Beatrice Hsu, prominent in Los Angeles real estate and a former three-term member of the Board of Los Angeles Airport Commission, has been appointed to fill the latest vacancy on the L.A. harbor commission.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass appointed Hsu, but she must get the OK from the City Council’s Trade, Travel and Tourism Committee — no date has been set for a hearing yet — and would need approval by the full council by June 17.
She would replace Commissioner John Pérez, who was serving as the board’s vice president when he announced in March that he was stepping down to take a newly appointed seat on the city’s Fire Commission. He attended his final meeting on the panel that oversees the Port of L.A. on March 26.
The City Council unanimously approved Pérez’s harbor commission appointment in September 2024.
Hsu, meanwhile, was on the airport board from August 2013 to June 2023, serving as board president for part of her tenure. She was then interim CEO for Los Angeles World Airports from 2023 to 2024, overseeing operations and development for Los Angeles International Airport and Van Nuys Airport.
She is a resident of City Council District 4, which includes Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Sherman Oaks, Encino, and areas of Van Nuys and Reseda.
Los Angeles Councilmember Tim McOsker, whose 15th District includes the Port of L.A., said that while he’d like to see a third Harbor Area resident appointed, Hsu “clearly brings significant experience in city government and the private sector that will be valuable to both the port and the city of Los Angeles.”
The council member has worked with Hsu on public policy matters and projects over the course of several years, McOsker said, adding that he has “tremendous respect for her as a person and a public servant.”
“During the confirmation process,” McOsker said, “I will look to hear specifically about her vision for the harbor, the port’s future, POLA’s relationship to the communities of the One-Five, as well as how she plans to work with Harbor Area workers, businesses, and stakeholders if confirmed to serve on the board.”
Hsu, according to a report published by the Engineering News Record, was instrumental in launching and executing a $15 billion capital improvement program for airport and land-side modernization at LAX that included the Automated People Mover and Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility.
She graduated from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in history and political science.
Since 2022, Hsu has also been a member of the Urban Land Institute Multifamily Council.
Prior to her career in development, she served as a senior advisor to then-L.A. Councilmember Eric Garcetti, acting as staff chair on the council’s Housing, Community and Economic Development Committee.
She previously served as an analyst for the California State Controller.