Port of Long Beach Uses Education to Boost its Competitiveness

By Eric Haun July 18, 2014

Photo: Port of Long Beach

The Port of Long Beach said it has not lost sight of the significance of professional development in supporting the Port‘s decade-long, $4 billion investment in upgrades and efficiency improvements. The port’s commitment to boosting its competitiveness in the long term extends beyond rebuilding and replacing outdated facilities and infrastructure, to ensuring its human resources are prepared to help build the port of the future.

“Having a full understanding of all the operations of the port and how departments and roles work together to achieve an overall goal is a valuable asset to our workforce,” commented Dr. Noel Hacegaba, Acting Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Port of Long Beach. “And this course provided that comprehensive overview.” Dr. Hacegaba participated in this week’s CPE CERTIFIED PORT EXECUTIVE Program held at the Port along with six other Port employees and five other managers from rail, terminal operations and other American ports.

The addition of CPE CERTIFIED PORT EXECUTIVE credentials gives the Port of Long Beach managers the tools and knowledge to individually make a more effective contribution to the organization, and to function more cohesively as a team. MacDonnell Group president Ralston MacDonnell explains the development of the program: “The maritime industry is constantly changing; management faces new realities and effective leadership requires a comprehensive understanding of the overall context. The course was designed to cover rapidly changing regulations and requirements that affect ports, marine facilities, transportation providers, supply chain operators and vessels, and is valuable to all levels of management from all related industry stakeholders.” Course topics include an overview of the worldwide intermodal transportation system, port and terminal operations, cargo management, safety and security, emergency planning and response, public and media relations, environmental management, and strategic, master, and business planning.

The course was developed by the MacDonnell Group and delivered by Captain Jeffrey Monroe, CPE, MM, MTM, a licensed master mariner with a Master’s Degree in Transportation Management.

The CPE CERTIFIED PORT EXECUTIVE designation was given to the following:

Gina Barro, Business Development Manager, Trade Development, Port of Long Beach, Calif.
Kathleen Charchenko, Assistant Marketing Manager, Trade Development, Port of Long Beach, Calif.
Otis Cliatt II, President, Pacific Harbor Line, Wilmington Calif.
Dr. Noel Hacegaba, Acting Deputy Executive Director, Chief Operating Officer, Port of Long Beach, Calif.
Brett Mascaro, Business Development Manager, Trade Development, Port of Long Beach, Calif.
Andrew McClure, Supervisor, United States Cold Storage, Tulare Calif.
John Pasch, Captain, USCG Ret’d, Port of Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi Texas
Rod Pickens, General Manager, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, Baltimore Md.
Eric Shen, Director of Transportation Planning, Port of Long Beach, Calif.
Mechelle Smothers, Administrative Analyst, Trade Development, Port of Long Beach, Calif.
Dina Steaman, Port Manager, Southern California, CMA CGM America, Long Beach Calif.
Roger Wu, Marketing Manager, Trade Development, Port of Long Beach, Calif.