Port Panama City Executive Director King to chair Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Council

The Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Council (FSTED Council) is pleased to announce it has elected a new slate of officers for the 2023-2025 cycle.

• Alex King, Port Panama City Executive Director, was elected chair,
• Eric Green, JAXPORT Chief Executive Officer, was elected vice chair, and
• Clark Merritt, Port of Pensacola’s Port Director, was reelected secretary.

“Florida’s ports are thriving and operating as resilient, global gateways to the world, and I’m honored to serve them in this capacity,” said Alex King, Port Director at Port Panama City. “I look forward to supporting the FSTED Council’s continued, proven stewardship through strategic and timely investment.”

The FSTED Council is charged with carrying out Florida’s economic development mission through implementation of seaport capital improvement projects at the local level. Its members consist of port directors from Florida’s 16 seaports, and representatives from the Florida Department of Transportation and FloridaCommerce.

Alex King, Chair

King joined Port Panama City more than 12 years ago, first serving as operations manager, then moving up to deputy director, cargo operations and business development, then into the port director role. King also serves on the Executive Committee of the Gulf Seaports Marine Terminal Conference. He has dedicated his career to logistics and transportation management. Prior to joining this Gulf Coast seaport, he spent 10 years in the rail industry for two global, short-line holding companies.

Eric Green, Vice Chair

Green has served as chief executive officer of JAXPORT since 2017. Under his leadership, JAXPORT has attracted $1 billion in investment over the last five years, including a series of multi-million-dollar public-private partnerships leveraging outside investment to upgrade terminal infrastructure, enhance sustainability and build the port of the future.

Clark Merritt, Secretary

Merritt was named Port Director of the Port of Pensacola in June, 2021 after having served as the Deputy Port Director. A graduate of the University of Florida, Merritt was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Navy. Before retiring from the military, he served on active duty with tours in tactical aviation squadrons, including combat operations during the first Gulf War, and as a maintenance officer for the Blue Angels.