Noel Hacegaba may be new to his title, but he’s not new to the job.

For 16 years, Hacegaba has been making his mark at the Port of Long Beach – starting as executive officer to the Board of Harbor Commissioners. In January, he reached the top of the ladder when he took the wheel as chief executive – a role in which he expects to pull the trigger on or bring home projects he’s spent years planning.

“In some ways, it feels like I can’t believe it’s already been 100 days, because I hit the ground running and haven’t stopped,” he said shortly after passing the milestone. “In other ways, it feels like I can’t believe it’s only been 100 days, because we have accomplished so much in so little time.”

On one hand, Hacegaba already runs a well-oiled machine.

In the years since the worst days of the Covid-19 pandemic – when a persistent logjam of cargo vessels in the San Pedro Bay made for odious headlines – ships have flowed in and out of the port’s terminals with relative ease.

Last year was a record 12 months for cargo volume handled, and so far this year, the Port of Long Beach has been the nation’s busiest. The rate at which containers are hauled out of terminals – whether by truck or rail – has remained relatively brisk.

Port projects underway

And yet work is underway to upgrade the port. Work continues on the Pier B on-dock rail facility upgrade. Terminal operator ITS is in the middle of completing a slip to accommodate the largest container ships.

Planning and fundraising are underway for Pier W, a proposed floating terminal for assembling floating wind turbines. The Clean Air Action Plan, in partnership with the Port of Los Angeles, will continue to reduce particulate matter in the air. And the port’s 2050 plan is to double its annual cargo capacity to 20 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units).

“Ports are at the intersection of trade, geopolitics, climate and technology. All the forces that are reshaping the world – not just the global supply chain, but the world – they all intersect at our port,” Hacegaba said. “When we talk about building the port of the future, the port of the future has to be fast, resilient, clean, connected, and so that involves connecting with our region, our state, our partners at the federal level.”

Among those partners is Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, who has in recent months articulated his plans to bring Long Beach into the future – a future less dependent on the oil and gas industry while still supporting the blue-collar jobs that have historically employed residents of the second-largest city in Los Angeles County.

To bring those jobs into the future, Hacegaba has periodically stressed, blue-collar equipment such as loaders, cranes, and drayage trucks also needs to transition away from fossil fuels. This meeting of the minds was evident in November, when the two ports secured a cooperative agreement with the South Coast Air Quality Management District to accelerate the adoption of zero-emissions technology for that very equipment.

“That cooperative agreement would not have been possible without the leadership and support of our mayor,” Hacegaba said, noting that L.A. Mayor Karen Bass also was involved. “That’s the kind of leadership that our mayor provides to us. He recognizes the importance and the value of our port, to our city, to our region and to the nation. He’s our biggest champion.”

‘Hurry up offense’

With that in mind, Hacegaba turned to a football metaphor to illustrate the leadership change.

The port’s former chief executive, Mario Cordero, had publicly taken the then-chief operating officer, Hacegaba, under his wing in the last year or so of his tenure. After all, he had previously negotiated the multibillion-dollar sales of both the Long Beach Container Terminal and Total Terminals International. His work to streamline operations during the pandemic logjam also led to the creation of the Supply Chain Information Highway, shared with the Port of L.A.

So now, the assistant coach, if you will, has been promoted.

“One of the things I’ve been telling the team internally is, it’s the same organization, it’s the same team, but it’s a new season and a new coach,” he explained. “This is my opportunity to leave a mark and to take our team into the future.

“Football gives us a common language, and it gives us a way for us to relate to each other and to the work that we do,” Hacegaba added. “We’re expanding our playbook; we’re updating our game plan, and we have moved to a hurry up offense. All of that is creating what I call a new championship culture.”