbor commissioners via Andersen & Associates, Garcetti’s office said.

A committee of harbor commissioners brought in the top applicants for interviews, and finalists were recommended to Garcetti.

A port spokesman said the commissioners will formally offer the job to Seroka in a June 5 session. After that, the City Council will consider the nomination and vote on it.

The executive director’s salary can range between $240,000 and $360,000 a year, said port spokesman Phillip Sanfield.

Los Angeles’ 7,500-acre port on San Pedro Bay handled 7.9 million 20-foot-equivalent units of containerized freight in 2013.

The Port of Long Beach next door, the second-busiest container port, processed 6.7 million TEUs the same year.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, the L.A. port’s budget is $1.07 billion, including $209.1 million for annual operating expenses and $451.9 million for capital projects. The balance of $410.1 million covers interest payments, financing, debt service and the stocking of reserve funds.

Seroka’s background in commercial maritime shipping is very different from his predecessor’s. Knatz has a doctoral degree in biology and started her career as an environmental scientist.

Trucking company CEO Victor La Rosa exclaimed, “Genius!” when asked to describe Seroka.

“He’ll be an excellent executive director of the port. He has fantastic industry knowledge from his time with APL,” added La Rosa, a co-founder of Total Transportation Services in Rancho Dominguez, California.

La Rosa urged Seroka to work on reducing turn times at the port so drivers can get in and out more quickly.

Long Beach also has been looking for a new executive director. Chris Lytle departed the top job last June to take charge of the Port of Oakland. Al Moro since has been running operations on an acting basis there.

Port of Long Beach spokesman Art Wong said that could change soon.

“Our commissioners are currently interviewing candidates,” he said, noting that they said they expect to make their choice this month. “So I think they’ll make an appointment in the coming weeks.”

Both Los Angeles and Long Beach are “landlord” ports. The two port authorities sign long-term leases with commercial terminal operators that run daily operations.

The authorities are primarily responsible for infrastructure maintenance and improvements.