The Port of Long Beach Harbor Commission on Oct. 15 voted to
hire US Transportation Security Administration executive Randy Parsons as the port’s
new security director.
Parsons, who starts at the port Nov. 5, was chosen after a
national search. He replaces Cosmo Perrone, who retired in May 2011 after six
years as security head.
Parsons has had a long and varied career in counterterrorism,
transportation security, education and law enforcement. He joined the TSA in
March 2009 as federal security director at Phoenix Sky Harbor International
Airport. In August 2010, he moved into the same position at Los Angeles
International Airport where he remained until being hired by the port. Parsons
also has extensive experience in the private sector as a consultant on security
and business continuity.
Parsons retired from the FBI in 2005 after 20 years of
service. His last assignment was as the Special Agent in Charge for the
Counterterrorism Program in the Los Angeles office. Prior to the FBI, Parsons
practiced law and before that was a police officer in Topeka, Kansas.
He was also a professor of criminal justice for Washburn
University in Topeka.
