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Husein Aftab Cumber (born June 12, 1975) is the chief strategy officer for Florida East Coast Industries, LLC. (FECI). FECI is one of Florida's largest commercial real estate, transportation and infrastructure companies.[1]
Husein Cumber | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | June 12, 1975 Coral Gables, Florida, United States |
| Nationality | Pakistani American |
| Alma mater | Duke University |
| Occupation | Chief Strategy Officer Florida East Coast Industries (FECI) |
| Spouse | LeAnna Cumber née Gutierrez |
| Children | Two |
Prior to joining Florida East Coast Industries, LLC. Cumber served as deputy chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) as part of the Bush administration from 2007 to 2008 under Secretary Mary Peters.[2]
Cumber was born in Coral Gables, Florida to Aftab and Gul Cumber. He was raised in Coral Springs, Florida, and graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 1993.[3] Cumber earned a B.A. in U.S. National Security from Duke University in 1997.[4]
After college, Cumber began his career with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, where he worked in the Florida real estate office. In 1997, Cumber joined the Jeb Bush gubernatorial campaign working on both the finance and political operations in Broward and Palm Beach counties. He later served on the 1999 Inaugural Committee. Beginning in 1999, Cumber joined a government relations and business development firm as an associate, where he led the efforts to create the Network Access Point of the Americas.[5] From 2000 to 2002 he joined Orlando-based EPIK Communications, where he managed Public Affairs and Business Development strategy.[6] In January 2002, Cumber was named Vice President of Public Affairs at Florida East Coast Industries, then a publicly traded company on the NYSE (Ticker: FLA). Cumber was responsible for coordinating initiatives to introduce passenger rail service along the Florida East Coast Railway corridor. Florida East Coast Railway was acquired by Fortress Investment Group L.L.C in May 2007.[7]
From September 2005 to January 2009, he served as an assistant to the secretary of policy and as a deputy chief of staff at the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT). During his tenure as deputy chief of staff, Cumber was part of the leadership team that oversaw daily operations of the USDOT's 60,000 employees and $67 billion budget. Additionally Cumber co-managed over 105 political appointees, coordinated a review of a $2.3 billion railroad loan application, and implemented the U.S.-Mexico NAFTA trucking program on behalf of Secretary Mary Peters.[8] Cumber was instrumental in the USDOT disaster response to the I-35W Mississippi River bridge.[9]
Cumber's tenure at USDOT also included work on the creation of a new discretionary grant program to address traffic congestion throughout the U.S.- a program very similar to today's TIGER discretionary grant program;[10] the near bankruptcy of the Highway Trust Fund;[11] several major aviation safety issues that included the grounding of part of Southwest Airlines and American Airlines' fleets for failure to comply with aviation directives;[12][13] a major pipeline spill by British Petroleum on the North Slope of Alaska;[14] the expansion of the WMATA metro system to connect downtown Washington, D.C. to Dulles International Airport;[15] and a major passenger-freight rail collision in southern California that was the result of a Metrolink conductor texting while operating the train.[16] The Metrolink accident resulted in the U.S. Congress passing a law that mandated the installation of Positive Train Control. President George W. Bush nominated Cumber to the United States Surface Transportation Board in 2008.
Following the second term of the Bush administration, Cumber founded H.A. Cumber & Company, focusing on rail, transit and highway related issues. Major clients of H.A. Cumber & Company included: GE Transportation, T.Y. Lin International, RailAmerica, R. J. Corman Railroad Group, Scheidt and Bachmann, and FedSys, Inc.[17] He rejoined Florida East Coast Industries in 2012.
From 2011 to 2012, Cumber was executive vice president for corporate development at the Florida East Coast Railway, L.L.C. (FEC), an affiliate company of FECI. Cumber had responsibility for financially structuring and managing several capital projects, including reconnecting the FEC Railway to the Port of Miami, the construction of a new intermodal container transfer facility at Port Everglades, and working with public agencies to further the planning process for a new commuter rail service in the FEC corridor.[18]
Cumber currently serves as chief strategy officer at FECI. Cumber is directly responsible for guiding major capital projects from initial concept through development, including Brightline Florida, the first privately owned and operated intercity rail system in the U.S. Cumber led the initial due diligence process for Brightline while at FEC Railway and then transferred to FECI with the project in 2012.[18]Cumber has also overseen the development of Brightline West, which will connect Las Vegas to California, which broke ground on April 22, 2024.[19] He was instrumental in developing the strategy, leading the advocacy efforts, and securing the public financing components for Brightline West, which led to a $3 billion grant award[20] and a $3.5 billion private activity bond allocation.
In 2004, Cumber was recognized as being President Bush's youngest Ranger (individuals who raised $200,000 or more). Cumber has been involved in fundraising efforts for several candidates and has personally donated heavily to Republican Party candidates.[21]
In 2024, Mr. Cumber was appointed as an Inaugural Member to the Surface Transportation Board's Passenger Rail Advisory Committee. Cumber is a current board member of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, and Take Stock in Children. Cumber previously served as a board member of JEA, the eighth largest community-owned electric utility company in the United States and the largest in Florida; he was also on the board of directors of the Florida State College Foundation.[22] He is the past president of the Florida Railroad Association and past board member of the Coalition for America's Gateways and Trade Corridors. Cumber has previously served on the boards of the North Broward YMCA, the Florida Telecommunications Industry Association and the Strategic Intermodal Transportation Advisory Committee. Cumber was a founding member of the Florida Intermodal Transportation Association and is a graduate of Leadership Florida.
In 2007, Cumber donated $291,000 to his alma mater, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School located in Parkland, Florida, to construct a football stadium on the campus in his parents' name. Stoneman Douglas opened its doors in 1990 without a football stadium. Until the completion of Cumber Stadium in the fall of 2007, the football team, the Eagles, played all "home" games at nearby Coral Springs High School.[3]
Cumber and his wife LeAnna have two children and reside in Jacksonville, Florida.[23]
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