July 2024

The Company

The Port of New Orleans (“Port NOLA”) is a diverse deepwater port uniquely located on the Mississippi River near the Gulf of Mexico. This naturally strategic location allows unparalleled access to 30-plus major inland hubs such as Dallas, Memphis, Chicago and Canada via 14,500 miles of waterways, six Class I railroads and interstate roadways. The alignment with New Orleans Public Belt Railroad strengthens its position as an integrated hub and supports the vision for regional freight-based economic development.

Port NOLA generates over $100 million in revenue annually through its four lines of business: Cargo, Rail, Industrial Real Estate and Cruises. As a self-sustaining political subdivision of the State of Louisiana, it receives zero tax dollars.

Port NOLA’s mission is to drive economic prosperity throughout its tri-parish jurisdiction: Jefferson, Orleans and St. Bernard. The Port collaborates with state and local partners to ensure that it can continue to be a vital link to the world for businesses and consumers — throughout Louisiana and beyond.

Port NOLA’s role is to plan, build and maintain the infrastructure necessary to grow jobs and economic opportunity related to trade and commerce. The Port’s Strategic Master Plan, published in Spring 2018, is a bold vision that paves a path forward to ensure that Port NOLA meets market demand to lead the region to greater sustained prosperity.

Port NOLA connects Louisiana businesses to the world and creates family-supporting jobs.

• Port-related industries generate 1 in 5 jobs in Louisiana.
• The average salary of companies located on Port NOLA property is $74,000 per year — 51% higher than the average local salary.

Diverse Cargo Capabilities

Port NOLA offers a diverse cargo profile to serve its global supply chain partners, including container, breakbulk, heavy lift, temperature-sensitive cargo and bulk transload.

Containerized Cargo Momentum: Port NOLA is the only deepwater container port in Louisiana. Volumes surpassed the 500,000 TEU threshold six years in a row. It continues to attract new services and ocean carriers, including all three major mega-container carrier alliances, direct all-water container service to Asia, and direct South America service to Brazil.

Premium Breakbulk Capabilities: Breakbulk and heavy lift cargo are a strong focus at Port NOLA. The Port has 13,511 feet of berthing space available at six dedicated breakbulk terminals, as well as a 140,000-square-foot dockside cold storage facility, the Henry Clay Avenue Refrigerated Terminal.

Value-added Logistics Hub: Port NOLA’s diverse industrial real estate portfolio includes land and assets with access to rail, barge and truck. It’s industrial tenants and partners provide value-added activities that support cargo growth such as warehousing, distribution, transloading, manufacturing, packaging and other activities.

Leading Cargo

Cruising Ahead

Cruising from New Orleans continues to grow in popularity with year-round ocean and inland river cruise itineraries. Cruise line commitment, proximity to New Orleans amenities and attractions, a thriving international airport and large drive-in market position Port NOLA for more cruise industry growth.

Port NOLA handled more than 1 million cruise passenger movements five years in a row — that’s equal to the population of six parishes in the metro New Orleans area, including Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. James and St. John.

The Opportunity

The Port of New Orleans is undergoing an exciting expansion with the $1.8bn Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) project. The LIT will be built in Violet, Louisiana, about 17 miles downriver from the Crescent City Connection bridge. The new terminal’s location aims to eliminate air draft restrictions for vessels that currently call at the Port of New Orleans. Once completed in 2028, the LIT will be capable of handling 2 million TEU’s annually as well as ultra large container vessels that travel through the Panama Canal.

LIT is the largest public economic development project in the state of Louisiana. By 2050, it is expected to generate 32,000 new jobs nationwide, with more than 18,000 in Louisiana, and 4,300 in St. Bernard Parish. It is also expected to generate more than $1 billion in new state and local tax revenue.

LIT will be built through a historic public-private partnership between Port NOLA and two private terminal operators. New Jersey-based Ports America which is North America’s largest marine terminal operator, and Geneva, Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) a global leader in container shipping, through its terminal development and investment arm, Terminal Investment Limited (TIL). Together they have committed $800 million toward the project.

LIT is currently in the federal permitting process. Construction is expected to begin in 2025 with the first berth opening in 2028.

Funding commitments so far show project support at the state and federal levels, as well as within private industry.

The Louisiana International Terminal will harness Port NOLA’s premium connectivity via rail, road, and river.

Key Responsibilities

The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for leading the development and successful execution of the Port’s long-term strategy. The ideal candidate will have a business acumen and a political savvy to manage through the political climate on a local and national level in relation to the Port’s various growth projects.  The goal will be to drive the Port’s sustained development and guide it towards long-term success as it undergoes a transformation of waterways, rails, and roadways with the various projects in development.

The Chief Executive Officer performs duties related to achieving the Port’s core business goals; directs through subordinates the planning, scheduling and coordination of the Port’s activities; develops policies, procedures and priorities to meet established goals.

If selected, s/he will be responsible for enhancing the Port’s reputation globally for their first-class customer service and operations with tenants, forming and maintaining political partnerships, and fostering local and global relationships.  S/he will be charged with delivering results for both ongoing operations and the execution and completion of capital projects on schedule. 

The successful candidate will demonstrate an approach to leadership that engages and mobilizes all parts of the organization and the community-at-large with the following specific responsibilities:

• Leads the development and implementation of both long- and short-term strategic plans; provide clear direction to the organization, integrating and coordinating all departments, to assure that the Port achieves its vision and mission.
• Oversees the development and implementation of strategic, fiscal and capital improvement plans.
• Champions projects and initiatives that reflect the priorities and values of the New Orleans community by developing strong civic partnerships with trade bureaus, government agencies, economic development enterprises, chambers of commerce, and the business community with an eye towards enhancing regional economic development.
• Oversees the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad Commission for the Port of New Orleans (the “Railroad Commission”), including execution of the policies and projects of the Railroad Commission; and keeping the directors of the Railroad Commission always informed on all relevant matters pertaining to their statutory and fiduciary responsibilities as Board members.
• Plans, integrates and evaluates the work of all the Port’s departments in a manner that anticipates and resolves ongoing business and operational issues and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations governing port use and security.         
• Participates in industry and professional organizations on behalf of the Port to stay abreast of maritime industry trends and issues both nationally and internationally
• Represents the Port’s interests before local, state and federal agencies.
• Represents the Port before community groups, service organizations and civic committees to promote the development and use of its facilities.
• Maintain and develop strong global relationships with carries and their customers.

The Candidate

Experience and Professional Qualifications

The ideal candidate for this position will be at least 10 years of broad, senior-level experience, and a proven respected leader. They will be a seasoned professional with extensive experience in or around the maritime industry and who embodies most, if not all, the following qualities:

• Extensive exposure to both the business-side and the operations-side of the maritime industry, including senior-level experience directing operations, planning, engineering, marketing, finance, and/or other activities relevant to a port's successful operation
• Significant maritime marketing and/or sales experience, and a comprehensive understanding of international markets and competition
• Established relationships with key people in the maritime community – locally, nationally, and internationally – and the ability to build upon and use those relationships to expand business at the Port
• A strong reputation for professionalism and trustworthiness in the maritime community.
• Experience in working with maritime labor organizations and fostering cooperation between labor and management
• Experience in making agreements and negotiating contracts with shippers, carriers, and other transportation providers
• A thorough understanding of the economic significance of the Port within the New Orleans region and the State of Louisiana
• Proven experience in project management with a large infrastructure project from planning to completion of a project on time and on budget.
• Strong leadership abilities, including interpersonal, negotiation, and public speaking skills
• Ability to recruit and retain a strong staff
• An aptitude for strategic planning and ability to change direction, if necessary, so the Port can successfully compete in the highly competitive maritime industry
• An understanding of Louisiana’s political environment and the ability to work with public sector partners at the federal, state, and local levels on a variety of topics.

Education

A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university required