Curtis Foltz, who oversaw the sharp rise in trade through Georgia’s ports over the last 12 years, announced Wednesday his retirement.
Foltz, 55, will remain executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority until June 30. He’ll stay on as a consultant to the ports for an additional year. The authority board hired Griff Lynch, currently chief operating officer, as Foltz’s replacement.
“We’ve created a great machine here at the GPA,” Foltz said in a phone interview from Savannah. “I can candidly tell you it would be a disservice to me and to the GPA to be here another 12 years. Top organizations really need change. Since things are going so strong, now is a great time to hand off to Griff.”
Foltz, with strong backing from governors and legislators, continued Savannah’s surge into an import-export juggernaut, first as COO for 6 years, then as executive director the last 6 years. Savannah is comfortably ensconced as the East Coast’s No. 2 container port after New York/New Jersey.
“During his tenure at the Georgia Ports Authority, Curtis oversaw our ports’ consistent and rapid growth,” Gov. Nathan Deal said in a statement. “I’m grateful for his efforts on behalf of our state and am confident that Griff Lynch will continue moving our ports and Georgia forward.”
The ports of Savannah and Brunswick account for roughly $40 billion in statewide economic impact and tens of thousands of jobs, according to a University of Georgia study, and metro Atlanta reaps roughly 70 percent of the ports' economic benefit.
Container traffic — the benchmark for global maritime trade — more than doubled during Foltz’s tenure to 3.7 million boxes moved in 2015. Port revenue also more than doubled since 2004 to $362 million last year.
“Curtis Foltz has led the GPA to achieve great things over the past six years as executive director, and the six years prior as chief operating officer,” Jim Walters, board chairman, said in a statement.
Foltz prides himself on relations with the GPA’s 1,100 employees, as well as the unionized longshoremen who man the docks. He mentioned safety and environmental programs as well. The years-long slog to get approval, and partial financing, to deepen the Savannah River was “clearly the most frustrating thing I’ve had to deal with in my 30-plus years in the industry,” Foltz said.
But it’s the growth in global trade, and the ability to unload, stack, transport and store containers, that will serve as a Foltzian hallmark. Savannah, for example, readily handled a deluge of imports last year during the West Coast ports strike.
“Everybody on the East Coast suffered severe congestion, but we were the only major terminal that functioned so well,” Foltz said. “And now we’re seeing as much interest from new customers as I’ve seen in 10 years because of how we dealt with that surge.”
He said he has no future jobs lined up, but he’ll remain in the shipping and logistics industry.
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