Saying Goodbye: Kurt J. Nagle, AAPA President and CEO

After more than 34 years of service to the port industry, long-time president and CEO of AAPA, Kurt J. Nagle, is retiring.

* By Shani Calvo *

After more than 34 years of service to the port industry, long-time president and CEO of AAPA, Kurt Nagle, is retiring.

Kurt began his work at AAPA in 1985 as the membership services director. In 1995, he was appointed AAPA’s president and CEO, a position he has held for 24 years. He has been with AAPA for almost a third of the association’s 106-year history.

The late Steven M. Cernak, AAPA’s immediate past chairman of the board and former chief executive and port director at Port Everglades, lauded Kurt’s AAPA leadership and service to the hemisphere’s ports. “We’ve been extremely fortunate to have Kurt lead our association these past 24 years. The association, its services to the port industry, as well as its profile and advocacy have grown exponentially during Kurt’s tenure. He’s been adept at keeping a very diverse hemispheric industry unified, which has been vital to the overall well-being of our member ports and critical to advancing the priorities for the association’s U.S. members in Washington, D.C.”

AAPA’s chairman of the board, William D. Friedman, president and CEO at the Port of Cleveland, concurred. “Kurt will be sorely missed, but he will leave behind a lasting legacy and a long list of achievements of immense benefit…Over the years, Kurt has developed and led a strong and stable headquarters staff, and has the association well positioned to carry on its valued services to our membership and the port industry.”

Before sailing off into the sunset, Kurt took some time to share with Seaports magazine some of what made the ports industry so dear to him – especially his time at AAPA.

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