FMU School of Business kicks off Speaker Series with SC Ports CEO

The Francis Marion University School of Business is kicking off a Speaker Series with Barbara Melvin, President and CEO of South Carolina Ports Authority. The series will begin on Wednesday, February 21 at 7:00 p.m. in the Hugh and Jean Leatherman Medical Education Complex in downtown Florence. A reception will follow in the Carter Center for Health Sciences across the street. The event is free and open to the public.

As the first woman to lead a top 10 US operating container port, Melvin’s skilled leadership guided many of the port’s significant achievements, including deepening the Charleston Harbor to 52 feet, making it the East Coast’s deepest harbor.

Melvin has held numerous leadership positions during her 25 years with SC Ports. What began as a career in government relations and external affairs, advanced to port operations and being named the SC Ports’ Chief Operating Officer in 2018, before becoming CEO in 2022. Since taking the helm in 2022, she has been recognized as a 2023 Leading Woman by SC Women in Leadership, a 2023 Rainmaker by DC Velocity, and was unanimously selected to receive the Outstanding Women in Supply Chain Award from supply chain management students at the University of Tennessee.

Melvin proudly leads the 1,000-person SC Ports team, who work tirelessly to keep freight moving through the Port of Charleston and South Carolina’s two rail-served inland ports.