Mario Cordero (KEYNOTE)

Mario Cordero, an international maritime industry leader, Long Beach resident and attorney, is Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach, California, named to the post by the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners in May 2017.

Beginning in 2003, Mr. Cordero served as a member, vice president and president of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners for eight years, before resigning to accept President Barack Obama’s appointment to the Federal Maritime Commission in 2011. He served on the FMC until May 2017 and was FMC Chairman from April 2013 to January 2017. In 2022, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg appointed Mr. Cordero to the Maritime Transportation System National Advisory Committee, and he serves on the L.A. County Economic Resiliency Task force, appointed to the post in 2020 by Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn. As Executive Director, Mr. Cordero reports to the Board and leads the Port’s Harbor Department staff of more than 500 with a budget of $622 million for the 2022 fiscal year.

Mr. Cordero has practiced law for more than 30 years, specializing in workers’ compensation cases. He holds a law degree from the University of Santa Clara, and a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from California State University, Long Beach. He taught Political Science at Long Beach City College, served on the City of Long Beach Community Development Commission, and was Vice-Chair of the Long Beach Ethics Task Force. Mr. Cordero was elected to a two-year term as Chairman of the Board for the American Association of Port Authorities in 2020 following a term as Vice Chairman. In 2021 he was appointed by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco to serve on the bank’s Los Angeles branch board of directors, and for the third consecutive year is included in the Los Angeles Business Journal’s “LA500” list of the city’s most influential civic leaders.