In December, the Board of Directors chaired by Pedro Suarez unanimously appointed Eduardo Bezares as the Vice President of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife port authority. Bezares, who has previously served as vice president of the entity under three previous presidencies, joined the port authority’s board of directors with socialist Pedro Anatael Meneses and now represents the various economic sectors of the port ecosystem, coordinating them from the respective committees of CEOE Tenerife.
With over 25 years of experience leading complex logistics operations for global industry leaders such as Royal Dutch Shell, SABMiller, and AB Inbev, Eduardo is an expert in logistics and ports. Since 2017, he has been dedicated to the Tenerife business association, continuing to be recognized as one of the sector’s experts, but now with a more strategic focus. He serves as a port advisor, consultant to various national and international institutions, speaker, and university lecturer.
What would you highlight from these first six months of presidency?
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Pedro Suarez Lopez de Vergara was in this position in the recent past and I believe he has resumed his work from where he left off, starting with a much-needed reorganization of the human teams. These changes have coincided timely with a significant increase in management positions after many years of demands in that direction from the State Ports authority.
This reinforcement has allowed us to properly recognize the talent within the organization. In the past, there were significant departures due to the absence of career plans for some of its most valuable assets. I believe it has strengthened the workforce and increased the port authority’s ‘firepower’ in all strategic areas. I am particularly impressed by the focus on areas such as commercial and innovation among others.
Talking about infrastructure and energy in the port sector, what stage is the ‘Building the Future’ initiative, led by CEOE Tenerife, currently at?
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This project aims to establish itself over time, and we have carried out the first quarterly review with the monitoring committee.
As we mentioned on its launch day, ‘Building the Future’ aims to reinvigorate intergenerational commitment by posing a simple question: What are we waiting for to improve Tenerife’s competitiveness and sustainability?
We understand that Tenerife’s sustainable development involves reconnecting this generation and future ones with a series of initiatives considered strategic for the island’s development. Introduced in November to a wide representation of the main economic and institutional sectors, ‘Building the Future’ is a platform designed to reactivate investments, prevent loss of competitiveness, and position Tenerife at the forefront in services and infrastructure. It has garnered significant attention and acceptance not only in the business and institutional spheres but has also resonated in civil society due to its socio-economic benefits, contributing to the island’s GDP (25%) and job creation (+100,000 jobs).
Regarding the current status of the project, the quarterly evaluation completed this February, which details the state, budgets, and progress of public projects initiated in terms of land, maritime, and air connectivity, as well as telecommunications and energy, initially indicates modest progress. However, we are coordinating with the Government and the Cabildo to appoint a contact person for each administration because we are confident that with more information from the public sector, we will have a better perspective on the progress. ‘Building the Future,’ although promoted by the governance bodies of CEOE Tenerife, is a resource for everyone. It is particularly gratifying to see how the term is being used by the associative fabric and by institutions to support projects and calls to action in the field of infrastructure development. This demonstrates that we all aspire to enjoy the island we desire as soon as possible, knowing that ‘building the future’ is a shared goal and the way forward.
