Cruise and shipping industry veteran Alexander Gumbs has been appointed as the CEO of the Port St. Maarten Group.

According to the port, Gumbs underwent an exhaustive complete screening process and background check and scored the highest in the recruitment process as an extremely qualified candidate for the CEO position and becoming the president of the management team of the group.

The port is one of the country’s economic generators of the national economy responsible for up to one-third of Gross Domestic Product, according to a press release.

Gumbs’ last position before taking up the position of CEO was director of port operations and development at one of the largest global cruise corporations.

Some of the key points that Gumbs will be addressing are the continued sustainable growth of cruise and cargo pillars; facilitating the yachting sector; data research and innovative development; corporate compliance principles; and executing the strategic objectives as outlined in the recently completed E & Y High Level Plan.

“I do recognize the current economic challenges and the pandemic that we have to operate in as a company. I would like to ensure that we have a great team at Port St. Maarten, and we will be successful in rebuilding our cruise sector and growing the cargo and yachting pillars of the economy … We do recognize the potential challenges of the yachting sector, and in the coming months we will be organizing stakeholder engagements seeking practical and workable solutions to challenges being faced by various segments of our economy,” Gumbs said on Aug. 30.

“I am happy to be back home to serve my country, and I look forward to working on the collective goals thereby further improving our economic footprint and overall performance,” he added.

Gumbs’s history with the port goes back to 2010 where he did his internship at Port St. Maarten, and the following year got the opportunity to complete his thesis titled, “Winning in a competitive environment.”

The thesis catered to the cruise segment in an effort for the destination to maintain its competitive edge in the region while showcasing the friendly island of St. Maarten. Gumbs completed his studies in The Netherlands in 2012 with a Bachelor’s degree in Commercial Economics, with a specialty in Retailing and Franchising.

Gumbs had his sight set on assisting and pushing the company’s strategic vision and mission full speed ahead along with the Port St. Maarten team.

Gumbs also has a Master’s degree in Management/Leadership with a specialty in Project Management and is a certified port executive (CPE) by Macdonalds Institute.

He was one of the young business professionals awarded in 2015 for his contributions to the tourism industry by the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau and is also one of the youngest senior cruise executives in the industry, according to the press release. He is now 33.