Port of Longview Executive Director Ken O’Hollaren, who
announced in December 2011 that he would be retiring the following year, now
has an official departure date: Dec. 31.
O’Hollaren, who joined the port as assistant operations
manager in 1980, has been its executive director since January 1988, making him
the longest-tenured port director in Washington state, and one of the
longest-tenured maritime executives on the West Coast.
On July 18, the three-member Port of Longview Commission
voted to hire Geir Kalhagen, the general manager for the Pacific Northwest
office of Tidal Transport and Trade, as the port’s new chief executive.
Before joining Tidal Transport and Trade in June 2010,
Kalhagen spent 15 months as an operations manager with Grieg Star Shipping;
from December 2007 to January 2009 he was an operations manager with Star
Forest Carriers PTE Singapore.
Since September, O’Hollaren has been assisting Kalhagen in
making the transition to his new role, but port officials confirmed last week
that O’Hollaren would be departing at the end of the year.
Port officials have said the port commission plans to recognize
O’Hollaren’s tenure during its Dec. 14 meeting.
