Port of Long Beach Names New Executive Director
There will be a new captain at the helm at Southern California’s Port of Long Beach.
The Long Beach Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Nov. 14 to name J. Christopher Lytle as the port’s new executive director.
Lytle, currently the port’s deputy executive director, will replace Dick Steinke, who retires at the end of the year after 14 years in that position.
Lytle has been the port’s deputy executive director since March 2008. He joined the port in September 2006 as one of four managing directors. He oversaw the port’s trade-relations and operations bureau.
Prior to joining the port, Lytle was a vice president at the French shipping line CMA CGM. He also held executive positions at P&O Ports North America, Sea-Land Service Inc. and Danish company APM (Maersk) Terminals.
Steinke, who came to the port in 1990, was appointed executive director in 1997. In coordination with the Port of Los Angeles, he ushered in the Green Port Policy, which included the controversial Clean Trucks Program, requiring new trucks to reduce pollution around the ports.
He also directed the redevelopment of the former Long Beach Naval Complex, which occupied 500 acres on Terminal Island. Some 375 acres of the complex were leased to Hanjin Shipping Co., which signed a 25-year lease and opened terminals in September 2002.—Deborah Belgum
