Ride Captain Ride: Unlocking the value of seaports

The leaders of two of America’s key seaports—Gene Seroka of the Port of Los Angeles and Barbara Melvin of South Carolina Ports—discuss lessons learned from the pandemic and what resurgent trade activity augurs for supply chains and industrial & logistics real estate investors and occupiers.

ABOUT THIS WEEK'S GUESTS

GENE SEROKA is the Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest container port in North America. Confirmed by Los Angeles City Council in June 2014, the Port has experienced a series of historic, record-breaking performances since his appointment. Since the pandemic-induced buying surge generated by American consumers in the second half of 2020, the Port of Los Angeles has eclipsed multiple monthly cargo records and recorded eight out of 10 highest-performing quarters in its 115-year history. The Port set two new milestones for the Western Hemisphere in June 2021 as the first port to process 10 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in a 12-month period and in May 2021 the first port to process 1 million TEUs in a single month. Seroka received the esteemed Stanley T. Olafson Award from the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce in 2023, recognizing his work in the world trade industry and leadership of the nation’s busiest container port.

BARBARA MELVIN is the sixth leader in the history of the port and the first woman to lead a top 10 U.S. operating container port. During her more than 20 years with SC Ports, Melvin has held several senior leadership positions, including senior vice president of operations and terminals; senior vice president of external affairs; and vice president of government relations. In addition to overseeing numerous infrastructure projects, Melvin served as the lead staff person on the Charleston Harbor Deepening Project, which is on track to being the deepest harbor on the East Coast at 52 feet this year.

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