John LaRue, Port of Corpus Christi executive director, will be stepping down Jan. 1 and retiring officially in June 2019, Port Commission Chairman Charles W. Zahn said.
After stepping down, LaRue will work as senior adviser to his successor Sean Strawbridge. Strawbridge is the current deputy executive director and chief operating officer.
“It has been a wonderful experience to lead the Port of Corpus Christi over the last 23 years.” LaRue said. “We’ve seen fantastic growth over the years and I couldn’t be more pleased with the condition the Port is in today. I welcome the transition and look forward to supporting Sean in his new role as CEO.”
LaRue came to Corpus Christi from the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority in 1994. Under his tenure, Corpus Christi has become the nation’s fourth-largest port by tonnage and is the nation’s largest port for crude oil exports.
Strawbridge has been working for Corpus Christi since 2015. He previously served as managing director of Port Operations and Trade Development for the Port of Long Beach and for Oxbow Energy and Ports America Group.
The Port of Corpus Christi Authority will soon be beginning a capital investment project, the deepening and widening of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel.