Finalists to lead Port Manatee include two familiar faces

MANATEE -- The list of finalists to become the next executive director for Port Manatee includes current port executive Steve Tyndal and former executive Michael Perez, the port authority decided Tuesday morning.

Tyndal, currently Port Manatee’s senior director of trade development and special projects, and Perez, who was the port’s director of maritime marketing from 1993 to 2000, will be further researched, including an interview via Skype, along with the other finalists. A search firm hired by the authority will decide by Sept. 15 how many of the finalists will be invited to Manatee County for in-person interviews.

The other finalists are Carlos Buqueras, director of business development for Port Everglades Authority since 1993; Juan Kuryla, deputy port director for the Port of Miami since 2009; J. David Morgan, executive senior vice president of the Ports America stevedoring company since 1993; and James Crandles, who became director of planning and development for Port Metro Vancouver in British Columbia earlier this year.

The authority is searching for a replacement for David McDonald, who is retiring after 20 years as Port Manatee’s executive director.

This story was originally published August 30, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Finalists to lead Port Manatee include two familiar faces."