Port of Long Beach appoints Hacebaga as its next CEO, effective January 1
Summary
Dr Noel Hacebaga, currently Chief Operating Officer of the Port of Long Beach (POLB), has been appointed CEO effective 1 January 2026. Hacebaga brings 15 years of senior-management experience at POLB and has overseen daily operations across commercial services, engineering, finance, planning and environmental affairs. He led the port’s pandemic-era response, directed the Business Recovery Task Force, and helped build the Supply Chain Information Highway — a digital cargo-visibility platform.
Hacebaga negotiated major transactions including multibillion-dollar sales of terminals, managed recovery after a carrier bankruptcy, and ran near-dock rail operations. The appointment comes as POLB moves into a decade of major infrastructure and sustainability work, anchored by a $3.2 billion capital improvement programme and a push to accelerate zero-emission operations.
Key Points
- Dr Noel Hacebaga named POLB CEO, starting 1 January 2026; previously POLB COO with 15 years at the port.
- He oversees core functions including commercial services, engineering, finance, planning and environmental affairs.
- Led POLB’s pandemic response and the Business Recovery Task Force to maintain cargo flows during supply-chain disruption.
- Architect of POLB’s Supply Chain Information Highway, a digital platform to improve cargo visibility and data sharing.
- Negotiated major terminal sales and steered the port through industry realignment and record-volume recovery.
- POLB plans a $3.2 billion capital improvement programme to boost rail capacity and national connectivity while accelerating decarbonisation.
- Hacebaga highlights tariff-driven trade uncertainty as a primary challenge; through October POLB moved 8,229,916 TEUs, up 4.1% year-over-year.
Why should I read this?
Because this matters if you move goods — leadership at the Port of Long Beach shapes cargo flows, rail connections and green shipping initiatives. New CEO, big projects and a hard push on decarbonisation: short version, pay attention or get surprised.
Author’s take (punchy)
This isn’t just a personnel change — it’s a handover at one of the world’s busiest gateways as it launches a multibillion-pound (sic) investment and doubles down on zero-emission goals. Read the detail to see how policy, trade uncertainty and infrastructure plans will affect capacity and competitiveness.
Context and relevance
The appointment arrives amid wider industry volatility: shifting trade policies and tariff uncertainty are reshaping trade lanes, and ports are responding with infrastructure upgrades, digital platforms and decarbonisation agendas. POLB’s $3.2bn programme and its experience as an early ‘Green Port’ position it to influence both US gateway competitiveness and international green-shipping collaborations.