The Los Angeles Port

Marla Bleavins is the deputy executive director of finance and administration and chief financial officer for the Port of Los Angeles, the number one container port in the nation and — with its AA and Aa2 bond rating — the highest-rated U.S. seaport operating without tax support.

Appointed in January 2015, she manages the Port’s financial affairs and oversees the Accounting, Contracts and Purchasing, Financial Management, Debt and Treasury, Risk Management, Internal Management Audit, and Human Resources divisions.

Bleavins brings to the post an outstanding, results-oriented public finance track record with extensive knowledge of the City of Los Angeles and its financial structures. 

Prior to her appointment to the Port, Bleavins most recently served as Assistant General Manager for Finance and Administration at the City of Los Angeles Department of Convention and Tourism Development. Prior to that, she served as Project Manager and Debt and Treasury Manager at Los Angeles World Airports. 

She began her career at the City of Los Angeles as a Budget Analyst and then as a Finance Specialist in the Office of the City Administrative Officer. During her tenure with the City, Bleavins managed close to $6 billion in bond financings that funded capital projects at Los Angeles International Airport and throughout the City.  

Bleavins holds a bachelor of arts in public policy and political science from Stanford University. She earned her master’s degree in business administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.