Port association sets Latin America, Caribbean conference

Port association sets Latin America, Caribbean conference The American Association of    Port Authorities (AAPA) is holding an executive management conference for Latin America and the Caribbean February 12-14 in Miami.
   The Alexandria, Va.-based AAPA, which has members from throughout the Americas and the Caribbean, will feature a range of industry experts at the conference for port professionals. The conference will cover topics that include    navigation dredging, seaport security, port privatization, Panama Canal expansion and port operating strategies.
   'Latin American and Caribbean port executives are faced with many of the same challenges as their North American counterparts, such as increasing their security and dealing with larger ships and growing trade volumes.    However, they often have to face those challenges with fewer funding resources and less developed road and rail systems to move freight,' said Kurt Nagle, AAPA's president and CEO.    'This seminar will help Latin American and Caribbean port executives get the tools they need to better lead and manage their ports in the competitive business environment in which they must operate.'
   The first day will focus on how industry trends will impact Latin American and Caribbean ports in the years ahead, with M. John Vickerman, Jr., a principal with TranSystems Corporation in Norfolk, Va., and Richard Wainio, port director and CEO of the Tampa Port Authority providing opening remarks on the needs of the ports.
   Ram'n Torres Morales, the executive director of Puerto Rico's Port of the Americas, and other speakers will follow with discussions on how Latin American and Caribbean countries can successfully address the competitive aspects of globalization, primarily through improving their transportation system infrastructures.
   On the second day of the program, noted business management coach Kevin Nourse, principal of Leap Advocates in Washington, D.C., together with Port of New Orleans President/CEO Gary LaGrange, who is credited with reinvigorating the New Orleans port after the Hurricane Katrina disaster, will tackle the topic, 'Effective Leadership in the Port Environment.'
   In the afternoon, Port Society of Santa Marta (Colombia) financial director and corporate administrator, Ra'l Arenas Consuegra, together with William Reid, a partner with Victoria, Canada's Elevate Consulting, will share their predictions on port finance trends and provide forecasting and planning tools they call 'Value-Added Economy' and 'Balanced Scorecard' for making wise financial decisions.
   The conference will conclude on Wednesday, Feb. 14, with a morning-long strategic planning workshop, led by Raymond Byl, regional director of Trainmar Americas, a Guadeloupe-based association comprising 12 training centers in the Caribbean, Central and South America.
   More information about AAPA's Executive Management Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean is available at www.aapa-ports.org on the    'Programs & Events' tab, or call AAPA's Ed O'Connell at 703-684-5700.