Executive Leadership

Dr. Jeff Long is the Chief Financial Officer for the Canaveral Port Authority. A well-respected finance executive, Dr. Long brings to the Port 35 years of experience in finance and operational management, capital funding and debt service, strategic long-range planning, public accounting, and financial auditing.

Prior to joining Port Canaveral, Dr. Long spent more than a decade as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Auburn University Harbert College of Business in Alabama where he also served as Assistant Dean, Finance and Administration.  Prior to his tenure at the university, Dr. Long was the Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Port Director for Port Canaveral where he led financial strategies which increased port revenues by 54% over a three-year period. 

Dr. Long’s professional experience includes as a Senior Accountant with the public accounting firm Deloitte & Touche, Senior Director of Finance, Administration and Operations for ESPN, and Vice President of Finance and Controller for The Golf Channel.

Dr. Long holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Auburn University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Auburn University. He is a Florida and Alabama Certified Public Accountant.

Samantha Cornelius is Vice President of Business Development for Cargo and Aerospace. In this role, she manages the Port’s diverse cargo portfolio and collaborates with current and prospective customers including space launch companies and suppliers seeking port facilities for load/offload operations.  Samantha works closely with the Port’s marine terminal operators and users to ensure strong business retention and customer satisfaction. She also manages customer contracts and oversees the Port’s Foreign Trade Zone #136.

David German is Vice President, Cruise Business Development for the Canaveral Port Authority. He plays a key role in building the Port’s business relationships with current and future cruise partners, working closely with cruise line executives and key decision makers to develop their business lines and itineraries for Port Canaveral.

David’s maritime education, industry experience, and customer service background are fundamental to Port Canaveral’s successful collaborations with its cruise partners and key to sustaining this vitally important segment of the Port’s business portfolio.

The business alliances Port Canaveral has with cruise lines for both homeported and port-of-call vessels has made the Port the second busiest cruise port in the world with well over seven million cruise passenger movements projected for this year. The Port’s growth and popularity has been recognized by the cruise travel industry trade with awards and accolades, including “Best U.S. Cruise Homeport” and “Best Cruise Port in the World” by global travelers.

Prior to his promotion to Vice President, Cruise Business Development, David had served as the Director, Cruise Business Development. He joined Port Canaveral in March 2005 as Port Operations Manager and was subsequently promoted to Senior Harbormaster where he managed the Port's maritime operations.

David holds a Bachelor of Science degree in marine transportation and logistics from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (class of 2003) and earned an MBA in finance from Ohio University. He is a U.S. Coast Guard-licensed mariner with several at-sea years of experience aboard various commercial vessels.

William Crowe, Vice President, Engineering, Construction and Facilities, is a 20-year veteran of marine and heavy civil project implementation with a breadth of experience in deep-water port cruise and cargo operations. His current role focuses on strategic planning and management of the Port Authority's engineering, construction and facilities maintenance functions.

Bill's past assignments have included construction management and inspection of large marine, civil and industrial projects, including cruise terminal new builds and expansions; cargo terminal development (container, bulk and liquid bulk); feasibility studies and strategic planning initiatives and capital budget development and inter-agency development initiatives. In addition, Bill has experience in the design and environmental permitting of upland dredge material management and dredging of inland waterways including inlet and port facilities, land-development projects, medium and large subdivisions.

He is a certified PADI advanced open water, nitrox and rescue diver and has both the TWIC and OSHA 10-hour credentials.

Mark Lorusso is Vice President of Information Technology and serves as the Information Security Officer for the Canaveral Port Authority. Since joining the Port in 2011, he has provided strategic direction to integrate CPA’s business systems with IT strategies to enhance operational efficiency and system security, and improve customer experience and profitability.

Mark has over two decades of leadership experience in IT and cybersecurity across higher education, government, and private industry sectors. He has held IT leadership positions at Parrot Digigraphic in Massachusetts and began his career as an Associate Network Engineer at Harvard University, where he designed and upgraded networks. 

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Science from Northeastern University and has completed professional development programs at the University of Florida and the Certified Port Executive program.