Veteran Long Beach Harbor Commissioner prepares to set sail

Veteran Long Beach Harbor Commissioner prepares to set sail When John Hancock ends his official 12-year term on the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners later this month, there is little doubt that some in the room will evoke thoughts of his famous namesake of Declaration of Independence signatory fame.
   Ironically, both men were born exactly 200 years apart. Both were financiers, both were involved in the shipping industry, and both attended Harvard.
   The contemporary Hancock joined the Long Beach board in July 1995 and was reappointed to a second six-year term in July 2001.
   Known as a moderating influence on the board, Hancock has been involved in numerous projects during his tenure that have catapulted the Port of Long Beach to preeminence in the world of goods movement.
   Two key projects he was heavily involved in were the development of the Alameda Corridor and the conversion of the closed Long Beach Naval Station into one of the country’s largest container terminals.
   President of Long Beach-based real estate investment and development firm Bancap Investment Group, Hancock was elected by his fellow commissioners to a second term as president of the Harbor Commission in July 2002, and re-elected a third time in July 2003. Though he will finish his term at the end of June, he will likely serve until a replacement is nominated by the city mayor and approved by the Long Beach City Council.
   Hancock has an extensive background in corporate banking, corporate finance, international banking and real estate finance. In 1992, he retired as an executive vice president of Security Pacific Bank after 32 years with the company.
   Born in Long Beach in 1937, Hancock has been a board member and president of the Long Beach Symphony, the Long Beach Area Council of the Boys Scouts of America, and Memorial Health Services, which administers Long Beach Memorial Medical Center and three Orange County-based hospitals. He has also served on the boards of the Long Beach City College Foundation, Leadership Long Beach, Harbor Bank, City National Bank (advisory board) and Arizona Transformer Co.
   Hancock received the 1990 Humanitarian Award from the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Conference. He was honored with the Public Corporation for the Arts Award in 1998 and the Family Service Award in 2000. The Long Beach Chamber of Commerce named him the 2005 “Entrepreneur of the Year.”
   And no, he doesn't sign his name with a flourish.