Customer service, efficiency drive new hires at Long Beach, Seattle ports

New style port directors are trying to tailor ports to industry supply chain needs.    First-year port directors in Long Beach and Seattle on Wednesday announced hires for new positions as part of efforts to instill business philosophies, such as customer service, gained from experience in the private sector.
   The Port of Long Beach has appointed two industry veterans to newly created management positions to enhance cargo flow and service. Executive Director Jon Slangerup took the helm last summer without direct port experience. His background was as CEO of FedEx Canada and leading several clean energy technology firms.
   Michael Christensen was named senior executive for supply chain optimization at Port of Long Beach. He most recently was deputy executive director at the Port of Los Angeles. An engineer by background, Christensen previously worked at the Parsons Transportation Group in Irvine, Calif., where he helped build the intermodal terminal near the Port of Los Angeles.
   His job will be to increase communication and cooperation among parties in the supply chain to reduce congestion. 
   Glenn Farren, who was general manager of Southern California operations for German shipping line Hapag-Lloyd America, will be Long Beach’s director of tenant services and operations. He previously worked for shipping companies Maersk, Sea-Land and APL. 
   “I am extremely pleased to have Michael Christensen and Glenn Farren joining our Long Beach executive team. Both Mike and Glenn bring extensive port operations and supply chain expertise to their respective assignments, along with a wealth of industry knowledge and key contacts,” Slangerup said. “Mike and Glenn will play instrumental roles in building the relationships, systems and processes needed to deliver world-class operating performance as measured in the velocity, efficiency and reliability of import and export goods that move through the Port of Long Beach.”
   Ted Fick replaced Tay Yoshitani as chief executive officer of the Port of Seattle in late September and continues to put his team in place. On Wednesday, he named Dave Caplan to be director of the new Office of Strategic Initiatives, effective April 6.
   Caplan will be responsible for exploring, developing and implementing innovative initiatives, aligning the port’s metrics with strategies to achieve high performance and incorporating Lean Six Sigma philosophy into all aspects of the port’s business processes.
   Fick’s background is in the manufacturing sector.
   Lean manufacturing is methodology that focuses on systematically reducing waste or non-value added elements while Six Sigma is a constant quality improvement method for eliminating defects in product development.
   Caplan most recently was senior vice president for AGCO Corp., a manufacturer of agricultural products. Prior to AGCO, he held various management positions at truck maker PACCAR, where Fick also worked for 17 years.