Friday, June 17, 2016

Port Angeles Interviewing Executive Director Finalists

By Mark Edward Nero

The Port of Port Angeles Board of Commissioners is currently interviewing four high-profile applicants for the position of executive director. The candidates are in Port Angeles for two days of interviews on June 16 and 17.

The four finalists for the position are:
Karen Goschen, who has been the interim executive director at the port since the start of the year; James Kuntz, the former executive director of Port of Walla Walla; Robert Uptagrafft, CEO and executive director of the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Association; and David Walter, who’s a partner in Kingsway Consulting and a former DuPont Corp. executive.

The four are vying to replace Ken O’Halloren, who retired from the job in December 2015. He was hired permanently for the role in March of 2014, after being the interim executive director since October 2013. Prior to that, spent near a quarter of a century as CEO of the Port of Longview.

The Port Angeles port commission is expected to meet in executive session for candidate interviews on June 17.

On June 16, the Port Commission held public interviews from noon to 5 PM at the port’s public meeting room, during which the public was able to submit questions for the candidates. A 90-minute public reception for the candidates followed the interviews in the Olympic Board Room at the Red Lion Hotel in Port Angeles.