Friday, June 14, 2013

POLB Names Interim Deputy Director

After leaving the position open for well over a year, the Port of Long Beach is filling its number two management job, at least temporarily.

On June 12, the Long Beach Harbor Commission decided to name its own executive officer, Noel Hacegaba, to serve as the port’s interim deputy executive director. This follows on the heels of the June 7 announcement that Al Moro, the port’s chief harbor engineer, would become the interim executive director.

Moro will be filling the shoes of outgoing Executive Director Chris Lytle, who after less than two years in his current role, steps down in mid-July to take over as the head of the Port of Oakland. Lytle had been Long Beach’s executive director since November 2011, after being promoted from deputy executive director. The deputy executive director job has been vacant since Lytle’s promotion.

Hacegaba, the man who’ll be filling the deputy’s role on an interim basis currently coordinates all administrative and communications functions for the Board, makes recommendations on public policy issues, serves as a liaison with elected officials and other public agencies and coordinates trade missions and conferences.

“Noel has done an exemplary job as Executive Officer and we are confident he will provide outstanding support to Al Moro during the next several months,” Board President Susan Anderson Wise said.

“Noel will be working closely with Al and the rest of the senior management team to guide the port through the projects and initiatives that are underway. Like Al, Noel will not be a candidate for the Executive Director position.”

Hacegaba has been the Board Executive Officer since 2010. Before joining the port, he worked with environmental services company Republic Services. Earlier, he served as Assistant Chief of Staff for the Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office.

The Harbor Board is scheduled to vote on the appointments of both Moro and Hacegaba during its June 17 meeting.

Since the interim appointees won’t be candidates to fill the positions permanently, Long Beach is still looking to fill five upper management vacancies. In addition to the executive director’s and deputy executive director’s jobs, the positions of Managing Director of Trade Development and Port Operations and Director of Communications, are both currently vacant. Long Beach also needs a new Managing Director of Environmental Affairs & Planning because Robert Kanter is retiring after 23 years with the Port of Long Beach.