THE Port of Long Beach has named Jon Slangerup, a one-time chief of FedEx Canada, to be its new CEO, the port authority announced, reported American Shipper.

"He's an extremely capable leader, proven team-builder and expert at managing a world-class organisation," said harbour commission president Doug Drummond.

"In our highly competitive, quickly changing industry challenged by major environmental and energy issues, he's the perfect person for the job," said Mr Drummond.

The port has been without a permanent manager since Christopher Lytle left a year ago for the Port of Oakland. Harbour engineer Al Moro took over as interim chief.

Mr Slangerup spent 20 years at FedEx, including six as head of its Canadian subsidiary. After FedEx Canada in 2000, he headed a supply chain management software company, hydrogen fuel concern and a solar power firm.

Since 2012, he has served on the board of a private equity firm that invests in industrial services, healthcare and consumer goods companies and a maker of aviation maintenance software.

Former colleagues at clean technology companies recommended Slangerup on his LinkedIn page. 

"A gifted leader, Jon brought Fortune 500 management expertise and strategic vision to these companies, providing a steady hand during our rapid growth. Jon is equally successful in raising investment funds from Wall Street," said green technology enthusiast Arthur de Cordova. 

Said Zakiul Kabir, chief technology officer at CleanEnergy Power: "Mr Slangerup is a visionary leader with excellent communication, interpersonal and management skills. He is a big picture thinker who is often able to inspire a team to reach for excellence."

Described as analytical and data driven, he is said to have outstanding marketing and business development skills, able to identify opportunities in less obvious places and maximise shareholder value." 

Said Mr Slangerup: "I look forward to working with our team to flawlessly execute our capital plans and deliver exceptional value to our customers and community stakeholders to ensure growth and expansion of our port."