SPA soon to announce 1st chief commercial officer

A new top-level executive is set to board the vessel that is the S.C. State Ports Authority.

The Charleston-based maritime agency is expected to announce as early as today the hiring of its first-ever chief commercial officer, a sort of a sales-and-marketing czar who will shoulder broad responsibilities and lofty expectations.

John F. Hassell III, who's been serving as the SPA's interim chief executive officer since Bernie Groseclose abruptly resigned from the post in January, said the new, unidentified hire will be charged with overseeing all aspects of business development at the SPA. That includes the agency's all-important container business as well as pleasure cruises and breakbulk, which is made up of goods that can't be moved in steel boxes.

Hassell said the creation of the CCO slot is part of a broader effort at the authority to halt and reverse what many view as an alarming slide in business volume at the port.

"We're focusing much more resources on building cargo," Hassell told the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors' Commercial Investment Division on Thursday.

That renewed focus comes after three consecutive year-over-year declines in activity on the waterfront, costing the Port of Charleston its No. 2 East Coast ranking while arch-rival Savannah has moved up the chain. This year, the SPA's container volume is projected to fall by slightly more than 7 percent, according to a recent economic forecast.

"There is new business out there. ... We just need to get better at what we do," Hassell said.

Part of the strategy is to get more aggressive on the sales side while allowing for more flexibility on the rate side.

The CCO will be tasked with not only drumming up new business but also ensuring existing accounts don't take their ships elsewhere.

"The best customer is the one you got," said Hassell, who's been negotiating to keep the port's biggest client, Maersk Line, from pulling out of Charleston.

Besides adding the chief commercial officer position, the SPA plans to make other select hires in key growth areas. And it also is working on establishing "a one-stop shop" where customers can get immediate answers to questions about their cargo or ships.

Hassell said the sales-call process is being revamped as well, pointing to recent success as a case study. He pointed out that the SPA's newly won breakbulk account with National Shipping Co. of Saudi Arabia was sealed not by a lone wolf but by a "power team" of local maritime industry representatives. It marked the first time multiple players from the waterfront worked together to make a single, unified pitch to a prospect.

"We're going to be doing a lot of more of that team marketing work in the future," Hassell said.

As for his own future at the ports authority, Hassell insists he's ready to turn the helm over to a full-time successor, whoever that may be. The application deadline for the job was March 13.

"It's got be a long list," Hassell said, when asked the number of would-be CEO candidates. "It's a plum job."

He also said the search committee — he's not on it — could meet as early as this week to create a short list of front-runners and to start setting up interviews.

Hassell predicted that the SPA's next chief executive "is going to be the hottest property in the county in port management" and that he or she "will take the port places we've never been before."

The goal remains to have the post filled by June or July, at which point Hassell plans to return to his role as president of the S.C. Maritime Association.

"That date can't get here too soon, frankly," he said.

Reach John McDermott at 937-5572 or jmcdermott@postandcourier.com.