Kevin Beardsley appointed Duluth Port executive director

(Posted on 02/06/25)

Following a national search in the USA, the Duluth Seaway Port Authority Board of Commissioners have named Kevin Beardsley to succeed Deb DeLuca as executive director of the Port Authority. His appointment will begin June 3, 2025, one day after DeLuca’s retirement.

More than 700 vessels and 30 million short tons of cargo move through the Port of Duluth-Superior each year, making it the Great Lakes’ largest tonnage port and one of the USA’s top 20.

The Port Authority’s chief financial officer since 2014, Beardsley holds Port Professional Manager certification from the American Association of Port Authorities and is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 30 years of experience in financial analysis, accounting, taxation and strategic planning. Under his watch, the Port Authority initiated more than $35 million in capital projects, greatly increasing freight transport capacity and efficiency in the Port of Duluth-Superior. Upgrades to Duluth’s multimodal logistics hub—the Port Authority-owned Clure Public Marine Terminal—helped produce four consecutive years of increased general cargo tonnage totals, including a 39-year high in 2022.

While navigating the COVID-19 era, Beardsley helped oversee the purchase and renovation of the 1907-built Seaway Building on Rice’s Point (formerly Madison School), collaborating with DeLuca on a project that earned honours from the Duluth Preservation Society and provided a new home for the Port Authority adjacent to its Clure Terminal.

Beardsley’s experience in the Port of Duluth-Superior also includes six years as financial services manager for the Midwest Energy Resources Company coal-shipping facility in Superior, Wisconsin. While in that role, the University of Wisconsin-Superior alumnus was part of the team that helped MERC register record tonnages in 2008.

Born in Duluth and raised in Two Harbors, Minnesota, Beardsley will become the ninth executive director in Port Authority history. For six months in 2018, he served as interim executive director while a search was underway for Vanta E. Coda’s replacement.

“I’m grateful to the board for this opportunity, and I’m excited to continue supporting the Port Authority’s mission in this new role,” said Beardsley. “This region and its port are near and dear to my heart. I’m passionate about helping create and nurture success here. Deb set a great example as our executive director and we have a great team in place, both at the Port Authority and at our Clure Terminal. I’m looking forward to building on that solid foundation as we bring business to the port and economic development to the region.”