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The Port of Long Beach is looking for a new chief executive after Jon Slangerup resigned on Sept. 8 to become chairman and chief executive of an aviation technology company in Canada.

Named as interim chief executive was Duane Kenagy, who has been working as the port’s capital programs executive, overseeing nearly $4.5 billion in construction and improvement projects. He was appointed to the temporary position by the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners.

“The board is extremely pleased to have Duane Kenagy serve as our interim CEO. He is highly respected by all of the commissioners, very well regarded in our industry and well-liked by the port staff,” said Lori Ann Guzmán, the board’s president.

Kenagy began working at the port in 2014 after more than 35 years of engineering and design project management experience in the United States and abroad.

He oversees the replacement of the aging Gerald Desmond Bridge, which connects Long Beach to Terminal Island, and the redevelopment of the Middle Harbor Container Terminal at the Port of Long Beach. Each project has a $1.5 billion budget. Another $1 billion is budgeted for rail improvements from the terminals to railroad switching yards.

Prior to joining the port, Kenagy worked for Moffatt & Nichol, an engineering consulting firm, and he was a key player in the Alameda Corridor rail project, which is a 20-mile freight rail corridor that connects the downtown LA switching yards to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The project was considered one of the area’s largest transportation endeavors in the last 20 years.

Kenagy said he would not be a candidate for the permanent job. As interim chief executive, his annual salary will be $275,000.