The Port of Cascade Locks recently announced Olga Kaganova as its new deputy general manager. Kaganova recently moved to the Cascade Locks area from Portland, where she worked at a job corps center with the U.S. Department of Labor.
“I used to work with Jess and he just wouldn’t stop talking about the port,” Kaganova said, referring to Port Commission President Jess Groves. She added that she has worked with others in the Cascade Locks community in the past and said, “Anytime that Cascade Locks comes up, you can just feel the passion and community involvement there, it’s a wonderful community.”
The deputy general manager position was created after General Manager Paul Koch announced that he was planning to step down from the port in June 2019. The port commission was then faced with two options: Wait until Koch leaves to find a replacement; or take on a deputy manager now to work with Koch and get to know the community before taking over as general manager. They chose the latter, Koch said.
“There’s a lot going on at the Port of Cascade Locks and it’s a huge learning curve,” Koch said, “so there is a benefit of being on longer.”
“Olga’s experience in finance and operations in various fields, including transportation and logistics and education, will contribute to the success of the port,” said a press release. “This hire followed a thorough and lengthy selection process, in which the (Cascade Locks Port Commission) was actively involved.”
The search process took approximately five months and included a number of extensive interviews, Koch said. Ultimately, the commission decided upon Kaganova because “they felt she has a lot of financial and organizational skills that we need to enhance our operation,” he said.
The Port of Cascade Locks’ current focus is “building the community to be economically viable in itself” by bringing in jobs and businesses, Koch said, adding that the community has added approximately 85 new jobs in the last 10 years and “it takes people with a lot of skills to keep that going.”
“Part of what I bring to the table is a strong focus on efficiency,” Kaganova said. When asked what aspects of her new position she is looking forward to, she said, “I am looking forward to a Cascade Locks community that is making a higher rate of income than it currently is … that’s a very general goal not specific to any particular project that we’re currently working on,” she said.
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