The Jacksonville Port Authority board of directors' search for an authority CEO continues after Juan Kuryla, Port of Miami deputy director and the board's top choice to lead the organization, withdrew his application.
The board reopened its search Monday during a special meeting where Kuryla's decision was announced.
Kuryla, 45, was offered the CEO position at JaxPort on April 22 after a nationwide search conducted by recruiting firm Heidrick & Struggles, which JaxPort hired.
"The day before we voted, many of us did not get a good night's sleep thinking about the choice and how important it is," said John Newman, a member of the board of directors.
"My takeaway from this is how strong a candidate we chose. That when confronted with the possibility of losing him, a community (Miami) said, 'have we lost our minds?'" he said.
During the final interview and one-on-one meetings with some board members, Kuryla assured them he would not use JaxPort as a "steppingstone" to return to the Port of Miami if its CEO position opened.
The seven-member board voted unanimously April 22 to hire Kuryla as CEO.
"Unfortunately, Juan Kuryla has decided to withdraw from the process formally and has accepted a counteroffer from the Port of Miami," Alan Fromowitz, Heidrick & Struggles principal, said Monday.
Kuryla has worked for the Port of Miami for the past 15 years, becoming its deputy director in 2009.
"During the interview process he felt the director of the Port of Miami would be there for several more years, and I think he was sincere in his comments to us," said JaxPort board member Robert Spohrer, one of three members to give Kuryla a perfect score in the first round of interviews.
"This is a dynamic process, very fluid, and when (the Port of Miami) realized they were going to lose him they took steps to make sure that wouldn't happen," he said.
Kuryla notified board Chairman Jim Citrano of his plans Friday.
"I got a very sad-voiced phone call from Juan (on) Friday where he said, 'Mr. Chairman I have to withdraw my name, regretfully,'" Citrano said.
Kuryla did not return calls Monday seeking comment.
"Unfortunately, even though this board went out of its way to question Mr. Kuryla about a certainly inevitable decision, if it wasn't today, it would have been in a year or two," said board Secretary John Falconetti, who also gave Kuryla a perfect score.
"I'm glad we found out the result of this question today as opposed to a year or two after we had set course with a new leader," he said.
Falconetti recently was confirmed by the state Senate as one of Gov. Rick Scott's three appointments to the board.
The JaxPort board Monday unanimously voted to reopen its CEO search and emphasized the need for a quicker deadline for a list of candidates than the previous three-month process.
"Much of the heavy lifting, the practical work, has already been done. Give us between two and three weeks to come back with a newly developed slate of candidates," said Fromowitz.
Whoever is selected for the position and comes to a contract agreement will succeed former CEO Paul Anderson, who resigned in December to become CEO of the Tampa Port Authority.
The next regularly scheduled board meeting is May 20, which could fall in that timeframe.
Citrano also asked interim CEO Roy Schleicher to continue in the role during the selection of a permanent CEO.
"He didn't say no, so I took that as a yes," said Citrano.
Board Treasurer John Anderson ranked Schleicher at the top of his list for the next JaxPort CEO after the first round of interviews.
"Roy is still a viable candidate, no doubt about it," said Anderson.
Gaffney absent from meeting
Board member Reginald Gaffney was absent from Monday's meeting after his re-appointment to the board by Scott was not confirmed by the state Senate, which marks the second legislative session without movement on his appointment.
When the Senate takes no action or fails to confirm an appointee during the regular session immediately following the effective date of the appointment, the appointee can be reappointed within 45 days after the conclusion of session.
They must then be confirmed by the Senate during the next regular session to continue in the appointed position.
Those not confirmed in the second legislative session of his or her appointment may not be reappointed for one year thereafter, according to John Tupps, a spokesman for Gov. Rick Scott.
The former board chair could not be reached for comment.
Although not present Monday, Gaffney participated in the first round of interviews and awarded perfect scores to Jerry Bridges, former Virginia Port Authority CEO; Eric Green, senior director of governmental and external affairs for JaxPort; and Michael Moore, president and CEO of Global Container Terminals.
Moore was one of three finalists to be interviewed April 22 with Kuryla and Schleicher.
@photojoe71
(904)264-3488