Speakers
Gene Seroka

Executive Director, Port of Los Angeles
As Executive Director, Seroka interacts with a wide range of stakeholders, including Port customers around the globe, industry partners, elected and appointed officials at all levels, business leaders, community organizations and local residents. A respected global trade expert, Seroka has advocated for rules-based trade agreements that benefit American exporters and manufacturers.
Seroka has distinguished himself as a leader throughout his illustrious career in shipping, global logistics and executive management. In 2024, the Los Angeles Times profiled Seroka as part of its “L.A. Influential” series, a collection of the city’s top leaders. In 2023, he received the esteemed Stanley T. Olafson Award from the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, recognizing his work in the world trade industry and leadership of the nation’s busiest container port. Also, in 2023, the Asian American Architects/Engineering Association honored him with its President Award.
The Containerization & Intermodal Institute named Seroka the 2021 recipient of the Connie Award, one the most coveted honors in the maritime industry. Lloyd’s List has recognized him as the preeminent source on the supply chain, which earned him a spot in the 2021 Top 100 most influential people in shipping. Also, in 2021, the Inland Empire Economic Partnership honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing decades of leadership and accomplishments in the supply chain, logistics and maritime industry.
Supply Chain Dive named Seroka Executive of the Year in 2020 for his leadership throughout the pandemic. He has been named one of the most influential people in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal and featured on the LA500 list each year since 2016.
As chief of America’s top port, Seroka is responsible for managing a $2.6 billion budget, advancing major capital projects, growing trade volume and promoting innovative, sustainable practices that strengthen the region’s economy. Under his direction, the Port has taken a leadership role in adopting cutting-edge technologies to improve the reliability, predictability and efficiency of the flow of cargo across global seaborne trade.
Seroka oversaw the Port’s launch of the first-of-its-kind digital information portal, Port Optimizer™, and has championed for ports around the world to share critical supply chain data and analytics. He’s leading the Port’s efforts to reach ambitious goals for zero-emission cargo-handling equipment and heavy-duty trucks over the next decade. He’s also overseeing the Port’s international green and digital shipping corridor partnerships with China, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam.
While serving as Executive Director, Seroka has been appointed to serve on five federal committees to enhance the speed and efficiency of cargo movement and supply chain optimization, including the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Intergovernmental Policy Advisory Committee, U.S. Department of Commerce Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness, U.S. Maritime Administration Marine Transportation System National Advisory Committee, Federal Maritime Commission Supply Chain Innovation Team and U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation’s former Port Performance Freight Statistics Working Group.
Seroka has also prioritized training and workforce development in the goods movement sector. He has spearheaded the planned Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach Goods Movement Training Campus, which will provide a centralized location to attract, recruit and retain workers in the logistics industry.
Seroka currently serves as Vice President for North America of the International Association of Ports and Harbors and on the Board of Directors for the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority. He is Chairman of the Executive Board for the USC Global Supply Chain Institute and serves on the Northwestern University Transportation Center Business Advisory Council.
Seroka’s footing in the maritime industry was established as a sales support representative at American President Lines (APL) Limited’s Cincinnati office in 1988. After several key overseas positions in China, Indonesia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, he returned to the U.S. in 2010 to become President – Americas for the shipping line in Phoenix where he managed APL’s Liner Shipping business, including 1,000 employees, and was responsible for all commercial, port terminal, intermodal, land transportation and labor activities throughout the region.
Seroka holds an MBA and Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of New Orleans.
Jett McCandless

CEO, project44
Jett McCandless has over 25 years of experience working in the transportation and logistics space, guiding multiple startups from ideation stages through to growth and scaling. After becoming Principal at GlobalTranz (projected to reach $1.9B in revenue before its merger with Worldwide Express), Jett sold his stake in the company to pursue his own ventures. He started building companies like Inc 500 ranked advisory firm, Metafora (formerly CarrierDirect). Next, he founded project44, the creator of the world’s leading high-velocity platform, Movement.
project44 is on a mission to make supply chains work. As the supply chain connective tissue, project44 operates the world’s most trusted end-to-end visibility platform that manages more than 1 billion unique shipments annually for over 1,300 of the world’s leading brands, including top companies in manufacturing, automotive, retail, life sciences, food & beverage, CPG, and oil, chemical & gas. Using project44, shippers and carriers across the globe drive greater predictability, resiliency, and sustainability by mastering the management of inventory at rest and in motion, optimizing facilities, and leveraging partner networks.
project44 has cemented its position as the #1 company in supply chain visibility with global end-to-end coverage across all modes of transportation. This includes being the only authorized visibility provider in China. 2023 marked the successful launch of Movement by project44™, the only High-Velocity supply chain platform on the market. This platform is a testament to project44’s commitment to transforming traditional supply chains into high-velocity powerhouses, powered by AI and sophisticated automation, to reduce costs and enhance customer satisfaction.
project44 has received the following recognitions:
🏆 11x consecutive Leader in customer satisfaction on G2’s Supply Chain Visibility Grid
🏆 6x consecutive FreightWaves FreightTech Award Winner (🥇 1st Place twice)
🏆 3x SAP Pinnacle Award Winner
🏆 3x consecutive Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Real Time Transportation Visibility
🏆 2x consecutive Gartner Voice of Customer “Customer Choice” Leader
🏆 2x consecutive Google Cloud Partner of the Year for Supply Chain & Logistics
🏆 Chicago Innovation Awards Winner 2023
🏆 The Lessen Entrepreneurial Spirit Award Winner 2023
🏆 Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive Top Software & Technology Award Winner
🏆 2023 Chicago Inno 100 best places to work in the city
🏆 Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech 2022
🏆 Built In 2023 Best Places to Work
🏆 2022 Forbes Best Startup Employers
As Founder and CEO, Jett has been:
🏆 Food Logistics 2022 Rock Star of the Supply Chain
🏆 Supply & Demand Chain Executive’s 2022 Pro to Know
🏆 One of Chicago Inno’s 50 on Fire
🏆 Emergence Capital’s Emergence Award Winner
🏆 3x Guest on Bloomberg TV
Yujie Su

Head of Product Innovation
Maersk Global Innovation Center
Yujie Su is an experienced operation, container shipping and logistic leader with more than 10 years industry experience in logistics, maritime asset management, contract negotiation and digital innovation which she utilized to develop complex solutions and drive value for customers.
Currently her role is the Head of Product Innovation at Maersk Global Innovation Center, leading a series of initiatives including integrated solution (ocean + landside), end to end visibility and tracebility, predictive data & analytics to optimize distributions &supply chains and climate-neutral solutions.
Yujie Su has lived and worked in three countries, is highly adaptable to cross-cultural environments. She holds a Bachelor’s in Industrial Design and a Master’s in Innovation and Business.