News & Updates

JAXPORT’s Board of Directors Names Daniel Bean as Chair

The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) Board of Directors unanimously elected attorney Daniel Bean as Chair and selected additional officer positions effective Oct. 1, 2023.  

Daniel Bean is an attorney and partner at ABL Law, P.A., ranked one of the nation’s top law firms by U.S. News and World Report. He previously served as executive partner of the Jacksonville office of Holland & Knight. A retired U.S. Navy captain and Legion of Merit recipient, Bean served as a surface warfare officer and judge advocate for 25 years. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and received his juris doctorate from the University of San Diego School of Law. Bean currently serves as board chairman of K9s for Warriors, President of the USS ORLECK, treasurer for the Five Star Veterans Center and is former board chairman of WJCT, the public broadcasting station in Jacksonville.

Bean and the following officers will serve in these roles through Sept. 30, 2024:

  • Vice Chair: Wendy Hamilton, President of Eventide Investments of Florida, Inc. 
  • Treasurer: J. Palmer Clarkson, retired former President and Chief Executive Officer of Bridgestone HosePower, LLC
  • Secretary: Soo Gilvarry, CEO/Owner of Lotus Commercial USA LLC

Other members of the JAXPORT Board of Directors include Jamie Shelton, President of bestbet Jacksonville; and Ed Fleming, Retired CEO/President of Atlantic Marine Holding Co, LLC.

Board Vice Chair Hamilton will serve as Chair of the Audit Committee, which provides oversight on the port’s finances as well as internal and external control systems. Clarkson, Gilvarry and Fleming will also serve on the committee.

JAXPORT’s unpaid, appointed seven-member Board of Directors provides policy guidance. Four board members are appointed by the Mayor of Jacksonville and three members are appointed by the Governor of Florida.

JAXPORT is Florida’s largest container port by volume and one of the nation’s busiest vehicle-handling ports. Cargo activity through Jacksonville’s seaport generates 138,000 jobs and more than $31 billion in annual economic output for the region and state.