Port People: Long Beach, New Orleans Northwest Seaport Alliance, Trois-Rivières

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has appointed Duane Kenagy, P.E., interim chief executive officer of the Port of Long Beach. He will serve until a successor is found to Jon Slangerup, who announced his resignation as CEO on September 8.

Mr. Kenagy is the port’s capital programs executive, overseeing nearly $4.5 billion in construction and improvement projects.

"The Board is extremely pleased to have Duane Kenagy serve as our Interim CEO. He is highly respected by all of the Commissioners, very well regarded in our industry, and well-liked by the port staff. Duane will lead the Port of Long Beach on a steady path forward as the search begins for a permanent Chief Executive," said Lori Ann Guzmán, president of the Board of Harbor Commissioners.

Mr. Kenagy, who joined the port in 2014, has more than 35 years of engineering and design project management experience. He oversees the replacement of the Gerald Desmond Bridge and the redevelopment of the Middle Harbor Container Terminal, each budgeted at nearly $1.5 billion. Prior to joining the port, Mr. Kenagy worked for the engineering consulting firm Moffatt & Nichol.

Mr. Kenagy and the commission stated he would not be a candidate for permanent appointment as chief executive.
The board has issued a Request for Proposals to conduct an international search for its next chief executive. "We are committed to carrying out a thorough, professional, and transparent global search for our next CEO," said Ms. Guzmán.

New Orleans Dock Board Elects Michael W. Kearney Chairman

The board of commissioners of the Port of New Orleans elected Michael W. Kearney chairman at its meeting on September 22. Then-Gov. Bobby Jindal appointed Mr. Kearney to the board in December 2012 as a representative of Orleans Parish.

He succeeds William T. Bergeron, whose term as chair expired this month. Mr. Bergeron will continue to serve as a commissioner. In addition, the board elected Robert R. Barkerding vice chairman and Laney T. Chouest secretary-treasurer.

Mr. Kearney is president and owner of The Kearney Companies Inc., a New Orleans-based third-party logistics company serving the supply chain needs of exporters and importers in the Greater New Orleans region.

Prior to founding The Kearney Companies in 1996, he served as president of Neeb–Kearney & Company and the Jackson Kearney Group. In 1997, Mr. Kearney became president of a stevedoring company, Transocean Terminal Operators.

He is a past president of the New Orleans Board of Trade and received the C. Alvin Bertel Award in 2015 in recognition of his contributions to the maritime community. He currently serves as secretary of the New Orleans Business Alliance and serves on the Board of Ochsner Baptist Hospital. He was honored as Rex, the King of Carnival, in 2016.

The board consists of seven, unsalaried seven commissioners who serve five-year staggered terms. The governor of Louisiana appoints members from a list of three nominees submitted by 19 local civic, labor, education and maritime groups. The board reflects the three-parish jurisdiction, with four members from Orleans Parish, two from Jefferson Parish and one from St. Bernard Parish. Other board members include Scott H. Cooper, Arnold B. Baker and Tara C. Hernandez.

Seattle/Tacoma: NW Seaport Alliance Hires Nick Demerice to Direct Public Affairs

The Northwest Seaport Alliance has named Nick Demerice to head its public affairs team. He comes to the alliance with more than 10 years of experience in government affairs, most recently as assistant director for external relations at the Washington State Department of Commerce.

In his new position, Mr. Demerice oversees the communications and government affairs departments, which handle internal and external communications, local, state and federal government relations and community relations.

Mr. Demerice holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Washington.

The alliance is a marine cargo operating partnership of the ports of Seattle and Port of Tacoma.

Claudie Gagnon named Director of Sustainable Development by Trois-Rivières Port Authority

Gaétan Boivin, chief executive officer of the Trois-Rivières Port Authority, recently announced the appointment of Claudie Gagnon to the newly created position of director of sustainable development.

Ms. Gagnon graduated from the University of Québec at Trois-Rivières with a master’s degree in environmental science and a bachelor’s in biology. For more than 20 years, she has provided consulting services to businesses with a vision of industry focused on sustainable development as a goal of production and operations.

Her expertise ranges from environmental and social impact studies to analysis, management and rehabilitation of contaminated soil based on sound understanding of various federal and provincial environmental laws and government relations.

Her mandate as the port authority’s director of sustainable development is to support environment management, policy development and implementation, programs, regulations procedures and all other matters pertaining to safety and the environment.

Trois-Rivières is located on the St. Lawrence River approximately half-way between Montreal and Quebec. In 2015, the port handled nearly 3.0 million metric tons of bulk and breakbulk cargo and 7,000 cruise ship passengers.
The governments of Canada and the province of Quebec announced June 30 their commitment to invest millions of dollars for capital improvements at the Port of Trois-Rivières.