Jacksonville Port Authority executive vice president Roy Schleicher was named interim CEO on Wednesday, replacing Paul Anderson, who accepted the Tampa Port Authority CEO job.
The JPA board made the decision Wednesday after accepting Anderson's resignation Tuesday.
Schleicher has served as the port's executive vice president since 2011 after 10 years leading the port's international cargo marketing efforts.
He will lead the port during its transition and also has expressed interest for the permanent position.
"It's an exciting time. I appreciate the board's confidence in me to take over," said Schleicher.
Though he is interim, the board provided him the same authority Anderson had to operate the port, which includes the power to assemble his own executive management team.
"We have a very good team in place. We will relook at the team and make sure everyone is in a position to reach their full capabilities," Schleicher said.
The board said it wants to quickly fill the vacancy, but also be cautious because the hire could have a long-term effect on the port.
"You want to move quickly to put a new leader in charge, but you don't want to make a wrong decision when you are talking about someone we hope is going to be here five-10 years," said board Vice Chairman Joe York.
During the search that resulted in Anderson's hiring, Hawthorne, N.Y.-based Boyden Global Executive Search presented a list of the top five candidates.
Those candidates were interviewed by the executive committee of the JPA board. Anderson was the No. 1 choice and Schleicher was No. 2.
The search team included former JPA Chairman David Kulik, Vice Chair Buck Fowler, Treasurer Herschel Vinyard and Secretary Reginald Gaffney.
Gaffney is the only member of the committee still on the board.
"One of the exceptional things that happened during the last search was that we were able to retain the No. 2 choice of that search, Roy Schleicher, who has served as executive vice president and we have enjoyed his expertise through that transition," said Jim Citrano, board chairman.
Citrano said he already has been contacted by seven people who are interested in the CEO position, but would not disclose the names.
The board decided to solicit an executive search firm to find candidates for the job and will issue a request for proposals for the service.
Gaffney stressed the next search firm needed to be familiar with the Jacksonville environment.
"They must understand the politics of Jacksonville in order to find us the right candidate. Our next CEO has to have a great relationship with the mayor, City Council and the governor. It's not going to take just container ships coming to the port to make us successful, it will take the whole community to help us grow," said Gaffney.
Dennis Kelly, TraPac regional vice president and general manager attended the meeting. TraPac is a port tenant.
"Some people look at this as a tough position, but it is also a great opportunity for someone. I'd like to see a leader who has a different approach who sees the needs of the port for the long term and has the ability to spot trends with an emphasis on the future to see what is going to help this industry grow," said Kelly.
He said ports in Norfolk, Va., and Gulfport, Miss., have interim CEOs and could be competition for the authority's next hire.
"I don't see that as a problem. The maritime industry is such a small community that there are no secrets," Citrano said.
The next scheduled JPA board meeting is Jan. 28, but Citrano said he will schedule one in mid-January to determine the criteria for selecting the next CEO.
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