Port of Seattle Chief Executive Officer Tay Yoshitani recently announced the creation of a Central Procurement Office and appointment of an acting chief procurement officer.

"I am very pleased with how quickly our CEO moved to implement a centralized procurement process," said Commission President John Creighton. "The Port Commission is committed to increasing transparency and efficiency, and the Central Procurement Office is integral to changing how the Port does business."

The Chief Procurement Office will oversee all procurement for the Port, including construction contracting and professional and personal service agreements. The office will also be responsible for implementing the changes included in legislation which clarifies some procurement authority for ports in Washington. The department will be supervised by a recently created managing director position.