Port of Seattle Commission selects Ted J. Fick as next CEO

The Port of Seattle Commission has selected the next CEO for the Port of Seattle. Ted J. Fick, a Tacoma native with decades of experience leading manufacturing organizations across the country, will take the helm when current CEO Tay Yoshitani retires next month.

Commissioners must vote on his appointment in public session. The vote is scheduled for their next meeting on September 11, when Fick will be introduced to the community.

Seattle joins the other West Cost ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland in appointing new leadership recently.

The Commission began a nationwide search for a new CEO in early 2014. Current CEO Tay Yoshitani, who joined the port in 2007, will retire on September 30, 2014. Fick will begin work on September 29, 2014.

Fick has over 25 years of leadership experience in major manufacturing and transportation organizations – including oversight of international operations. He spent many years working in the Puget Sound region’s manufacturing and industrial community, beginning at his family’s Tacoma-based company, Fick Foundry. He then spent many years at PACCAR, one of the Pacific Northwest’s primary manufacturers holding leadership positions in both PACCAR and their division Kenworth.

In 2000, he left the PNW and has since held multiple leadership positions in transportation and manufacturing companies. Most recently, he served as CEO of Polar Corporation, a $475 million trailer and component parts manufacturer in Minnesota. In that position, he oversaw three operating divisions, multiple manufacturing plants, and a workforce of over 2,000 represented and non-represented employees.

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