OAKLAND, CA-As GlobeSt.com previously reported, J. Christopher Lytle, Port of Long Beach executive director since November 2011, has resigned to take the top post at the Port of Oakland. Lytle will remain at Long Beach until mid-July, and is expected to begin his new job in Oakland shortly thereafter.
According to the Port of Oakland, this was a four-month global search to find a “world-class, transformative business leader who could quickly address the Port's opportunities and challenges.”
According to the Port of Oakland board president Gilda Gonzales, “The Port Commission set a high standard for its next leader and has successfully achieved this goal with the selection of Chris Lytle, who has a proven track record of growing business while engaging the community and ensuring leading environmental stewardship.”
Under Lytle's leadership, the Port of Oakland will “continue its aggressive focus on growing maritime and aviation volumes and instilling new confidence in Port business and community partners,” according to a prepared statement.
“The Port of Oakland's immediate goals include transforming the Port's maritime business, continuing to grow aviation and cargo volumes through Oakland International Airport, rebuilding public trust through policy strengthening initiatives, restructuring the Port to be more market and community responsive, completing major development projects such as the Oakland Army Base redevelopment, enhancing the Port's 20 miles of waterfront including Jack London Square, and growing the positive job creation and economic impact of the Port throughout the region,” the statement says.
Lytle points out that the “future of the Port of Oakland is bright,” pointing out that it has “tremendous potential.”
Chris Lytle currently serves as the Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach, the second busiest container seaport in North America, a position he has held since November 2011, after having served as the Port's deputy executive director and COO from 2008 to 2011.
Under Lytle's leadership, the Port of Long Beach worked with the 2nd and 3rd largest global container lines, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA-CGM, to establish the Port of Long Beach as their Southern California hub. The resulting realignment of terminals and services for those lines gave the Port of Long Beach an additional 900,000 containers and an estimated $22 million per year, according to a prepared release.
Lytle also worked closely with OOCL, a Hong Kong-based line, to negotiate a $4.5-billion 40-year lease with the Port of Long Beach—the largest lease in US container terminal history, according to a statement.
While in Long Beach, Lytle prioritized community awareness, support and interaction with the activities of the Port, says a statement. He is expected to begin his service as executive director of the Port of Oakland in July 2013. Until that time, Deborah Ale Flint will continue to serve as acting executive director, and, upon Lytle's arrival, she will continue in a senior Port executive leadership position.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
