The Port of San Diego is headed for an executive change as president and CEO Randa Coniglio announced her impending retirement Tuesday.
The 20-year veteran port official has held the top position since 2015 and was the first female CEO in the organization’s history. She plans to stay on long enough to help recruit her successor.
Coniglio, 60, said she’s been eligible for retirement for the past three years, and now is ready to spend more time with family.
“My first grandchild, Franco, is almost 4 and my daughter, sca, has a baby on the way,” Coniglio said. “As much as I love my career, the tug to be a full-time grandmother has grown too strong to resist.”
Established in 1962, the San Diego Unified Port District includes 34 miles of waterfront property held by San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and Coronado. The organization is self-funded and generates lease and concession revenue from businesses such as hotels, restaurants, cruise lines and cargo operators that operate on the tidelands. It is governed by a seven-member board of commissioners who are appointed by their member cities.
Coniglio’s departure comes during a rocky time for the Port of San Diego. Earlier this summer, the executive penned an opinion piece for the Union-Tribune, outlining how the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted the organization, and calling for federal help in the form of grants.
“Ports, including the Port of San Diego, that specialize in moving hard-hit cargoes like steel and automobiles, or depend on tourism dollars, such as from cruise ship calls and land leases to hotels, restaurants and retailers, are particularly vulnerable,” wrote Coniglio, along with her co-author Chris Conner, resident and CEO of the American Association of Port Authorities.
The exact departure date for Coniglio hasn’t been set, and she plans to remain flexible as the Port begins an executive hunt.
“As soon as my successor is in place, I’ll be ready to move on to the next phase of my life, knowing that the Port is in good hands,” Coniglio said.
Ann Moore, the Port’s board chair, will lead an executive search committee that includes Port Commission Vice Chair Michael Zucchet of San Diego and Board Secretary Dan Malcolm of Imperial Beach.
