Christopher Kennally

Prior to his recent retirement in September 2020, Mr. Kennally was the Area Port Director in Savannah, Georgia. Here, he oversaw all operations for the third largest seaport in the United States and the only CBP on-terminal Centralized Examination Station (CES). In this role, he was instrumental in the deployment of Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) Remote Viewing Technology, which has further enhanced the future of secure trade lanes.

As the Acting Director of Field Operations for the Seattle Field Office, Mr. Kennally was responsible for managing the Area Ports of Blaine, WA, Seattle, WA, Pembina, ND, and Great Falls, MT. He led more than 1,700 employees and oversaw programs and operations throughout a five-state area, including 67 Ports of Entry.

As the Assistant Director of Field Operations-Trade for the Seattle Field Office, Mr. Kennally was responsible for administering international trade programs and ensuring fraud protection, agriculture safeguarding, and maintaining intellectual property rights. He championed NII pilot programs for new technology via High Energy Rail scanning in International Falls, MN and the Straddle Carrier Radiation Portal Monitor at the Tacoma, WA seaport.

As the Deputy Executive Director of the Cargo and Conveyance Security (CCS) Directorate, Mr. Kennally led and oversaw a directorate that develops, manages, and enforces national policies and regulations on supply chain security, cargo security, and trade facilitation. This directorate is the largest and most critical operational component of the agency, including both domestic and international assets. Mr. Kennally built national and global coalitions among foreign governments and the private sector that supported the implementation of the National Strategy of Global Supply Chain Security by participating in various international forums,organizations and private sector meetings.

He transformed all cargo processes and targeted policy to be risk-based, thereby saving millions of dollars in costs associated with personnel resources, increasing the facilitation of legitimate trade. Mr. Kennally designed, launched, and managed the Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) pilot by establishing global partnerships and developing a mechanism to collect advanced data and identify risk before cargo departs to the United States. He also secured private sector support on new cargo initiatives and regulations, such as export reform, modernization of non-intrusive inspections systems, and pilots in the rail, truck, and air modes of transportation.

Mr. Kennally is a 2011 graduate of CBP Leadership Institute, University of Chicago-Booth School of Business and the recipient of the Commissioner’s Dean-Melendez Anti-Terrorism Award and Commissioner’s Award for meritorious service (Trade Facilitation).