Slangerup, Port of Long Beach CEO, resigns

The Port of Long Beach's CEO, Jon Slangerup, announced his resignation late yesterday, the port said.

Slangerup will leave his position Oct. 28 to become chairman and CEO of what the port in a statement described as a "leading aviation technology company." The port, the second busiest in the country, has begun a search for a successor, it said.

Slangerup, who joined the port in June of 2014, has held various top executive posts in the transportation, energy, environmental, and financial industries. He spent 20 years at Memphis-based FedEx Corp., with the last six—between 1994 and 2000—as head of the company's Canadian operations.

Slangerup took the helm of the port shortly before tensions escalated between West Coast waterfront management and organized labor over a new collective bargaining agreement. The contractual impasse led to an alleged work slowdown by members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) that led to significant vessel delays and shipment backlogs at 29 ports from Seattle to San Diego. A five-year contract was ratified in early 2015.

In a statement, the port credited Slangerup with restoring normal operations in less than half the time expected.