February 21, 2025 • 42 mins
Dr. Noel Hacegaba is the Chief Operating Officer of the Port of Long Beach, managing its daily operations and leading key initiatives like the Supply Chain Information Highway. He played a crucial role in addressing the pandemic-induced supply chain crisis with innovative solutions such as the first "pop-up yard" and 24-hour terminal operations. With over 26 years of experience, he holds multiple degrees from USC and a doctorate from the University of La Verne, where he also teaches. Dr. Hacegaba is a Certified Port Executive and serves on several industry boards, contributing significantly to the goods movement sector.
The Port of Long Beach:
Internships and Scholarships at the Port of Long Beach
https://polb.com/community/education/
Global Logistics Professional program at CSULB
https://www.cpace.csulb.edu/courses/global-logistics-professional
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey, what's going on everybody from the College of Professional and Continuing Education.
(00:18):
I'm Dr. Pahole Sookkasikon with Pacing Your Future, a podcast that charts the course of today's
most exciting industries and the people that helped shape them.
Discover the many opportunities within the numerous fields we cover and be inspired by
the stories of notable individuals who have paved their own paths.
And just like our name suggests, our mission is to pace ahead.
(00:41):
Be proactive, adaptable, creative, and engaged.
Whether you're seeking career insights, industry trends, or are just simply inquisitive, let's
pace your future together.
And today we're joined by Dr. Noel Hacegaba.
He is the Chief Operating Officer of the Port of Long Beach, managing its daily operations
(01:01):
and leading key initiatives like the Supply Chain Information Highway.
He played a crucial role in addressing the pandemic-induced supply chain crisis with
innovative solutions such as the first pop-up yard and 24-hour terminal operations.
With over 26 years of experience, he holds multiple degrees from USC and a doctorate
from the University of La Verne, where he also teaches.
(01:24):
Dr. Hacegaba is a certified port executive and serves on several industry boards, contributing
significantly to the goods movement sector.
Welcome to the show.
Thank you, Dr. Sookkasikon.
An honor to be here with you.
I appreciate it.
Let's start off with some fun.
Imagine your industry is the main character in a blockbuster movie, because LA, right?
(01:48):
What's the plot and who are the main characters?
You know, I'll be honest with you, I've been asked many questions over the years and never
one quite like this, but I like it.
If this were a movie and there was a character, let's make the container the character.
I work in an industry where we have to move a container from the port of origin or the
(02:10):
port of destination into the interior of the United States and have the goods that are
carried by that container arrive at the store shelves so that consumers across America can
purchase the goods, right?
So let's let me walk you through that voyage.
The movie starts somewhere in Asia, where most of the goods that arrive into the Port
(02:32):
of Long Beach are manufactured.
And those goods are placed in a container.
They leave the port of origin, the country of origin at a port there.
They're loaded onto a massive ship.
And these days, the ships are so large, they can carry upwards of 18,000 container units.
(02:52):
That's enough to supply three shopping malls.
I mean, that's how much capacity these ships today carry.
It takes that ship about 12 to 15 days to arrive into our port complex.
And once the ship arrives, it takes about three to four days to unload that massive
ship.
(03:12):
Once that container is discharged, it's pulled out of our port complex either on a train
or on a truck.
And about two thirds of the goods that arrive into the port of Long Beach make their way
into the interior of the United States.
And I say that because the scene is this.
The ports of L.A. and Long Beach together account for about 40% of the nation's goods.
(03:35):
And each year we handle containers carrying goods valued at over $450 billion.
So when we talk about the container, the entire conveying system, the entire supply chain
generates one out of five jobs in Long Beach, over two and a half million jobs across the
country.
(03:55):
It spurs economic activity across the nation.
All those containers that arrive into our port complex each year.
For Long Beach, it's about 9.6 million container units, reaches all 435 congressional districts.
So really the scene is very vast.
(04:16):
And we're privileged here in Long Beach to have this massive economic engine that doesn't
just feed the entire supply chain across the country, but generates incredible and extraordinary
jobs and careers here locally.
Wow.
Hearing that, Marvel Cinematic Universe is probably shaking their boots right now.
No, that's great.
(04:37):
And by the way, I should add in the soundtrack at the Port of Long Beach, we have our own
house band called the T.E.U.s and they provide the soundtrack to this incredible movie.
And are you in that band as well?
I am.
I have the privilege of being the guitarist in that band.
Yeah, it's a lot of fun.
How long have you guys been together?
You know, we've played probably for about six, seven years.
(05:00):
That's amazing.
Yeah.
Yeah, great.
And so you were mentioning, I mean, obviously we were talking about the Port of Long Beach,
right?
And a question I came up with was why Long Beach?
What makes the Port of Long Beach so special, so unique and vital to the community?
You know, it's a great question, right?
The Port of Long Beach is recognized internationally as a leader in many areas.
(05:25):
Environmental sustainability.
We were and continue to be the very first green port.
As a matter of fact, this year we're celebrating the 20th anniversary of our green port policy,
which at the time was a groundbreaking trailblazing and bold declaration.
There were no green ports.
No one truly knew what a green port was.
And it's something that over the past 20 years we've been able to define.
(05:49):
And so we're a leader in green and sustainable movement of containers.
Everything about our operation from the cleaner trucks to the cleaner ships to the way that
containers are handled and move through the supply chain, we try to be a leader in every
aspect of port operations.
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That's one way that we're different and we're ahead of other ports across the globe.
We're also recognized as a leader in infrastructure development.
We have the nation's largest CAPEX program of any port in the nation.
Over the last 10, 12 years, we've invested over $4 billion in our infrastructure.
(06:32):
Over the next 10 years, we're going to be spending another $2.4 billion.
And that's all in an effort to ensure that all of our partners and customers have the
best facilities, the best infrastructure, so that when those containers that leave Asia
and make their way to the United States can cross our docks as efficiently, safely, and
(06:52):
sustainably as possible.
We're also a leader when it comes to digital technology.
You mentioned earlier the supply chain information highway.
That's yet another way that we as a port authority are trying to add value to the supply chain
by offering visibility, end-to-end visibility, so that all the shippers and all of our partners
can have access to the whereabouts of their containers and access to data and putting
(07:17):
that data in the hands of those shippers so that they can make actionable decisions and
move that container through the supply chain from mode to mode as quickly, safely, and
reliably as possible.
Awesome.
Yeah, I mean, I recently went to the state of the port, and you folks were discussing
all the green initiatives and celebrating them.
(07:38):
And it was all amazing.
I think CEO Mario Cordero was just celebrating all of the wonderful achievements you've made
and it's amazing.
So what environmental progress has the Port of Long Beach, have you guys made since adopting
the Green Port Policy in 2005?
Yeah, so thank you for attending our state of the port as our CEO, Mario Cordero, was
(08:02):
reporting to the community.
Over the past 20 years, since the adoption of the Green Port Policy, we have managed
to reduce every category of emissions to a significant degree.
Let me just give you some examples.
When we're talking about diesel particulate matter, since 2005, we've, in partnership
with all of our partners across the port community, we've reduced DPMs by 92%, NOx by 71%, SOx
(08:31):
by 98%, and even greenhouse gases by 17%.
No other port in the US or around the world can lay claim on those achievements.
I will say this, we did not do that by ourselves.
It took, you know the old saying, it takes a village?
It took the port village to really get us there because the cleaner trucks, the cleaner
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ships, the cleaner trains that are on their way, it took all of us committing to making
our operations greener and more sustainable to get us there.
And it also took the help of our partners in the state of California, the federal government,
to make the resources available so that we can invest in cleaner technology.
So we're very proud of those achievements and proud that we have a resume that we can
(09:16):
go to our community that surrounds our port complex and say, we're doing this for you.
Not only do we deliver goods, but we're doing so in a responsible, clean way.
You mentioned cleaner technology, and you know, one of the things that you folks are
working on is the Pier Wind Project.
You know, I spent almost a decade in Hawaii, and you know, sustainability and wind green
(09:41):
is big there.
One of the projects that was floating around and was talked about was Oahu's offshore wind
farm, right?
22 to 30 floating wind turbines between Oahu and Molokai to supply 25% of the electricity
used on Oahu.
So thinking about the Pier Wind Project, something that is quite exciting for the Port of Long
(10:03):
Beach is that it's a floating offshore wind facility.
What is the primary goal of the Pier Wind Project at the Port of Long Beach?
And how does it align with the Port of Long Beach's goal to transition to zero emissions?
Let me start with the last part of your question.
As we continue our transition to zero emissions operations, we recognize that we're going
to need a lot of power, right?
(10:26):
A lot of power to power up all that clean technology, whether it's the infrastructure,
the equipment, the trucks, the yard hustlers, the stacking cranes, all that equipment is
being transitioned to a cleaner zero emissions version.
A lot of it in the coming years are going to be powered by battery electric, right?
(10:47):
So we're going to need that power from the grid.
And so we recognize that we need to fortify the grid, we need to strengthen the grid across
the state of California.
And so we are looking ahead at the investments we're making within the port complex, how
much equipment is going to rely on the grid.
And we're also looking at that demand.
(11:08):
We forecast, for example, that over the next four to five years, our demand for power is
going to grow by about sixfold.
And so we're looking at every possible way to work with our power partners to augment
the grid.
And one way we thought we could lend a hand when the governor, when Governor Gavin Newsom
(11:29):
announced this very ambitious and aggressive goal of generating 25 gigawatts of offshore
wind power by 2045.
That's when we started looking at what opportunities might exist for a port like ours to support
that.
And so that's how pure wind, that concept emerged.
(11:53):
And it's an opportunity for us to support the state in meeting its goal.
It would certainly help the state of California, but it would also support all of our partners
who are working with us to make that transition a reality.
Offshore wind in the United States is a fairly nascent renewable energy.
As you pointed out in Hawaii, you've got some of that going on.
(12:16):
But in other parts of the world, whether it's Europe, for example, they've been leveraging
offshore wind for decades, for centuries in some cases.
So we see that that is another opportunity for us to tap into that source of renewable
power and support the grid and support our transition to zero emissions.
(12:36):
You mentioned opportunity, and I could imagine that many jobs would come out of that.
Right.
What would that mean for the community, particularly in Long Beach, to have the pure wind and the
kinds of careers and from different, I think, industries?
Thank you for asking that question, because we're not just a port, right?
(12:57):
When you look at our business model and what we do to support the national economy, we
recognize our responsibility to our local community.
Everything we do, all those containers that cross our docks on an annual basis generate
hundreds of thousands of jobs across the region, millions of jobs across the nation.
Projects like pure wind and our broader infrastructure package generates tens of thousands of construction
(13:23):
jobs every year.
And they also sustain thousands of jobs going forward because someone has to manage, maintain
and operate that equipment.
Of course.
So we take our role as a economic development engine, as a job creator very seriously.
We value all of our workforce.
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Our workforce is vital.
I like to say at the port that we're known internationally for our policies, our projects,
our programs, but it's really the people, the most important P behind all of that, that
separates us from everyone else.
And so we put people at the center of everything we do, and that includes the workforce.
(14:04):
Yeah.
That's important.
You know, we focus on the individual and the communities that, you know, surround the port
and what does that mean?
Right.
And how do they get, how do they benefit from progress?
In addition to the pier wind project, we heard there's going to be rail expansion as well.
Can you tell us more about the new rail expansion projects for the Port of Long Beach, such
(14:24):
as the pier B on dock rail support facility?
Absolutely.
The pier B on dock rail support facility, also known as America's Green Gateway, the
nickname I give it as pier beast just because it's such a complex project.
But we're very excited about that project.
It's something that we've been planning literally for over a decade.
And what it will enable us to do is move more containers directly from a port terminal to
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the interior of the United States.
So all the key rail hubs.
And if you think about it right now, about a quarter of all the containers that arrive
into our port complex, leave the port on a train.
That means that the vast majority, three quarters of all of our cargo volume leaves a port terminals
on a truck.
Now, imagine if we can shift more of that movement from truck to train, train movements,
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rail movements are more efficient.
They're more sustainable.
In many cases are safer.
And it will replace all that truck traffic on our roads in our surrounding communities
on our freeways and move those containers more quickly to those key rail hubs.
So there's a lot of advantages to rail and pier B what it basically does is literally
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building a massive rail yard inside our port complex that supports all of our container
terminals so that they can move more of those containers directly from their terminals into
the interior of the United States.
And we were honored last summer to welcome US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
to join us for the groundbreaking and that project, the Pier B project was awarded a
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mega grant and also received significant funding from the state of California altogether about
$640 million.
So projects like these line up with our commitment to green operations, our commitment to operational
excellence and reliability, and also to generating jobs through these massive infrastructure
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programs.
Amazing.
You know, you mentioned the green gateway, and you know, just circling back to the green
port, can you discuss something I read recently about green corridors and how that benefits
the Port of Long Beach and our partners around the world?
And what does that look like for delivering packages and goods?
(16:48):
Yeah, so collaboration is central to everything we do.
The green shipping corridors that you're referencing, we're currently a member of two different
ones, one with the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Shanghai, and a second one with the
Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Singapore.
And basically what we're trying to do is working with these major ports across the Pacific
Ocean, which is where most of our containers come from.
(17:10):
And collaborating with those ports and all the shipping lines that transport those
containers from port to port so that we can together coordinate that transition to cleaner
fuels on ships.
You may have followed that in recent years, IMO has set a target by which the ships that
transport all these goods and containers across the global supply chain will operate on net
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zero low carbon fuels.
And so these green shipping corridors are an opportunity for us to establish that framework
and ensure that we're coordinating with the shipping lines and other ports across the
Pacific so that we can get there faster and that we have standards and that we do so in
a way that that is responsible.
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So we're excited to be a partner.
And we believe that these green shipping corridors will set that framework that we need to help
facilitate that transition.
Amazing. You know, so you mentioned that with the green shipping corridors, they're working
alongside part of Los Angeles and the port of Shanghai.
How important is working collaboratively with other ports and what comes out of that?
(18:26):
You know, there's a saying out there that I like to use that teamwork makes the dream
work.
Yeah.
And when you think about these ambitious goals, right, these very aggressive, some would say
aspirational targets, right?
Getting to zero emissions.
You need collaboration.
The only way you're going to get there is by working together with your partners.
(18:49):
For us, it means working with the Port of Los Angeles, which is literally next door
and together working with all of our port community stakeholders.
That's everyone from the dock workers, the LWU workforce, the marine terminal operators,
the trucking companies, the rail operators, the chassis leasing companies, really every
(19:10):
industry partner across the way.
And the 20 years of our Greenport policy is probably the best example or case study of
how far collaboration can get you.
Because there's no way we would be able to post the achievements and these extraordinary
(19:31):
reductions in pollution if it wasn't for collaboration.
Yeah.
I mean, it sounds like, you know, we're talking about collaboration and then we're talking
about how everyone is so interconnected with one another, right?
We lift as we climb, as I mentioned with our previous interview with Associate Dean Tom
O'Brien.
And I was like, thinking about how do we lift each other up?
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How do we continue to work with one another to build stronger bonds and to help the world
and make it a better place and make climate change real and, you know, fix things.
But on a smaller scale, thinking more locally in terms of collaboration, thinking about
the Pure Wind Project, rail expansion, the Greenport policy, and thinking about localizing
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it to Cal State Long Beach.
How will these projects enhance the port operation, benefit the community, and what opportunities
that will then come out for and create for Cal State Long Beach students?
Well one of the advantages we have here at the Port of Long Beach is to have this prestigious
university, Long Beach State, in our backyard.
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Our partnership with Cal State Long Beach, Dr. O'Brien specifically, goes back many years.
And during that time, we've been able to collaborate to really move the needle when it comes to
workforce development.
Dr. O'Brien and I share a vision that if we work together, we can create that pipeline
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so that in the future, as we develop our port and we build the port of the future, we are
in parallel here at Long Beach State preparing the workforce for those jobs.
And so I would say that one big area for collaboration with Long Beach State is on the workforce
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development front, and making sure that there's alignment between what Cal State Long Beach
is doing in terms of their curriculum, their areas of focus, and how they're readying and
preparing their students, and making sure that that's in alignment with the needs of
our future industry. Right?
And again, the supply chain is multifaceted, and it's multidisciplinary.
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At the Port of Long Beach, just the Port Authority alone, we employ engineers, planners, accountants,
marketing specialists, communications specialists.
It's almost like a mini city.
And so to the extent that we can ensure that we have a university that's preparing that
workforce for the future, we all win in the end.
(22:07):
And it sounds like the jobs are multifaceted and diverse.
And so that folks have different paths they can take to get to the Port of Long Beach
and have careers there, fulfilling careers.
And so that's amazing.
We were talking about, or you mentioned previously, preparing folks and students in terms of workforce
(22:28):
development.
But I think a lot of it, or what we need to talk about also is the educational partnerships
that the Port of Long Beach has.
So one of the things that, and it's funny because we have on staff one of the students
from the ACE program.
So the question is, how has the Port of Long Beach investment in local schools, the Long
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Beach Unified School District's Academy of Global Logistics, AGL, and Advanced Manufacturing,
Construction, and Engineering ACE program, as well as scholarships, motivated its commitment
to workforce development?
How can the industry help prepare the workforce for future trade and transportation jobs?
You know, that's another area where it really is going to take the entire port community,
(23:13):
that village, right?
So I have the pleasure of serving on the boards of various organizations that share that commitment,
whether it's the American Association of Port Authorities, the Intermodal Association of
North America, the Kendrick Global Supply Chain Institute at USC, the Transportation
Supply Chain Institute at the University of Denver, and certainly here at Cal State Long
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Beach, the College of Continuing Professional Education.
All these institutions coming together, working hand in hand with industry to understand what
the needs of the future workforce are going to be, the future needs of industry.
That's how we get to a point where the academic institutions and the industry are working
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hand in hand to ensure that we have that ready workforce in the future.
And again, the partnership that we have with Cal State Long Beach, and even with the Long
Beach Unified School District, Long Beach City College, is truly unparalleled.
I can't think of any other port across the nation that has these deep partnerships where
(24:20):
we're actually aligning curricula, we're aligning programs, we're aligning professional development
to meet the precise needs of industry.
And that's what I believe will continue to set the Port of Long Beach apart in the years
ahead.
And how do you think, because we are tapping into and training kids in high school, and
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kind of showcasing the port in a new way, and education in a new way, how important
do you think it is to start that early?
You know, it's very important.
Let me tell you my story of how I fell into the industry.
I wasn't looking for a job at the port.
In fact, I knew what a port was.
(25:03):
I really never thought about a career in port or supply chain.
I was working in the private sector, and I attended an event called the State of the
Port.
And I bought my ticket.
When I arrived, I checked in, they gave me my table assignment.
When I went to that table, every seat was taken.
So I ended up sitting in the table furthest away from the podium next to the exit doors.
(25:25):
And I sat down.
I happened to sit right next to the HR director at the Port of Long Beach.
And I call it Providence, because I wasn't looking for a job or a career change.
But I ended up sitting right next to her.
And that brief interaction and conversation left an impression where two weeks later in
(25:46):
my mailbox, where I worked at the time, I got the job bulletin for what eventually became
my first job.
And I share that story because people who end up working in our industry should not
fall into the industry.
It should not be accidental, right?
It should not happen haphazardly.
There should be a pipeline.
(26:07):
There should be a more deliberate way to attract young talent to promote our industry to youth.
And that's the reason why we're so passionate at the Port of Long Beach, to start early,
partnering with the Long Beach Unified School District, Long Beach City College, Cal State
Long Beach, and really promote our industry and the amazing, incredible careers that Supply
(26:31):
Chain offers to youth and students at all points in their educational career.
And so that's why we're so passionate about it.
Yeah.
Cultivating leaders, cultivating partners, cultivating lifelong relationships, right?
That's right.
Yeah.
And I think that ties nicely to lifelong learning, right?
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And how we invest back into the community, invest in kids and whatnot.
That's right.
So we're thinking about cultivating leaders, cultivating careers for our folks.
The Port is also investing internally with the leadership program, development program.
Can you share the goals of the program and how it is shaping future leaders within the
Port?
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One of my big priorities at the Port of Long Beach is to invest in our workforce.
As I said a moment ago, the most important P are the people.
And to the extent that we can develop our people, invest in our people, our projects,
our programs, our policies are going to be better.
And so one area that I'm passionate about is leadership.
(27:35):
And we recognize that if we wanted our workforce to grow and to develop, we needed to invest
in their leadership capacity.
So we reached out to Cal State Long Beach and the College of Continuing Education, working
with Dr. O'Brien and the entire team.
We developed the curriculum specifically for Port employees.
(27:58):
And we just graduated our second cohort.
It's been a massive success.
Every participant that I've talked to that has gone through the program has really sang
its praises because what it's done is that it's taken them out of their quote unquote
silo and given them the bigger picture of what it is that we do.
(28:19):
And this international mission that we have.
And so we could not be prouder that our partner to make this a reality is Cal State Long Beach.
And there again is another example of how we're leading in the Port sector, partnering
with Cal State Long Beach to develop this first of its kind leadership development program.
So we're so excited about that and even more excited about the future.
(28:42):
Yeah, definitely.
So I think you ended that on an interesting note, the future, right?
And just shifting gears a bit, I'm thinking about future trends and we were talking as
I was coming up to this studio that so much has happened.
It's only January.
So given the evolving political, regulatory and environmental landscape, how does the
(29:08):
Port of Long Beach adapt to ensure its continued success?
The Port of Long Beach has been around since 1911.
It has weathered many storms.
You could make the argument that there's never been a storm quite like this one, right?
When you look at everything that's converging.
But I think it's fair to say that when you look at our history, we have an organization
(29:31):
committed to its mission.
And even when administrations change, even when the global landscape shifts, even when
sourcing and trade routes shift, as long as we continue investing in our organization,
as long as we continue investing in our infrastructure, we continue to look for innovative ways to
(29:54):
add value to the supply chain, we continue to offer advantages that other ports and gateways
do not, we continue our commitment to greening our operations, we continue to invest in workforce
development, as long as we stick to our core values, the Port of Long Beach is going to
be around for a long time.
(30:15):
That's been our recipe for success over the decades.
And I believe that will continue to be our recipe for success in the years ahead.
And again, with partners like Cal State Long Beach, and the collaboration that enables
us to do more and become a force multiplier in every facet of supply chain, that's really
(30:36):
going to continue to set us apart.
And that's the reason why we're so excited.
Let me end with this as well.
There's a quote that I've been using recently.
It's been attributed to President Abraham Lincoln, but also Peter Drucker.
And it goes like this, the best way to predict the future is to create it.
And so at the Port of Long Beach, we're creating the future.
(30:58):
Well, so I mean, you mentioned core values, right?
And I'm sure that the Port of Long Beach as its own entity, as its own values, right?
But as the chief operating officer, what do you see working at the Port of Long Beach
for quite some time?
What do you see the values are?
You know, we value our people.
(31:18):
Yeah, we're a people centered organization, people centered industry.
We're also committed to sustainability.
That's the reason why we've been a leader in environmental sustainability and stewardship
for over 20 years.
We're also committed to operational excellence, ensuring that we make the most advanced and
(31:40):
the most proficient facilities and infrastructure for all of our partners.
We're committed to customer service.
For the last six years, we've been voted the best seaport in the West Coast, six consecutive
years.
And if you go back 25 years, almost 20 of those 25 years we've been voted best seaport in
(32:00):
the West Coast.
And that's not, you know, sort of an online voting poll, right?
It's not like all the port employees are voting for the Port of Long Beach.
These are customers.
These are shippers.
These are companies.
These are people who use multiple ports and they vote Port of Long Beach as the best seaport.
And again, that's a commitment.
(32:21):
That's a value.
We want to be a world class customer service known organization.
Yeah.
Well, on the same topic of the future thinking and putting a futurist hat on, how is the
industry changing with the emerging technologies like AI and data analytics?
And what skills and key trends should Cal State Long Beach students develop to be a part
(32:44):
of this technological transformation?
You know, technology is evolving so quickly.
Our industry is not known for adapting quickly to technology.
But when you look at port operations today, you see it in motion.
And I think the best way to answer your question and prepare the workforce is really to develop
(33:11):
and instill in our workforce a mindset of resilience and agility, to have the ability
to be resourceful with what you have and to be able to pivot and adjust immediately.
And you know, the recent pandemic and the supply chain crisis that it triggered was
a case in point.
We were all forced way out of our comfort zone and we had a pivot and we showed our
(33:37):
resilience.
And I like to say that resilience is not something you buy off the shelf.
It's not a computer program.
Resilience is a mindset.
And the best way to adjust to any form of disruption, regardless of its source, is to
ensure that you teach your people to be resilient, to have a resilient mindset, to think outside
(33:58):
the box, to be resourceful and to always keep that outcome in mind.
Yeah.
And talking about the pandemic, because I know that a lot of folks and companies are
still reeling from it, right?
How did the Port of Long Beach maneuver and shift and stay resilient during the pandemic?
(34:22):
Again it took the village, right?
It took the entire port community.
But we did a number of things that really helped us navigate the pandemic.
We felt the brunt of it because when warehouses closed down, when their capacity was constrained,
folks were staying at home.
A lot of the places and a lot of the distribution centers, warehouses where the containers that
(34:45):
arrive at the port eventually go, they were closed down.
In some cases they were shut down.
So there's no place for those containers to go.
And so what was happening is all of those containers were piling up inside the port
terminals.
When the port terminals were filled to capacity, all those ships that were scheduled to arrive
(35:06):
at the port were now lining up on the water for those containers.
So you can imagine the ports were now makeshift warehouses.
The ships were warehouses on water.
And at one point there were 109 ships at anchor waiting off the shores of Southern California.
And so as you can imagine, we were getting phone calls from members of Congress in the
(35:29):
Midwest on the East Coast because again, the ports of LA and Long Beach together account
for 40% of the nation's goods.
So when the supply chain crisis hit the United States, it hit us the hardest.
But here's what we did to get those 109 ships at anchor all the way to zero.
We immediately activated vacant land.
(35:49):
After a vacant land we had available, we turned it into surge capacity and it became an immediate
relief out.
And that became the first pop-up yard.
So we started here, we started that here in Long Beach first.
And all of a sudden ports across the nation were doing the same.
And that's where the pop-up yard started.
The second thing we did is we expanded hours of operation.
(36:11):
So we worked with our container terminal operators and we urged them to open up earlier, to close
later, to open on weekends.
In some cases, work 24 hours a day.
Our workforce, they were truly our heroes.
In spite of the pandemic, they masked up, they showed up to work and we never shut down
(36:34):
the port of Long Beach throughout the supply chain crisis, throughout the pandemic.
Credit to our dock workers, our IOWU workforce, credit to our rail operators, to our container
operators and all of our partners who recognized that in order to keep the economy moving,
in order to keep the goods moving, system moving, we had to keep the port open and operational.
(36:58):
The third thing we did, which was also effective, is we threatened a fee.
We told the shippers, if you keep your containers at the port longer than nine days, we're going
to have to charge you a fee.
As you can imagine, that was not the most popular solution, but it worked.
And it took us a few months, but eventually we were able to dig ourselves out of that
(37:20):
hole that we were in and we were able to bring those 109 ships back to zero, which is normal.
But again, it took all of us working together, the White House, the supply chain envoy, and
so many of our partners, we all came together.
We had weekly calls.
Initially, it were daily calls, multiple times a day calls, but eventually we got through
(37:41):
it and it was all because of that collaboration coordination.
I mean, it sounds like all hands on deck kind of.
It truly was.
Yeah, it truly was.
Yeah.
Going back to that saying that you said teamwork makes the dream work or gets the cargo going.
So I think, you know, one of the last things that we want to talk about is the so what
(38:02):
question, right?
So thinking about how this conversation and then the Port of Long Beach, what you represent,
like how does that reach down to the students to the programs that we offer here at CPACE,
right?
The College of Professional and Continuing Education.
I know you guys offer scholarships and internship programs for students at LBUSD, LBCC and Cal
(38:27):
State Long Beach.
Why should they apply and when?
You know, I would encourage anyone and everyone to apply for scholarships and internships
at the port because the career opportunities that our industry has to offer are extraordinary.
And again, it's so diverse.
(38:48):
Engineers, planners, accountants, marketing specialists, it runs the entire gamut.
And so for anyone who is curious about international commerce, curious about trade and how we as
a city and a community contribute to the global supply chain, ought to consider applying.
We do offer internships at the Port of Long Beach.
(39:11):
We do also offer scholarships.
Just last year, we awarded $300,000 in scholarships to promote our industry supply chain, goods,
movement, transportation among our youth.
So I would encourage folks to go to our website polb.com where you will find a lot more information
about those programs and how you can apply.
(39:33):
One thing I would say about this conversation is that you're a very hopeful guy and you
emit a very, a light that is exciting and gets people excited for jobs and careers and what
the Port of Long Beach offers.
And it made me think about a conversation, as I mentioned previously with Dr. Tom O'Brien,
(39:58):
that there's still time.
And what I mean by that is that you mentioned the different job opportunities and people
applying at different ages and whatnot.
And there's still time to remake yourself, to live the life you want, to come up in life. Right?
And I think the Port of Long Beach offers that pathway to do that.
(40:20):
So I think that I see those connections and it's just amazing what you guys do.
And you know, on that point, this is why I'm so passionate about what we do and the opportunities
we create in the work that we do, because I think these opportunities, these career
opportunities should be afforded to everyone.
(40:42):
And to your point about the ability to remake yourself, reinvent yourself if you will, I
like to say that today is the first day of the rest of your life.
What happened yesterday doesn't matter as much as what you're going to do today, what
you're going to do tomorrow.
There's a quote that I like to, as you can tell, I use a lot of quotes, because there's
a lot of wisdom in these, right?
That's how I learned.
(41:03):
And that is that you can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start today and
change the ending.
Definitely.
And so I would encourage everyone who's listening, if you're looking to make a career move, if
you're interested in global trade, interested in goods movement, check out our website,
pick up opportunities, talk to Dr. O'Brien, because there's so many opportunities out
(41:27):
there that are literally life changing.
Definitely.
I mean, like through the College of Professional and Continuing Education, we have the Global
Logistics Professional Program, and that works hand in hand with the Port of Long Beach.
I actually want to up you with quotes.
As a PhD in the humanities, literature is one of my favorite things in the world.
(41:50):
Think about Ellen Montgomery from Canada and Anne of Green Gable, she says, tomorrow's
a new fresh start with no mistakes.
And so we look at these folks and who wants to better their lives and just get to the
next day.
And tomorrow's new and you can do whatever you want.
That's right.
(42:10):
The sun, keep the sun on your face and the wind at your back.
That's exactly right.
Beautiful.
Beautifully recited too.
Back to back quotes, man.
You and me.
Well, thank you so much, Dr. Noel Hacegaba for coming on the show.
My pleasure.
Thank you for having me.
Yeah, of course.
And thank you for tuning in to Pacing Your Future.
We hope today's installment has inspired you and provided valuable insights into the dynamic
(42:33):
world of industry and innovation.
Stay tuned with us for more stories, opportunities and expert advice to help you navigate and
shape your future.
Until next time, keep pacing your future with confidence and curiosity.
Hey, what's going on everybody from the College of Professional and Continuing Education.
(00:18):
I'm Dr. Pahole Sookkasikon with Pacing Your Future, a podcast that charts the course of today's
most exciting industries and the people that helped shape them.
Discover the many opportunities within the numerous fields we cover and be inspired by
the stories of notable individuals who have paved their own paths.
And just like our name suggests, our mission is to pace ahead.
(00:41):
Be proactive, adaptable, creative, and engaged.
Whether you're seeking career insights, industry trends, or are just simply inquisitive, let's
pace your future together.
And today we're joined by Dr. Noel Hacegaba.
He is the Chief Operating Officer of the Port of Long Beach, managing its daily operations
(01:01):
and leading key initiatives like the Supply Chain Information Highway.
He played a crucial role in addressing the pandemic-induced supply chain crisis with
innovative solutions such as the first pop-up yard and 24-hour terminal operations.
With over 26 years of experience, he holds multiple degrees from USC and a doctorate
from the University of La Verne, where he also teaches.
(01:24):
Dr. Hacegaba is a certified port executive and serves on several industry boards, contributing
significantly to the goods movement sector.
Welcome to the show.
Thank you, Dr. Sookkasikon.
An honor to be here with you.
I appreciate it.
Let's start off with some fun.
Imagine your industry is the main character in a blockbuster movie, because LA, right?
(01:48):
What's the plot and who are the main characters?
You know, I'll be honest with you, I've been asked many questions over the years and never
one quite like this, but I like it.
If this were a movie and there was a character, let's make the container the character.
I work in an industry where we have to move a container from the port of origin or the
(02:10):
port of destination into the interior of the United States and have the goods that are
carried by that container arrive at the store shelves so that consumers across America can
purchase the goods, right?
So let's let me walk you through that voyage.
The movie starts somewhere in Asia, where most of the goods that arrive into the Port
(02:32):
of Long Beach are manufactured.
And those goods are placed in a container.
They leave the port of origin, the country of origin at a port there.
They're loaded onto a massive ship.
And these days, the ships are so large, they can carry upwards of 18,000 container units.
(02:52):
That's enough to supply three shopping malls.
I mean, that's how much capacity these ships today carry.
It takes that ship about 12 to 15 days to arrive into our port complex.
And once the ship arrives, it takes about three to four days to unload that massive
ship.
(03:12):
Once that container is discharged, it's pulled out of our port complex either on a train
or on a truck.
And about two thirds of the goods that arrive into the port of Long Beach make their way
into the interior of the United States.
And I say that because the scene is this.
The ports of L.A. and Long Beach together account for about 40% of the nation's goods.
(03:35):
And each year we handle containers carrying goods valued at over $450 billion.
So when we talk about the container, the entire conveying system, the entire supply chain
generates one out of five jobs in Long Beach, over two and a half million jobs across the
country.
(03:55):
It spurs economic activity across the nation.
All those containers that arrive into our port complex each year.
For Long Beach, it's about 9.6 million container units, reaches all 435 congressional districts.
So really the scene is very vast.
(04:16):
And we're privileged here in Long Beach to have this massive economic engine that doesn't
just feed the entire supply chain across the country, but generates incredible and extraordinary
jobs and careers here locally.
Wow.
Hearing that, Marvel Cinematic Universe is probably shaking their boots right now.
No, that's great.
(04:37):
And by the way, I should add in the soundtrack at the Port of Long Beach, we have our own
house band called the T.E.U.s and they provide the soundtrack to this incredible movie.
And are you in that band as well?
I am.
I have the privilege of being the guitarist in that band.
Yeah, it's a lot of fun.
How long have you guys been together?
You know, we've played probably for about six, seven years.
(05:00):
That's amazing.
Yeah.
Yeah, great.
And so you were mentioning, I mean, obviously we were talking about the Port of Long Beach,
right?
And a question I came up with was why Long Beach?
What makes the Port of Long Beach so special, so unique and vital to the community?
You know, it's a great question, right?
The Port of Long Beach is recognized internationally as a leader in many areas.
(05:25):
Environmental sustainability.
We were and continue to be the very first green port.
As a matter of fact, this year we're celebrating the 20th anniversary of our green port policy,
which at the time was a groundbreaking trailblazing and bold declaration.
There were no green ports.
No one truly knew what a green port was.
And it's something that over the past 20 years we've been able to define.
(05:49):
And so we're a leader in green and sustainable movement of containers.
Everything about our operation from the cleaner trucks to the cleaner ships to the way that
containers are handled and move through the supply chain, we try to be a leader in every
aspect of port operations.
(06:11):
That's one way that we're different and we're ahead of other ports across the globe.
We're also recognized as a leader in infrastructure development.
We have the nation's largest CAPEX program of any port in the nation.
Over the last 10, 12 years, we've invested over $4 billion in our infrastructure.
(06:32):
Over the next 10 years, we're going to be spending another $2.4 billion.
And that's all in an effort to ensure that all of our partners and customers have the
best facilities, the best infrastructure, so that when those containers that leave Asia
and make their way to the United States can cross our docks as efficiently, safely, and
(06:52):
sustainably as possible.
We're also a leader when it comes to digital technology.
You mentioned earlier the supply chain information highway.
That's yet another way that we as a port authority are trying to add value to the supply chain
by offering visibility, end-to-end visibility, so that all the shippers and all of our partners
can have access to the whereabouts of their containers and access to data and putting
(07:17):
that data in the hands of those shippers so that they can make actionable decisions and
move that container through the supply chain from mode to mode as quickly, safely, and
reliably as possible.
Awesome.
Yeah, I mean, I recently went to the state of the port, and you folks were discussing
all the green initiatives and celebrating them.
(07:38):
And it was all amazing.
I think CEO Mario Cordero was just celebrating all of the wonderful achievements you've made
and it's amazing.
So what environmental progress has the Port of Long Beach, have you guys made since adopting
the Green Port Policy in 2005?
Yeah, so thank you for attending our state of the port as our CEO, Mario Cordero, was
(08:02):
reporting to the community.
Over the past 20 years, since the adoption of the Green Port Policy, we have managed
to reduce every category of emissions to a significant degree.
Let me just give you some examples.
When we're talking about diesel particulate matter, since 2005, we've, in partnership
with all of our partners across the port community, we've reduced DPMs by 92%, NOx by 71%, SOx
(08:31):
by 98%, and even greenhouse gases by 17%.
No other port in the US or around the world can lay claim on those achievements.
I will say this, we did not do that by ourselves.
It took, you know the old saying, it takes a village?
It took the port village to really get us there because the cleaner trucks, the cleaner
(08:52):
ships, the cleaner trains that are on their way, it took all of us committing to making
our operations greener and more sustainable to get us there.
And it also took the help of our partners in the state of California, the federal government,
to make the resources available so that we can invest in cleaner technology.
So we're very proud of those achievements and proud that we have a resume that we can
(09:16):
go to our community that surrounds our port complex and say, we're doing this for you.
Not only do we deliver goods, but we're doing so in a responsible, clean way.
You mentioned cleaner technology, and you know, one of the things that you folks are
working on is the Pier Wind Project.
You know, I spent almost a decade in Hawaii, and you know, sustainability and wind green
(09:41):
is big there.
One of the projects that was floating around and was talked about was Oahu's offshore wind
farm, right?
22 to 30 floating wind turbines between Oahu and Molokai to supply 25% of the electricity
used on Oahu.
So thinking about the Pier Wind Project, something that is quite exciting for the Port of Long
(10:03):
Beach is that it's a floating offshore wind facility.
What is the primary goal of the Pier Wind Project at the Port of Long Beach?
And how does it align with the Port of Long Beach's goal to transition to zero emissions?
Let me start with the last part of your question.
As we continue our transition to zero emissions operations, we recognize that we're going
to need a lot of power, right?
(10:26):
A lot of power to power up all that clean technology, whether it's the infrastructure,
the equipment, the trucks, the yard hustlers, the stacking cranes, all that equipment is
being transitioned to a cleaner zero emissions version.
A lot of it in the coming years are going to be powered by battery electric, right?
(10:47):
So we're going to need that power from the grid.
And so we recognize that we need to fortify the grid, we need to strengthen the grid across
the state of California.
And so we are looking ahead at the investments we're making within the port complex, how
much equipment is going to rely on the grid.
And we're also looking at that demand.
(11:08):
We forecast, for example, that over the next four to five years, our demand for power is
going to grow by about sixfold.
And so we're looking at every possible way to work with our power partners to augment
the grid.
And one way we thought we could lend a hand when the governor, when Governor Gavin Newsom
(11:29):
announced this very ambitious and aggressive goal of generating 25 gigawatts of offshore
wind power by 2045.
That's when we started looking at what opportunities might exist for a port like ours to support
that.
And so that's how pure wind, that concept emerged.
(11:53):
And it's an opportunity for us to support the state in meeting its goal.
It would certainly help the state of California, but it would also support all of our partners
who are working with us to make that transition a reality.
Offshore wind in the United States is a fairly nascent renewable energy.
As you pointed out in Hawaii, you've got some of that going on.
(12:16):
But in other parts of the world, whether it's Europe, for example, they've been leveraging
offshore wind for decades, for centuries in some cases.
So we see that that is another opportunity for us to tap into that source of renewable
power and support the grid and support our transition to zero emissions.
(12:36):
You mentioned opportunity, and I could imagine that many jobs would come out of that.
Right.
What would that mean for the community, particularly in Long Beach, to have the pure wind and the
kinds of careers and from different, I think, industries?
Thank you for asking that question, because we're not just a port, right?
(12:57):
When you look at our business model and what we do to support the national economy, we
recognize our responsibility to our local community.
Everything we do, all those containers that cross our docks on an annual basis generate
hundreds of thousands of jobs across the region, millions of jobs across the nation.
Projects like pure wind and our broader infrastructure package generates tens of thousands of construction
(13:23):
jobs every year.
And they also sustain thousands of jobs going forward because someone has to manage, maintain
and operate that equipment.
Of course.
So we take our role as a economic development engine, as a job creator very seriously.
We value all of our workforce.
(13:43):
Our workforce is vital.
I like to say at the port that we're known internationally for our policies, our projects,
our programs, but it's really the people, the most important P behind all of that, that
separates us from everyone else.
And so we put people at the center of everything we do, and that includes the workforce.
(14:04):
Yeah.
That's important.
You know, we focus on the individual and the communities that, you know, surround the port
and what does that mean?
Right.
And how do they get, how do they benefit from progress?
In addition to the pier wind project, we heard there's going to be rail expansion as well.
Can you tell us more about the new rail expansion projects for the Port of Long Beach, such
(14:24):
as the pier B on dock rail support facility?
Absolutely.
The pier B on dock rail support facility, also known as America's Green Gateway, the
nickname I give it as pier beast just because it's such a complex project.
But we're very excited about that project.
It's something that we've been planning literally for over a decade.
And what it will enable us to do is move more containers directly from a port terminal to
(14:51):
the interior of the United States.
So all the key rail hubs.
And if you think about it right now, about a quarter of all the containers that arrive
into our port complex, leave the port on a train.
That means that the vast majority, three quarters of all of our cargo volume leaves a port terminals
on a truck.
Now, imagine if we can shift more of that movement from truck to train, train movements,
(15:15):
rail movements are more efficient.
They're more sustainable.
In many cases are safer.
And it will replace all that truck traffic on our roads in our surrounding communities
on our freeways and move those containers more quickly to those key rail hubs.
So there's a lot of advantages to rail and pier B what it basically does is literally
(15:40):
building a massive rail yard inside our port complex that supports all of our container
terminals so that they can move more of those containers directly from their terminals into
the interior of the United States.
And we were honored last summer to welcome US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
to join us for the groundbreaking and that project, the Pier B project was awarded a
(16:04):
mega grant and also received significant funding from the state of California altogether about
$640 million.
So projects like these line up with our commitment to green operations, our commitment to operational
excellence and reliability, and also to generating jobs through these massive infrastructure
(16:27):
programs.
Amazing.
You know, you mentioned the green gateway, and you know, just circling back to the green
port, can you discuss something I read recently about green corridors and how that benefits
the Port of Long Beach and our partners around the world?
And what does that look like for delivering packages and goods?
(16:48):
Yeah, so collaboration is central to everything we do.
The green shipping corridors that you're referencing, we're currently a member of two different
ones, one with the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Shanghai, and a second one with the
Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Singapore.
And basically what we're trying to do is working with these major ports across the Pacific
Ocean, which is where most of our containers come from.
(17:10):
And collaborating with those ports and all the shipping lines that transport those
containers from port to port so that we can together coordinate that transition to cleaner
fuels on ships.
You may have followed that in recent years, IMO has set a target by which the ships that
transport all these goods and containers across the global supply chain will operate on net
(17:39):
zero low carbon fuels.
And so these green shipping corridors are an opportunity for us to establish that framework
and ensure that we're coordinating with the shipping lines and other ports across the
Pacific so that we can get there faster and that we have standards and that we do so in
a way that that is responsible.
(18:01):
So we're excited to be a partner.
And we believe that these green shipping corridors will set that framework that we need to help
facilitate that transition.
Amazing. You know, so you mentioned that with the green shipping corridors, they're working
alongside part of Los Angeles and the port of Shanghai.
How important is working collaboratively with other ports and what comes out of that?
(18:26):
You know, there's a saying out there that I like to use that teamwork makes the dream
work.
Yeah.
And when you think about these ambitious goals, right, these very aggressive, some would say
aspirational targets, right?
Getting to zero emissions.
You need collaboration.
The only way you're going to get there is by working together with your partners.
(18:49):
For us, it means working with the Port of Los Angeles, which is literally next door
and together working with all of our port community stakeholders.
That's everyone from the dock workers, the LWU workforce, the marine terminal operators,
the trucking companies, the rail operators, the chassis leasing companies, really every
(19:10):
industry partner across the way.
And the 20 years of our Greenport policy is probably the best example or case study of
how far collaboration can get you.
Because there's no way we would be able to post the achievements and these extraordinary
(19:31):
reductions in pollution if it wasn't for collaboration.
Yeah.
I mean, it sounds like, you know, we're talking about collaboration and then we're talking
about how everyone is so interconnected with one another, right?
We lift as we climb, as I mentioned with our previous interview with Associate Dean Tom
O'Brien.
And I was like, thinking about how do we lift each other up?
(19:54):
How do we continue to work with one another to build stronger bonds and to help the world
and make it a better place and make climate change real and, you know, fix things.
But on a smaller scale, thinking more locally in terms of collaboration, thinking about
the Pure Wind Project, rail expansion, the Greenport policy, and thinking about localizing
(20:17):
it to Cal State Long Beach.
How will these projects enhance the port operation, benefit the community, and what opportunities
that will then come out for and create for Cal State Long Beach students?
Well one of the advantages we have here at the Port of Long Beach is to have this prestigious
university, Long Beach State, in our backyard.
(20:38):
Our partnership with Cal State Long Beach, Dr. O'Brien specifically, goes back many years.
And during that time, we've been able to collaborate to really move the needle when it comes to
workforce development.
Dr. O'Brien and I share a vision that if we work together, we can create that pipeline
(21:00):
so that in the future, as we develop our port and we build the port of the future, we are
in parallel here at Long Beach State preparing the workforce for those jobs.
And so I would say that one big area for collaboration with Long Beach State is on the workforce
(21:21):
development front, and making sure that there's alignment between what Cal State Long Beach
is doing in terms of their curriculum, their areas of focus, and how they're readying and
preparing their students, and making sure that that's in alignment with the needs of
our future industry. Right?
And again, the supply chain is multifaceted, and it's multidisciplinary.
(21:45):
At the Port of Long Beach, just the Port Authority alone, we employ engineers, planners, accountants,
marketing specialists, communications specialists.
It's almost like a mini city.
And so to the extent that we can ensure that we have a university that's preparing that
workforce for the future, we all win in the end.
(22:07):
And it sounds like the jobs are multifaceted and diverse.
And so that folks have different paths they can take to get to the Port of Long Beach
and have careers there, fulfilling careers.
And so that's amazing.
We were talking about, or you mentioned previously, preparing folks and students in terms of workforce
(22:28):
development.
But I think a lot of it, or what we need to talk about also is the educational partnerships
that the Port of Long Beach has.
So one of the things that, and it's funny because we have on staff one of the students
from the ACE program.
So the question is, how has the Port of Long Beach investment in local schools, the Long
(22:50):
Beach Unified School District's Academy of Global Logistics, AGL, and Advanced Manufacturing,
Construction, and Engineering ACE program, as well as scholarships, motivated its commitment
to workforce development?
How can the industry help prepare the workforce for future trade and transportation jobs?
You know, that's another area where it really is going to take the entire port community,
(23:13):
that village, right?
So I have the pleasure of serving on the boards of various organizations that share that commitment,
whether it's the American Association of Port Authorities, the Intermodal Association of
North America, the Kendrick Global Supply Chain Institute at USC, the Transportation
Supply Chain Institute at the University of Denver, and certainly here at Cal State Long
(23:37):
Beach, the College of Continuing Professional Education.
All these institutions coming together, working hand in hand with industry to understand what
the needs of the future workforce are going to be, the future needs of industry.
That's how we get to a point where the academic institutions and the industry are working
(23:59):
hand in hand to ensure that we have that ready workforce in the future.
And again, the partnership that we have with Cal State Long Beach, and even with the Long
Beach Unified School District, Long Beach City College, is truly unparalleled.
I can't think of any other port across the nation that has these deep partnerships where
(24:20):
we're actually aligning curricula, we're aligning programs, we're aligning professional development
to meet the precise needs of industry.
And that's what I believe will continue to set the Port of Long Beach apart in the years
ahead.
And how do you think, because we are tapping into and training kids in high school, and
(24:43):
kind of showcasing the port in a new way, and education in a new way, how important
do you think it is to start that early?
You know, it's very important.
Let me tell you my story of how I fell into the industry.
I wasn't looking for a job at the port.
In fact, I knew what a port was.
(25:03):
I really never thought about a career in port or supply chain.
I was working in the private sector, and I attended an event called the State of the
Port.
And I bought my ticket.
When I arrived, I checked in, they gave me my table assignment.
When I went to that table, every seat was taken.
So I ended up sitting in the table furthest away from the podium next to the exit doors.
(25:25):
And I sat down.
I happened to sit right next to the HR director at the Port of Long Beach.
And I call it Providence, because I wasn't looking for a job or a career change.
But I ended up sitting right next to her.
And that brief interaction and conversation left an impression where two weeks later in
(25:46):
my mailbox, where I worked at the time, I got the job bulletin for what eventually became
my first job.
And I share that story because people who end up working in our industry should not
fall into the industry.
It should not be accidental, right?
It should not happen haphazardly.
There should be a pipeline.
(26:07):
There should be a more deliberate way to attract young talent to promote our industry to youth.
And that's the reason why we're so passionate at the Port of Long Beach, to start early,
partnering with the Long Beach Unified School District, Long Beach City College, Cal State
Long Beach, and really promote our industry and the amazing, incredible careers that Supply
(26:31):
Chain offers to youth and students at all points in their educational career.
And so that's why we're so passionate about it.
Yeah.
Cultivating leaders, cultivating partners, cultivating lifelong relationships, right?
That's right.
Yeah.
And I think that ties nicely to lifelong learning, right?
(26:52):
And how we invest back into the community, invest in kids and whatnot.
That's right.
So we're thinking about cultivating leaders, cultivating careers for our folks.
The Port is also investing internally with the leadership program, development program.
Can you share the goals of the program and how it is shaping future leaders within the
Port?
(27:12):
One of my big priorities at the Port of Long Beach is to invest in our workforce.
As I said a moment ago, the most important P are the people.
And to the extent that we can develop our people, invest in our people, our projects,
our programs, our policies are going to be better.
And so one area that I'm passionate about is leadership.
(27:35):
And we recognize that if we wanted our workforce to grow and to develop, we needed to invest
in their leadership capacity.
So we reached out to Cal State Long Beach and the College of Continuing Education, working
with Dr. O'Brien and the entire team.
We developed the curriculum specifically for Port employees.
(27:58):
And we just graduated our second cohort.
It's been a massive success.
Every participant that I've talked to that has gone through the program has really sang
its praises because what it's done is that it's taken them out of their quote unquote
silo and given them the bigger picture of what it is that we do.
(28:19):
And this international mission that we have.
And so we could not be prouder that our partner to make this a reality is Cal State Long Beach.
And there again is another example of how we're leading in the Port sector, partnering
with Cal State Long Beach to develop this first of its kind leadership development program.
So we're so excited about that and even more excited about the future.
(28:42):
Yeah, definitely.
So I think you ended that on an interesting note, the future, right?
And just shifting gears a bit, I'm thinking about future trends and we were talking as
I was coming up to this studio that so much has happened.
It's only January.
So given the evolving political, regulatory and environmental landscape, how does the
(29:08):
Port of Long Beach adapt to ensure its continued success?
The Port of Long Beach has been around since 1911.
It has weathered many storms.
You could make the argument that there's never been a storm quite like this one, right?
When you look at everything that's converging.
But I think it's fair to say that when you look at our history, we have an organization
(29:31):
committed to its mission.
And even when administrations change, even when the global landscape shifts, even when
sourcing and trade routes shift, as long as we continue investing in our organization,
as long as we continue investing in our infrastructure, we continue to look for innovative ways to
(29:54):
add value to the supply chain, we continue to offer advantages that other ports and gateways
do not, we continue our commitment to greening our operations, we continue to invest in workforce
development, as long as we stick to our core values, the Port of Long Beach is going to
be around for a long time.
(30:15):
That's been our recipe for success over the decades.
And I believe that will continue to be our recipe for success in the years ahead.
And again, with partners like Cal State Long Beach, and the collaboration that enables
us to do more and become a force multiplier in every facet of supply chain, that's really
(30:36):
going to continue to set us apart.
And that's the reason why we're so excited.
Let me end with this as well.
There's a quote that I've been using recently.
It's been attributed to President Abraham Lincoln, but also Peter Drucker.
And it goes like this, the best way to predict the future is to create it.
And so at the Port of Long Beach, we're creating the future.
(30:58):
Well, so I mean, you mentioned core values, right?
And I'm sure that the Port of Long Beach as its own entity, as its own values, right?
But as the chief operating officer, what do you see working at the Port of Long Beach
for quite some time?
What do you see the values are?
You know, we value our people.
(31:18):
Yeah, we're a people centered organization, people centered industry.
We're also committed to sustainability.
That's the reason why we've been a leader in environmental sustainability and stewardship
for over 20 years.
We're also committed to operational excellence, ensuring that we make the most advanced and
(31:40):
the most proficient facilities and infrastructure for all of our partners.
We're committed to customer service.
For the last six years, we've been voted the best seaport in the West Coast, six consecutive
years.
And if you go back 25 years, almost 20 of those 25 years we've been voted best seaport in
(32:00):
the West Coast.
And that's not, you know, sort of an online voting poll, right?
It's not like all the port employees are voting for the Port of Long Beach.
These are customers.
These are shippers.
These are companies.
These are people who use multiple ports and they vote Port of Long Beach as the best seaport.
And again, that's a commitment.
(32:21):
That's a value.
We want to be a world class customer service known organization.
Yeah.
Well, on the same topic of the future thinking and putting a futurist hat on, how is the
industry changing with the emerging technologies like AI and data analytics?
And what skills and key trends should Cal State Long Beach students develop to be a part
(32:44):
of this technological transformation?
You know, technology is evolving so quickly.
Our industry is not known for adapting quickly to technology.
But when you look at port operations today, you see it in motion.
And I think the best way to answer your question and prepare the workforce is really to develop
(33:11):
and instill in our workforce a mindset of resilience and agility, to have the ability
to be resourceful with what you have and to be able to pivot and adjust immediately.
And you know, the recent pandemic and the supply chain crisis that it triggered was
a case in point.
We were all forced way out of our comfort zone and we had a pivot and we showed our
(33:37):
resilience.
And I like to say that resilience is not something you buy off the shelf.
It's not a computer program.
Resilience is a mindset.
And the best way to adjust to any form of disruption, regardless of its source, is to
ensure that you teach your people to be resilient, to have a resilient mindset, to think outside
(33:58):
the box, to be resourceful and to always keep that outcome in mind.
Yeah.
And talking about the pandemic, because I know that a lot of folks and companies are
still reeling from it, right?
How did the Port of Long Beach maneuver and shift and stay resilient during the pandemic?
(34:22):
Again it took the village, right?
It took the entire port community.
But we did a number of things that really helped us navigate the pandemic.
We felt the brunt of it because when warehouses closed down, when their capacity was constrained,
folks were staying at home.
A lot of the places and a lot of the distribution centers, warehouses where the containers that
(34:45):
arrive at the port eventually go, they were closed down.
In some cases they were shut down.
So there's no place for those containers to go.
And so what was happening is all of those containers were piling up inside the port
terminals.
When the port terminals were filled to capacity, all those ships that were scheduled to arrive
(35:06):
at the port were now lining up on the water for those containers.
So you can imagine the ports were now makeshift warehouses.
The ships were warehouses on water.
And at one point there were 109 ships at anchor waiting off the shores of Southern California.
And so as you can imagine, we were getting phone calls from members of Congress in the
(35:29):
Midwest on the East Coast because again, the ports of LA and Long Beach together account
for 40% of the nation's goods.
So when the supply chain crisis hit the United States, it hit us the hardest.
But here's what we did to get those 109 ships at anchor all the way to zero.
We immediately activated vacant land.
(35:49):
After a vacant land we had available, we turned it into surge capacity and it became an immediate
relief out.
And that became the first pop-up yard.
So we started here, we started that here in Long Beach first.
And all of a sudden ports across the nation were doing the same.
And that's where the pop-up yard started.
The second thing we did is we expanded hours of operation.
(36:11):
So we worked with our container terminal operators and we urged them to open up earlier, to close
later, to open on weekends.
In some cases, work 24 hours a day.
Our workforce, they were truly our heroes.
In spite of the pandemic, they masked up, they showed up to work and we never shut down
(36:34):
the port of Long Beach throughout the supply chain crisis, throughout the pandemic.
Credit to our dock workers, our IOWU workforce, credit to our rail operators, to our container
operators and all of our partners who recognized that in order to keep the economy moving,
in order to keep the goods moving, system moving, we had to keep the port open and operational.
(36:58):
The third thing we did, which was also effective, is we threatened a fee.
We told the shippers, if you keep your containers at the port longer than nine days, we're going
to have to charge you a fee.
As you can imagine, that was not the most popular solution, but it worked.
And it took us a few months, but eventually we were able to dig ourselves out of that
(37:20):
hole that we were in and we were able to bring those 109 ships back to zero, which is normal.
But again, it took all of us working together, the White House, the supply chain envoy, and
so many of our partners, we all came together.
We had weekly calls.
Initially, it were daily calls, multiple times a day calls, but eventually we got through
(37:41):
it and it was all because of that collaboration coordination.
I mean, it sounds like all hands on deck kind of.
It truly was.
Yeah, it truly was.
Yeah.
Going back to that saying that you said teamwork makes the dream work or gets the cargo going.
So I think, you know, one of the last things that we want to talk about is the so what
(38:02):
question, right?
So thinking about how this conversation and then the Port of Long Beach, what you represent,
like how does that reach down to the students to the programs that we offer here at CPACE,
right?
The College of Professional and Continuing Education.
I know you guys offer scholarships and internship programs for students at LBUSD, LBCC and Cal
(38:27):
State Long Beach.
Why should they apply and when?
You know, I would encourage anyone and everyone to apply for scholarships and internships
at the port because the career opportunities that our industry has to offer are extraordinary.
And again, it's so diverse.
(38:48):
Engineers, planners, accountants, marketing specialists, it runs the entire gamut.
And so for anyone who is curious about international commerce, curious about trade and how we as
a city and a community contribute to the global supply chain, ought to consider applying.
We do offer internships at the Port of Long Beach.
(39:11):
We do also offer scholarships.
Just last year, we awarded $300,000 in scholarships to promote our industry supply chain, goods,
movement, transportation among our youth.
So I would encourage folks to go to our website polb.com where you will find a lot more information
about those programs and how you can apply.
(39:33):
One thing I would say about this conversation is that you're a very hopeful guy and you
emit a very, a light that is exciting and gets people excited for jobs and careers and what
the Port of Long Beach offers.
And it made me think about a conversation, as I mentioned previously with Dr. Tom O'Brien,
(39:58):
that there's still time.
And what I mean by that is that you mentioned the different job opportunities and people
applying at different ages and whatnot.
And there's still time to remake yourself, to live the life you want, to come up in life. Right?
And I think the Port of Long Beach offers that pathway to do that.
(40:20):
So I think that I see those connections and it's just amazing what you guys do.
And you know, on that point, this is why I'm so passionate about what we do and the opportunities
we create in the work that we do, because I think these opportunities, these career
opportunities should be afforded to everyone.
(40:42):
And to your point about the ability to remake yourself, reinvent yourself if you will, I
like to say that today is the first day of the rest of your life.
What happened yesterday doesn't matter as much as what you're going to do today, what
you're going to do tomorrow.
There's a quote that I like to, as you can tell, I use a lot of quotes, because there's
a lot of wisdom in these, right?
That's how I learned.
(41:03):
And that is that you can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start today and
change the ending.
Definitely.
And so I would encourage everyone who's listening, if you're looking to make a career move, if
you're interested in global trade, interested in goods movement, check out our website,
pick up opportunities, talk to Dr. O'Brien, because there's so many opportunities out
(41:27):
there that are literally life changing.
Definitely.
I mean, like through the College of Professional and Continuing Education, we have the Global
Logistics Professional Program, and that works hand in hand with the Port of Long Beach.
I actually want to up you with quotes.
As a PhD in the humanities, literature is one of my favorite things in the world.
(41:50):
Think about Ellen Montgomery from Canada and Anne of Green Gable, she says, tomorrow's
a new fresh start with no mistakes.
And so we look at these folks and who wants to better their lives and just get to the
next day.
And tomorrow's new and you can do whatever you want.
That's right.
(42:10):
The sun, keep the sun on your face and the wind at your back.
That's exactly right.
Beautiful.
Beautifully recited too.
Back to back quotes, man.
You and me.
Well, thank you so much, Dr. Noel Hacegaba for coming on the show.
My pleasure.
Thank you for having me.
Yeah, of course.
And thank you for tuning in to Pacing Your Future.
We hope today's installment has inspired you and provided valuable insights into the dynamic
(42:33):
world of industry and innovation.
Stay tuned with us for more stories, opportunities and expert advice to help you navigate and
shape your future.
Until next time, keep pacing your future with confidence and curiosity.
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