Georgia Ports Authority CEO Griff Lynch said that in many organizations, leadership changes at the highest levels can result in some disruption.
But in an industry as vast and fast-moving as global trade, GPA employees and customers experience enough disruption, he said. He knew that if GPA was going to make changes, the best it could offer employees and customers is a smooth transition.
That belief is behind the transition plan to succeed Lynch as GPA’s top executive, a plan now in motion with new GPA President Kevin Price starting July 1. Price took over the president role previously held by Lynch, who will stay on as CEO through Aug. 1 before Price holds both positions.
Ports officials say the one-year transition plan reflects GPA’s broader
mindset of focusing on the long-term.
“We pride ourselves on the fact we try to run the Georgia Ports Authority as a well-run, elite organization, and this method of transition helps ensure that,” said GPA Board Chairman Alec Poitevint.
The succession plan was announced in February alongside Lynch’s intent to retire at the end of his GPA tenure. Lynch said in a recent interview that his over 15 years at GPA have been the best of his career, adding that contributed to him feeling ownership in ensuring GPA’s success continues.
The CEO said he wanted to do everything in his power to make the transition a success. Lynch began having conversations with Poitevint roughly eight months ago about what a transition could look like. They both agreed a one-year program was the best path forward.
Price stepped into GPA last month with more than 30 years in operations experience, working at port locations across the East Coast. That tenure has included over four years in Savannah as president of Gateway Terminals, the post he had before moving to GPA.
“Typical of the GPA, we had a plan in place before I came on board, which is a big thing I have learned over the last 30 days is the planning for the future is unmatched,” Price said. “Everything we do points to where we’re going in the future, not where we are today.”
Price’s first month entailed meeting GPA employees and learning the authority’s operation from the inside. The new president is also implementing a plan to meet with GPA customers, doing a 30-day road trip to meet 31 customers in August, he said.
Price also said that the early work will be about learning GPA’s operations from the inside, even though through work at Gateway he understood the operations from the outside. Gateway aids GPA with a variety of services including container moving and gate control.
He added that a key component of learning the internal operations is understanding how the authority, and its board, think about the organization’s impact. Price said the group thinks not just about its impact on Savannah and Brunswick, but to the state and nation as a whole.
“It’s very important to understand that mindset, because then you understand why we’re always looking to the future," Price said.
Lynch said that over the course of the year, his responsibilities will decrease as Price’s increase. Meanwhile, Price sees the one-year plan as a gift.
He can pop over to Lynch’s office any time he has a question or faces a new experience.
Poitevint added that the plan gives Price the benefit of seeing how GPA currently operates, while also bringing his own perspective and expertise to the table.
“Kevin gets to be himself, and by the same token he gets to be exposed in a positive manner to how things are being done, and to form his own conclusions as to how to lead this team,” Poitevint said.
Evan Lasseter is the City of Savannah and Chatham County government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@savannahnow.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia Port one-year leadership transition plan underway | Exclusive
