After less than two years as executive director of the Port
of Long Beach, Chris Lytle is leaving to take on the same role at the Port of
Oakland.
In doing so, Lytle will leave the second busiest seaport in
North America to take the helm of the California’s third-busiest port, which is
still in the process of recovering from a scandal involving its previous
executive and maritime directors.
“The future of the Port of Oakland is bright, and I am
excited to be a part of the team as we work to realize its tremendous
potential,” Lytle said in a statement released by the port. “My family and I
are also really looking forward to living and working in the Oakland area once
again.”
Lytle was previously based in Oakland from 1992-1995 as an
executive with Sea-Land Service Inc.
He has held the Port of Long Beach’s executive director
position since November 2011, taking over the role upon the retirement of
longtime director Dick Steinke. Lytle first joined the Port of Long Beach in
2006 as a managing director, and was promoted to Deputy Executive Director and
Chief Operating Officer in 2008.
Lytle is expected to remain at Long Beach until mid-July and
is scheduled to begin his new job in Oakland shortly thereafter. The Long Beach
Board of Harbor Commissioners is expected to name an interim executive director
sometime in June.
Prior to his Long Beach tenure, Lytle was Vice President of
West Coast Operations for the French-based shipping line CMA CGM. He also
previously held executive positions at P&O Ports North America and
Denmark-based APM (Maersk) Terminals. He holds an MBA from the University of
Puget Sound and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Central
Washington University.
“My time here in Long Beach has been wonderful and I have
been very privileged to work with a talented, dedicated staff and the best
customers of any seaport in the world,” Lytle said May 23. “I will miss the
Port of Long Beach, but look forward to exciting new career challenges in
Oakland.”
Among the challenges awaiting him in Oakland will be helping
the port continue its recovery from a financial scandal involving the port’s
previous executive director, Omar Benjamin and maritime director, James Kwon.
In 2012, the two were found to have spent $4,500 entertaining shipping
executives at strip club in Houston, Texas 2008 during a business conference.
Kwon resigned effective at the end of 2012, while Benjamin
was forced into retirement in November of the same year. Another port
executive, Deborah Ale Flint, has been serving as interim port director since
October 2012. She is expected to continue in a senior executive position after
Lytle comes aboard, according to the Port of Oakland.
