A Fireside Chat with Mike DiBernardo and Casey Hehr
with moderator, Alan McCorkle, Yusen Terminals Chief Executive Officer
November 17, 2026
11:00 AM -12:00 PM • Registration / Networking
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM • Lunch / Keynote
Location
Hotel Maya, Lagunita Pavilion
700 Queensway Dr
Long Beach, CA 90802
Cost
Member: $100
Non-Member: $110
Attendee meal options include chicken, beef short rib, or vegetarian. Meal selections must be confirmed by November 10 to be guaranteed.
Guest names/lists must be provided to jenn@propellerclublalb.org or communications@propellerclublalb.org by November 10.
Sponsorship Opportunities
Platinum Sponsor – $2,500.00
- 16 complimentary registrations
- Largest company logo on the upper portion of: the flyer, registration, and beginning and end webinar presentation slides
- Significant mention at the beginning and end of the program, and opportunity to introduce guest speaker after PC MC introduction of sponsor is given
Gold Sponsor – $1,250.00
- 8 complimentary registrations
- Bigger company logo on: the flyer, registration, and beginning and end webinar presentation slides
- Mention at the beginning and end of the program
Silver Sponsor – $600.00
- 4 complimentary registrations
- Company logo on bottom of: flyer, registration, and beginning and end webinar presentation slides
- Mention at the beginning of the program
Bronze Sponsor – $300.00
- 2 complimentary registrations
- Company logo on the registration website
- Mention at the beginning of the program
Speakers:
Casey J. Hehr is the Chief Administrative Officer at the Port of Long Beach, responsible for leading the Commercial Operations, Engineering Services, Finance and Administration, and Planning and Environmental Affairs bureaus in the advancement of the Chief Executive Officer’s vision for the Port of the Future, which includes doubling the volume of containers moving through the port to 20 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) by 2050. Mr. Hehr leads a staff of over 550 employees and manages an annual budget of over $800 million. He also oversees the delivery of a $3.2 billion capital improvement program, the largest of any port in North America.
Mr. Hehr joined the Port in October 2016 as Assistant Director of the Security Division and advanced to Director of Security in August 2018. In February 2020, he was selected to lead the Port’s Incident Management Team for the response to COVID-19 and the ensuing supply chain crisis. He was named Chief Commercial Officer and Managing Director of Commercial Operations in October 2023 by the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners. In that position, he led the Business Development, Port Operations, Security, and Information Management divisions while developing and implementing strategies to drive cargo and revenue growth.
Prior to working at the Port, Mr. Hehr served with the U.S. Coast Guard for more than 20 years, retiring as the Chief of Operations and Response for the Los Angeles-Long Beach Sector. Before coming to Long Beach, he was assigned to the Office of the Secretary of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C., where he provided immediate support to Secretaries Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff for national defense and maritime security policy. He was also a member of the White House National Security Council team that developed the nation’s first Maritime Security Strategy signed by the President.
Mr. Hehr is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and his commission as an officer. He also earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Boston College’s Carroll School of Management.
Mr. Hehr serves on the Board of Directors for the Southern California Marine Exchange, the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (alternate) and the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (alternate). He is also a past member of the Board of Directors of the International Seafarers Center, the YMCA of Charlestown, Massachusetts, the Holden School and the Advisory Council for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.
Michael DiBernardo is the deputy executive director of marketing and customer relations at the Port of Los Angeles, the nation’s leading container port. In this role, he oversees the Port’s Cargo Marketing, Cargo and Industrial Real Estate, Waterfront and Commercial Real Estate, Environmental Management, Planning and Strategy, and Wharfinger divisions.
With more than 30 years in the maritime industry, DiBernardo’s career with the Port of Los Angeles began as a student worker in the late 1970s and later as a draftsman in the Port’s engineering division in the early 1980s.
His expertise encompasses intermodal, maritime, security, labor opportunities and future planning initiatives impacting current terminal operators.
A San Pedro native, DiBernardo holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from California State University, Dominguez Hills and a certificate in the Executive Management Program from UCLA.
Alan McCorkle was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Yusen Terminals LLC in August 2019. He joined NYK Ports/Yusen Terminals in November 2014 as Vice President of West Coast Operations and was then promoted to Senior Vice President in April 2016, responsible for all container terminal operations at Yusen Terminals in Southern California, RoRo and bulk operations for Ceres Marine Terminals in Port Hueneme and Stockton, California and cruise and RoRo operations for Ceres Marine in Vancouver, Canada.
Prior to joining NYK ports, Alan was with the A.P. Moller–Maersk Group for 25 years holding a number of positions of increasing responsibility including leading the development of the Pier 400 terminal in Los Angeles becoming its Managing Director when the facility opened in 2002 and General Manager, APM Terminals (Jamaica) Ltd. in 2004, where he managed all port operations in Jamaica before returning to Southern California becoming Vice President of West Coast Operations in 2005.
Alan currently serves on the Board of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association in addition to being a member of the Advisory Committee for the Center for International Trade and Transportation (CITT) at California State Long Beach.
Alan holds a B.S. in Business Management from Clemson University and is a graduate of the Executive Development Programs at Cornell University and IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Cancellations must be received in writing 7 days prior to the event to receive a refund or to avoid being billed. Your payment for this event is not deductible as a contribution or gift under Federal Income Tax Laws, but is most likely deductible as an ordinary and necessary business expense.
