Kent Britton

Chief Executive Officer Port of Corpus Christi

Last Reviewed: September 29, 2026

Executive Summary

Kent Britton is Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Corpus Christi, the South Texas port authority that is one of the country’s leading energy export gateways and, by its own account, the third-largest U.S. port by total waterborne tonnage. A finance executive by training, he joined the Port in 2017 as its first Financial Controller, became Chief Financial Officer in 2019, stepped in as Interim CEO in June 2023 and was confirmed in the job by the Port Commission that September after a national search. Since then his customers have set successive tonnage records, and the Port has completed permitting for a large desalination plant on Harbor Island.

Career Highlights

• Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Corpus Christi since 6 September 2023, following a three-month nationwide search.
• Interim Chief Executive Officer from 1 June 2023.
• Chief Financial Officer from 2019, part of the team that secured federal funding for the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project.
• Joined the Port in 2017 as Financial Controller, a newly created position.
• Previously Chief Financial Officer of the Sherwin Alumina Company, with earlier Director and Vice President roles at Blackbaud and trader and controller positions at Alcoa.
• Holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Professional Journey

Britton studied industrial management at Georgia Tech and built a career in accounting and finance that the Port describes as spanning more than 30 years. He held trader and controller positions at Alcoa, the aluminum producer, then Director and Vice President roles at Blackbaud, the software provider to non-profit organizations, before becoming Chief Financial Officer of the Sherwin Alumina Company, then owned by Glencore. The Port also describes him as a Certified Public Accountant.

In June 2017 the Port of Corpus Christi Authority hired him as Financial Controller, a new position created as the port’s budget and revenues grew. He was named Chief Financial Officer in 2019. In that role he was part of the leadership team that delivered successive tonnage records and secured federal funding for the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project, which has since deepened the main channel to 54 feet.

When CEO Sean Strawbridge departed in 2023, the Commission named Britton Interim CEO effective 1 June and engaged a search firm to find a permanent successor. After three months weighing candidates from across the country, commissioners voted on 6 September 2023 to give him the job outright. He has since rebuilt the senior team around him, including a new CFO in January 2024, a Chief Operating Officer in July 2024 and, in July 2026, a Chief Commercial Officer under a structure the Port says reflects his aim of balancing strong commercial agreements with continued investment in infrastructure.

Volumes have kept rising on his watch. Port customers moved 206.5 million tons in 2024, the seventh consecutive annual record, and 110.3 million tons in the first half of 2026, the best half-year in the Port’s history, led by crude oil and growing liquefied natural gas exports. In September 2026 the Port completed permitting for the proposed Harbor Island Desalination Facility, which could supply up to 100 million gallons of water a day as a drought-resilient regional supply; the Port, as landlord, leases the site to the Nueces River Authority and its private partner.

Education

Georgia Institute of Technology

Bachelor of Science, Industrial Management