CII Treasurer Michael Mendoza has applied to his career in shipping the intangible skills of a quarterback: leadership, competitiveness, decision-making and accuracy.  As a Northern Arizona University football player—a quarterback at that—Michael’s dream was to play football professionally.

The San Pedro, California native landed in 1988 in the sales department of the Los Angeles office of Evergreen, the ocean carrier’s office and its bustling terminal in the Port of Los Angeles.

According to Michael:  “It was a great fit. I learned from the best, including the late Bob Kleist, who retired from the Port of LA to become a special advisor to Evergreen. Bob taught me the value of getting out in the industry and getting involved in such groups as CII. It was incredibly valuable.”  Mr. Kleist had also been a CII board member.

In 1996, he was transferred to the New York metropolitan area office in Jersey City, NJ, the company’s busiest. His major responsibilities were security and compliance, working with the ocean carrier’s legal team. He moved on to import sales, marketing, and even overseeing public relations and advertising for Evergreen America and then back to national sales. “It was the Evergreen policy to have you work in different departments to broaden your experience and establish you as expert in various positions,” he said.

Five years ago, wanting to return to the West Coast Michael secured the position of National Sales Manager for OEC, a major NVOCC, particularly in the Transpacific eastbound trade from Asia. He is headquartered in Phoenix. “For many reasons, this was an important move,” he says. Robert Han, the Taiwanese owner of OEC, is a real visionary and working for his company would bring new challenges and experiences.” 

Michael had already joined the Board at CII when he made his career move in 2018. “I was approached by CII executive director Barbara Yeninas to replace my colleague Dominic (Obrigkeit) when he decided to step down. I recalled Bob Kleist’s advice to get involved and give back to the industry, and this felt like the perfect opportunity. I had tremendous respect for their board members, I admired their commitment to honor deserving industry leaders, and I believed in their education mission.”  This year, he was elected treasurer and joined the executive committee of the 63-year-old organization.

“Being part of the leadership team offers me the opportunity to work with some of the smartest people in the industry. We work collectively to guide the organization and hopefully, help shape the future of the industry by rewarding and retaining young talent with our scholarship program,” said Michael. “I am proud to be part of an organization that not only offers the industry great networking events, but also stands behind its promise to recognize the supply chain leaders of the future.”  

Relocating back to the Southwest was “going home” for Michael. In Arizona he now lives down to the block from his mother, Irene, who was active in San Pedro civic affairs. Michael married his college sweetheart, Cynthia and they have two grown sons, Callum and Nolan.

Michael is happy where he landed.  “The values I learned on the football field were excellent principles that followed me through life,” he says.