Two local port executives represent area on statewide board

Two local representatives have taken a seat on the Florida Ports Council board. 

Carlos Buqueras, the executive director of SeaPort Manatee, will serve as chair through 2025. David Wirth, Enterprise Facilities planning manager at Port St. Pete, was reelected as secretary and treasurer. 

Buqueras stepped into his role at SeaPort Manatee in 2012 after serving Port Everglades for 22 years as director of business development. In a statement, Buqueras says he’s honored to have fellow port directors place their confidence in him during a time when international trade is experiencing significant growth in the state. 

“As the populations of Florida and the entire U.S. Southeast continues to swell, it is increasingly essential that seaport infrastructure expand to efficiently meet demands for consumer goods and other vital cargo,” he says in the release. “I look forward to working with my fellow port directors in ensuring we collectively thrive as gateways for burgeoning commerce.”

Alongside Wirth and Buqueras, Hydi Webb, PortMiami Port director and CEO, was elected to serve as vice chair. Mike Rubin, president and CEO of the Florida Ports Council, says in a release that the three leaders will be instrumental in helping Florida seize more cargo and cruise market share. 

“Florida’s seaports are seeing record cargo activity and showing the world that our reliable and resilient ports are ready for more,” Rubin says.

The Tallahassee-based nonprofit, governed by 16 port directors and staff support, serves as a professional association for Florida’s fifteen public seaports and their management.