Port Everglades Veteran Alan Hill Named New Director of Administration for South Florida Seaport

Alan Hill, a 19-year veteran of the Broward County Port Everglades Department has been named as the new Director of Administration by Port Everglades Chief Executive and Port Director Steven Cernak. In his new position, Hill will oversee procurement, property management, contract administration, business permits, franchises, human resources, labor relations, risk management, contract administration, and various other facets of general administration for Port Everglades. He is replacing Pia Thompson, who retired recently after 35 years at Port Everglades.

During the last six months, Hill served as the Acting Director of the Port’s Business Development Division where he was responsible for coordinating marketing strategies and conducting research to assist in the development of new business for containerized cargo, cruise line services, bulk and break bulk cargo, and Foreign-Trade Zone business. In addition, he has been an active member of the Port's management team that negotiated long-term cruise and cargo agreements, including the long-term agreement with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. to bring the world’s largest cruise ships, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, to Port Everglades, the nearly half-billion-dollar, 15-year agreement with Carnival Corporation to bring 25.5 million cruise guests to the Port, and numerous marine terminal use and lease agreements for cargo terminals.

“During the last several years, every container and cruise terminal operating agreement has been negotiated at least once, and these negotiations have resulted in new ocean container cargo lines such as Chiquita, CCNI, CSAV, Hapag Lloyd, Hamburg Süd, and MSC coming to Port Everglades. Alan’s contribution through the development of business terms for these agreements made him an ideal candidate for administering the Port’s contractual relations,” said Port Everglades Deputy Port Director Glenn Wiltshire.

Steven Cernak, Port Everglades Chief Executive and Port Director, added : “Alan’s broad knowledge of the Port provides continuity for the organization and the newer members of the management team.”

Hill joined the Port Everglades Authority in September 1992 as the Port's first Revenue Auditor. In addition to establishing the revenue audit function of the Port, he was a member of the team that audited the implementation of the initial Klein Harbormaster System. In February 2001, he was promoted to Business Development Manager for cargo related activity and in September 2008 he was promoted to Assistant Director of Business Development for Port Everglades.

Hill came to Port Everglades with more than 20 years of audit and controllership experience managing staff complements ranging from eight to 120. Hill holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Florida.

As one of South Florida’s leading economic powerhouses, Port Everglades is a major gateway for international trade and cruise vacations. Already the second busiest cruise port in the world, Port Everglades is also one of the nation’s leading container ports and South Florida’s main seaport for receiving petroleum products including gasoline, jet fuel and alternative fuels. The Port Everglades Department is a self-supporting Enterprise Fund of Broward County government with operating revenues of approximately $139 million in Fiscal Year 2011 (October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011). It does not rely on local tax dollars for operations. The total value of economic activity at Port Everglades is approximately $15.3 billion. More than 160,000 Florida jobs are impacted by the Port, including almost 11,400 people who work for companies that provide direct services to Port Everglades.

More information on Port Everglades, which is governed by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners, is available on the Internet at http://www.porteverglades.net or by e-mailing PortEverglades@broward.org