By Mark Edward Nero
Tay Yoshitani, who has served as the Port of Seattle’s CEO for
nearly seven years, is stepping down from the position when his current
contract expires at the end of June, he confirmed during the port commission’s Jan.
7 meeting.
“I’m not going to give my exit speech yet because I’m going
to be here for another six months and I look forward to using those six months
to work closely with the Commission,” he said.
Yoshitani has been chief executive officer of the Port of
Seattle since March 2007. He’s the former chief executive of both the Maryland
Port Administration and the Port of Oakland and was also previously the deputy
executive director with the Port of Los Angeles.
Born in Japan, Yoshitani is a graduate of the US Military
Academy at West Point, a Vietnam veteran and holds a master’s in business
administration from Harvard University.
The Port Commission announced during the meeting that an
international search would be conducted for Yoshitani’s replacement.
“Tay continues to be a leader on issues central to the
success of ports across North America,” Commissioner Tom Albro said. “We thank
him for his years of valuable service in Seattle, as well as his work to
promote international trade and advance the success of maritime and aviation
industries.”
Yoshitani is expected to continue to serve as chairman of
the board of the American Association of Port Authorities, an unpaid position to
which he was elected in March 2013 and assumed last fall. The AAPA, headquartered
outside Washington, DC, is a trade group representing about 160 ports in the
Western Hemisphere. It advances its members’ interests through public advocacy
and professional development.
Yoshitani’s relations with the harbor board were strained in
the fall of 2012, when he was the subject of an ethics probe by Port of Seattle
commissioners after he joined the board of a for-profit logistics company,
Expeditors Intl.
In the role, he stood to earn more than $230,000 in annual
compensation – consisting of $30,000 in cash and up to $200,000 in restricted
stock options – on top of the nearly $367,000 a year he was earning at the
port.
An investigation found no conflict of interest or violations
of law because the logistics company doesn’t compete with, or conduct business
directly with, the port.
