Thomas J. Hammond, longtime chief executive of Portland-based exporter Columbia Grain, died Thursday in Portland after a sudden illness. He was 60.
Hammond was head of the grain export company since 2000, and involved in the company’s management since its very beginning in 1978. At Columbia Grain, a subsidiary of Japanese trading company Marubeni Corp., he led a company responsible for nearly 15 percent of all U.S. wheat exports.
A celebration of life for family, friends and business associates will be held March 9.