NORTH CHARLESTON — The newly hired CEO of the S.C. State Ports Authority pledged Oct. 28 to fix his full attention on investments that will quickly deliver growth and revenue based on “intelligent risks” in his first update to the maritime industry.

Just a few weeks into the top job, Micah Mallace thanked his predecessors at the SPA and lawmakers for “laying the groundwork to allow the port to shift” its time and energy away from costly, long-term investments, such as the deepening of Charleston Harbor’s shipping channel and the completion of a new terminal on the former Navy base.

“That work set the table for what we have to do next,” he told an audience of about 1,100 at the Charleston Area Convention Center on Tuesday.

The new priority is to expand the port’s cargo base — in short or

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