Gary LaGrange

President & CEO

Gary LaGrange has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Port of New Orleans since 2001. Under LaGrange’s direction the Port made great expansions in spite of great adversity.� During his tenure, the Port opened new, state-of-the art container, cruise and refrigerated terminals. LaGrange’s leadership brought the Port of New Orleans back into operation two weeks after Hurricane Katrina, the most extensive natural disaster in U.S. history. With over a decade of investment and expansion, the Port of New Orleans is now recognized as the #1 Port for logistics in America.�LaGrange serves on the Boards and Executive Committees of the Waterways Council, Inc., and National Waterways Conference where he is a past President. He also serves on the Board of the Gulf Ports Association of the Americas. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Transportation Research Board.��A past Chairman, Mr. LaGrange still serves as a member of the American Association of Port Authorities Board of Directors. He is also past Chairman and past President of the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association.�He is a member of the Committee of 100 Louisiana. He serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Advisory Council on Trade and Transportation Committee, and the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration’s Port Subcommittee.�He was named the Maritime Person of the Year by the Propeller Club of New Orleans in 2003 and Maritime Person of the Year by the Propeller Club of the Port of Gulfport in 2001. He was named the “Man of Steel” by the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS).�Gary is also a member of the National Rivers Hall of Fame in Dubuque, Iowa and named to the Hall of Fame by the International Maritime Association at the United Nations in New York.�In 2012, he was the recipient of the Transportation & Infrastructure Summit Excellence in Maritime Transportation Award and the C. Alvin Bertel Award in recognition for outstanding contributions to the advancement of the Greater New Orleans port area. Mr. LaGrange also received the 2012 International Achievement Award.�In 2013, he was recognized by the University of Southern Mississippi for his support of the Center for Logistics, Trade and Transportation and is a 2013 Young Leadership Council Role Model Award winner.�Before taking leadership at the Port of New Orleans, LaGrange served as the Executive Director of the Mississippi State Port Authority in Gulfport, Ms., the Port of South Louisiana and the Port of West St. Mary.�LaGrange attended Louisiana State University. He received his B.A. in Geography/Economics from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He also completed a Master of Arts in Urban Planning, with honors from ULL, in addition to having earned the Professional Port Manager Certification (PPM) from the American Association of Port Authorities.