Big Book of Business 2021

2021

A deep look behind the data, information and people that drive the region forward.

BOYD

INSURANCE & INVESTMENTS

PROUDLY PROVIDING T O T H E G U L F C O A S T S I N C E 1 9 74

INSURANCE • BENEFITS • INVESTMENTS

M E E T O U R A F F I L I AT E D PA R T N E R AFFINITY SURETY GROUP

ASG is your partner in building a foundation for success.

Affinity Surety Group is a dedicated team of professionals that will partner with you to create and establish superior surety strategies. Expertise in underwriting, bond execution and finance make Affinity Surety Group your clear choice.

Call Jamie Wood at (941) 745-8300 and let’s start building your future.

BOYDINSURANCE.COM 361587-1

NO FEAR OF HEIGHTS INSURANCE APPRAISALS  RESERVE STUDIES CONSULTING DURING TURNOVER  50% FEMA APPRAISALS

By request, we can inspect your property with our DJI Phantom 4 Drone

361589-1

Patricia Staebler, SRA, RS Staebler Appraisal & Consulting 941.705.0123 www.StaeblerAppraisal.com

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

BIG TIME Welcome to the first-ever Business Observer Big Book of Business.

MARK GORDON MANAGING EDITOR

I

t’s fitting that one third of this issue — the Business Observer ’s debut Big Book of Business — is dedicated to people in the business and civic community who are leaders in facilitating change.

That’s because this issue is a big change for the Business Observer.

It’s the first time in more than a decade we aren’t publishing the Top 500, a list of the largest companies in the region, Polk to Collier counties, ranked by revenue. Going even further back, to the early 2000s, we published a smaller version, the Top 250.

But times, well, are changing.

Although we (humbly) believe the information we provided in the Top 500 was of high value to readers, the Business Observer team believes this year, more than ever, calls for something new.

That led us to the Big Book of Business.

Some of what’s in this publication will look familiar to Top 500 readers. For one, there’s a list of 50 of the largest private companies in the region. (Grocery juggernaut Publix remains No. 1 — and, talk about a new era, it’s even strengthened its position. The Lakeland-based company posted revenue of $44.9 billion in 2020, up 17.84% over 2019.)

The lists section, one of three distinct parts to the publication, 4

BUSINESS OBSERVER

includes other integral parcels of business information and data.

That ranges from the largest banks and biggest contractors in the region to the hospitals with the most beds and the employers — in each of nine counties — with the biggest payrolls.

We’ve mixed the familiar, such as some of the lists, with two surprises.

One is a section on data. The kind of data that drives decisions — about where businesses move to and what’s happening next. This section includes dives into labor and employment trends, business formations, population and migration patterns and more.

The second surprise, and final section of the publication, is change-makers. These are a dozen stories about people in the region on the front lines of leading companies, nonprofits and the community toward sustainable change. We considered a list of the most powerful or influential people. But again, with the upheaval of the past 18 months at the forefront, we thought a look at a dozen high-level and highly successful change-makers would better serve readers.

These change-makers both inform and inspire.

Take Steve MacDonald. The Tampa entrepreneur, less than five years after he sold a business he founded, for $250 million, has moved into a new phase of his career: backing startups, with his time and his treasure. In talking about facilitating change and how he’s handled the curves thrown his way over his career, MacDonald offers a strong reminder to persevere. “Nothing worth having is easy,” MacDonald says. “You’re going to have lots of obstacles along the way. It’s part of it..”

Out of all the change-makers’ stories, one theme stands out, and, no surprise, it’s connected to the craziness of the pandemic.

The theme? Resilience matters.

TABLE OF CONTENTS THE DATA Jobs........................................... 6 Housing...................................... 8 Migration..................................... 9 Banking.....................................10 Commercial real estate.................12 Airports......................................13 Economic indicators.....................14 Bankruptcies..............................15 Hospitals....................................16 Business formation......................16 THE LISTS Largest public companies.............18 Top 50 private companies.............22 Largest banks.............................26 Top commercial real estate deals...28 Most patents...............................30 Top 50 contractors......................32 Biggest hospitals by bed count......34 Top residential brokerages............36 Top employers by county..............38 Largest community foundations.....40 THE CHANGE MAKERS Jessica Muroff............................42 David Verinder.............................44 Erica Donalds.............................47 Jacob Meyers.............................48 Teri Hansen................................52 Dr. Arie Dosoretz.........................54 Antoinette Hayes-Triplett...............58 Emily Colón................................60 Syd Kitson..................................64 Rob Brady..................................66 Tonya Buford..............................70 Steve MacDonald........................72

MacDonald and David Verinder talk about it. So too do Erika Donalds and Syd Kitson — who both, in separate fields, education and development, respectively, require resilience to fight forces resistant to change. For Donalds, her change is building a network of charter schools. Kitson, meanwhile, is building a solar-powered town. “If you believe in it and have a passion for it and know it’s the right thing, don’t let others discourage you from doing it,” says Kitson, a former NFL offensive lineman, on how others can create change.

We hope you enjoy our change: the Big Book of Business. And we’re always looking to get better. Please send me any feedback to MGordon@ BusinessObserverFL.com.

Publisher and President / Emily Walsh, EWalsh@YourObserver.com Executive Editor and COO / Kat Hughes, KHughes@BusinessObserverFL.com Managing Editor / Mark Gordon MGordon@BusinessObserverFL.com Tampa Bay Editor / Louis Llovio, LLlovio@BusinessObserverFL.com Sarasota-Manatee Writer / Amanda Postma, APostma@BusinessObserverFL.com Contributors / Elizabeth Djinis, Beth Luberecki, Kevin McQuaid Editorial Design / Jess Eng, Nicole Thompson Associate Publishers / Kathleen O’Hara, KOHara@BusinessObserverFL.com; Diane Schaefer, DSchaefer@ BusinessObserverFL.com Director of Legal Advertising / Kristen Boothroyd KBoothroyd@BusinessObserverFL.com Director of Creative Services / Caleb Stanton, CStanton@YourObserver.com Chief Financial Officer / Laura Strickland, LStrickland@YourObserver. com Director of Distribution and Subscriptions Sales / Diana Ewing DEwing@BusinessObserverFL.com

POSTAL INFORMATION The Business Observer (ISSN#1539-9184) is published weekly on Fridays by the Gulf Coast Review Inc., 1970 Main St., Sarasota, FL 34236; 941362-4848. Periodicals postage paid at Sarasota, FL, and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Please send changes of address to The Business Observer, P.O. Box 3169, Sarasota, FL 34230.

Special Section Published Aug.13, 2021

To subscribe: Call 877-231-8834, or visit BusinessObserverFL.com.

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

DELIVERING YOUR VISION.

Leading our industry with award-winning commercial projects, innovative building solutions, and by elevating each project to its fullest potential.

DEVELOP. DESIGN. BUILD. Our team of industry leaders are experts in maximizing design technologies and building methods, we deliver a safe, quality structure that is built to last and inspire.

941.917.0494 www.FirmoConstruction.com

Follow us @Firmo_Construction

Bonded & Insured LICENSE #CGC1508283 Licensed General Contractor Since 2003

361784-1

SCAN TO LEARN MORE:

JOBS

CONTINUED CLAIMS*

L

ike so many other places — and people — from around the world, Florida’s economy was really hurting in the spring of 2020.

The chart that makes that most clear is in the top right of this page.

It shows that more than 1 million Floridians filed a continuing claim of unemployment insurance in May 2020 — about 10% of the state’s entire labor force. As expected, that spike

THE DATA

5/1/20: 1,062,593

1,000,000

800,000

in unemployment insurance claims follows the statewide trend in unemployment rate, which reached well into double-digits at that time.

The hardest hit industries were in leisure and hospitality, where the state still hasn’t recovered to pre-pandemic employment levels. Meanwhile the silver lining is in construction, where employment actually grew slightly over the past year.

600,000

400,000

200,000

1/1/18

1/1/19

1/1/20

1/1/21

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 16% KEY Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton Punta Gorda Cape Coral-Fort Myers Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island

14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2%

Jan. 1, 2018

Apr. 1, 2018

Jul. 1, 2018

Oct. 1, 2018

Jan. 1, 2019

Apr. 1, 2019

Jul. 1, 2019

Oct. 1, 2019

Jan. 1, 2020

Apr. 1, 2020

Jul. 1, 2020

Oct. 1, 2020

Jan. 1, 2021

CONSTRUCTION JOBS

LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY JOBS

100

200

80

Apr. 1, 2021

150

60 100

40

50

20 1/1/18

1/1/19

1/1/20

1/1/21

1/1/18

1/1/19

1/1/20

1/1/21

*Continued claims, also referred to as insured unemployment, is the number of people who have already filed an initial claim and who have experienced a week of unemployment and then filed a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. Continued claims data are based on the week of unemployment, not the week when the initial claim was filed.

6

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

361894-1

HOUSING THE DATA

A

s the jobs numbers elsewhere in this issue clearly show, Florida’s economy took a serious hit in spring 2020, with one exception: construction and housing.

Housing permit issuances either held steady or increased, and inventories

plummeted, leading to an increase in median home prices.

One should expect significant building activity in Tampa Bay’s bedroom communities in the coming months, as permits issued in both Polk and Pasco counties increased

substantially in 2020 compared with the year prior. The same is true for Sarasota and Manatee counties, the latter of which saw an increase of more than 36% last year.

The decline in inventory across the region is a legitimate issue, and it could, sooner than later, put a chokehold on the party. (Some brokers, agents and Realtors say it already is.)

But taken in total, the region’s housing market is in a pretty enviable position gearing up for fall.

PERMITS ISSUED

PERMITS ISSUED, BY COUNTY

8,000

10,000

7,000 6,000

KEY Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton Punta Gorda Cape Coral-Fort Myers Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island

KEY 2019 2020

È0.7% Ç19.6%

8,000

Ç21.1%

5,000

6,000 Ç23.5%

4,000

Ç36.5% Ç21.4%

4,000

3,000

È3.2%

2,000

Ç14.2%

2,000 1,000

Ç2.9%

1/1/18 4/1

7/1 10/1 1/1/19 4/1

7/1 10/1 1/1/20 4/1

7/1 10/1 1/1/21

Hillsborough Pinellas

MEDIAN HOME PRICE INDEX

INVENTORY

400

160,00

350

140,00

300

120,00

250

100,00

200

80,00

150

60,00

100

40,00

50

20,00 1/1/18 4/1

7/1

10/1 1/1/19 4/1

7/1

10/1 1/1/20 4/1

7/1

10/1 1/1/21

1/1/18 4/1

7/1

Pasco

Polk

10/1 1/1/19 4/1

Manatee Sarasota Charlotte

7/1

10/1 1/1/20 4/1

Lee

Collier

7/1 10/1 1/1/21

Permits issued are quarterly sums. For home prices, this chart is an index in which 100 = median home price as of Q1 1995. So a reading of 200 means the median price is twice what it was in Q1 1995. Inventory is active listings, quarterly average of monthly readings. Source: Smart Real Estate Data, Federal Reserve of St. Louis. Note: The Sarasota permit data is for structures rather than units.

8

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

MIGRATION T

his data set from the U.S. Census Bureau is a bit complicated, but the takeaway is clear: Americans were moving to Florida’s Gulf Coast in increasing numbers in the years before COVID-19. Each of the nine sets of bars below depicts the domestic

migration trend for a Gulf Coast county between 2009 and 2018. In other words, it shows how many people moved to that county from other places in the U.S., net of anyone that moved out for the same period. For most counties, you can see a U shape depicted by

each set of bars. That’s because the number of people moving to the region slowed down after the late 2000s recession, then picked back up as the economy recovered. If that trend is old news, then perhaps the surprise story is Lee County, which received roughly 12,000 new residents from other U.S. counties between 2014 and 2018.

And check back on this dataset in two years, after the census reports for 2020. You should see a lot of large bars on these charts.

18,000

Charlotte

16,000

KEY

14,000

2009

Collier

Hillsborough

Lee

Manatee

Pasco

Pinellas

Polk

Sarasota

’18

12,000

THE DATA

NET COUNTY-TO-COUNTY MIGRATION FLOW

10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 -2,000 These are five-year estimates, so the 2018 data point is the estimate for 2014-2018.

-4,000 -6,000

50 OFF Free Removal $

Or

With a Frameless Shower Door Installation Must Present Ad At Time Of Quote Not Valid With Any Other Offers

361696-1

Scan QR Code for more info.

AUGUST 2021 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com

BUSINESS OBSERVER

9

BANKING F THE DATA

lorida banks increased total assets in the first quarter of 2021 relative to the end of last year. Assets, as seen below, increased from $216.18 billion in the first quarter of 2020 to $251.76 billion in the first quarter of 2021 — a gain of 16.45%. At the same time,

banks were unable to maintain a consistent ratio between assets and loans. Put another way: banks grew, but, as an asset class, banks didn’t lend as much.

It was a relatively difficult time to earn money as well, as the median net interest mar-

TOTAL ASSETS

NET INTEREST MARGIN

NET LOANS TO ASSETS

4.0

80

(MEDIAN %)

$300,000 $251,765

$250,000

3.5

$150,000 $100,000 $50,000 2020

(MEDIAN %)

3.09

3.0

$200,000

2019

gin declined 20 basis points from the end of last year, down nearly 60 basis points from the median for 2019.

Even so, banks are primed to succeed in 2022. There are two, oft-told, core reasons for that. One is the population growth in Florida.

All of those people moving from the Northeast, Midwest and California? They have to bank somewhere. And the second reason is a common Florida economic driver: the red-hot real estate market.

70

2.5

50

2.0

40

1.5

30

1.0

20

0.5

10

Q1 Q4 Q1 2020 2020 2021

2019

2020

Q1 2020

Q4 2020

Q1 2021

60.71

60

2019

2020

Q1 2020

Q4 2020

Q1 2021

Complex businesses demand expert banking solutions.

That’s where we come in.

At Synovus, we mean business.

From commercial financing and capital market expertise to treasury services and international expansion assistance, we have the banking solutions to successfully address your complex business needs.

Find out how we can help you.

1-888-SYNOVUS | synovus.com

361827-1

Synovus Bank, Member FDIC.

10

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

Welcomed in the Boardroom.

Indispensable in the Courtroom.

Katherine E. Cook

Kyle C. Dudek

David J. Ledermann

Scott E. Atwood

Robert C. Shearman

David H. Roos

Geraldo F. (Jerry) Olivo III

Spencer M. Shaw

Russell S. Whittle

Employment Law

Employment Law

Employee Benefits

Chair, Employment Law Group

Chair, Tort and Insurance Litigation Department

Chair, Workers’ Compensation Department

Employment Law

Workers’ Compensation

Workers’ Compensation

Southwest Florida business owners rely on the experience of Henderson Franklin attorneys in all aspects of employee benefits, employment law and workers’ compensation. Our team frequently provides counseling and supervisor training, prepares handbooks, non-compete and non-disclosure contracts, as well as executive compensation packages and employee benefit plans so businesses can attract and retain the best talent. Henderson Franklin attorneys also offer a full range of litigation services representing employers when claims of gender, race, national origin, age and disability discrimination; sexual harassment; wage and hour disputes; retaliation and workers’ compensation arise. Our clients work hard to build their businesses.

We’ll work hard to protect them – just as we’ve done since 1924.

Named one of the “2021 Best Law Firms” by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers in America©

Adapting. Changing. Moving forward.

BUSINESS & TAX • BUSINESS LITIGATION • CONSTRUCTION • DIVORCE, MARITAL & FAMILY • EMPLOYMENT • HEALTH CARE • INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY • LAND USE, ZONING & ENVIRONMENTAL • MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS • REAL ESTATE • TORT & INSURANCE • WILLS, TRUST & ESTATE PLANNING • WORKERS’ COMPENSATION ©2021 Henderson Franklin Starnes & Holt, P.A.

*By appointment only

354039-1

henlaw.com • 239.344.1100 Fort Myers • Bonita Springs • Naples • Sarasota*

THE DATA

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE B y the traditional rules of Florida boom and busts, the commercial real estate sector is due for, at the minimum, a drop. The growth numbers, for sure, are startling in a variety of ways.

Begin with the latest darling of the sector: industrial. Every county in the region is up in square feet of space on the market over the past five years. Polk is

No. 1, with 22.2% growth. Hillsborough, Lee and Manatee follow — showing the thirst developers have for warehouses is on the rise across the region. Retail and office, while growing at slower paces, remains on the upswing. And then there’s the scorching multifamily industry.

In terms of units added to the market, Lee, with a gain of 53.8%, is the leader.

OFFICE S.F. ON THE MARKET

INDUSTRIAL S.F. ON THE MARKET

120,000,000

KEY 2015 2020

110,000,000

120,000,000

Ç9.0%

110,000,000

100,000,000

100,000,000

90,000,000

90,000,000

80,000,000

Sarasota, at 49%; Pasco, at 36.8%; and Charlotte, at 29.4%, are all doing well, too. Rapid growth in and of itself, of course, doesn’t mean a bust is imminent. Indeed, many brokers and agents, in all sectors, say market fundamentals remain strong. One lingering question: What will the impact of the pandemic be on the industry?

80,000,000

Ç3.3%

70,000,000

70,000,000

60,000,000

60,000,000

50,000,000

Ç22.2%

Ç0.5%

50,000,000

È3.1%

40,000,000

40,000,000

30,000,000 20,000,000 Ç5.8%

10,000,000

Hillsborough Pinellas Pasco

Ç0.9%

30,000,000

Ç4.1%

Ç1.3% Ç3.1%

Polk Manatee Sarasota Charlotte

Lee

Ç7.1%

20,000,000 Ç4.6%

Ç1.9%

Ç8.5%

Ç8.1%

Ç1.7%

10,000,000

Collier

RETAIL S.F. ON THE MARKET

Ç1.7%

Ç1.5%

Hillsborough Pinellas Pasco

Polk Manatee Sarasota Charlotte

Lee

Collier

MULTIFAMILY S.F. ON THE MARKET

120,000,000

120,000 Ç13.5%

110,000,000 100,000,000

100,000

90,000,000 80,000,000

80,000

Ç2.4%

70,000,000 60,000,000

Ç11.5%

Ç0.3%

60,000 Ç4.2%

50,000,000 40,000,000 30,000,000

Ç6.7%

20,000,000 10,000,000 Hillsborough Pinellas Pasco

40,000

Ç4.0%

Ç2.1% Ç4.0%

Ç4.5%

20,000 Ç4.5%

Ç19.2% Ç36.8%

Ç28.1%

Ç53.8% Ç49%

Ç22.4% Ç29.4%

Polk Manatee Sarasota Charlotte

Lee

Collier

Hillsborough Pinellas Pasco

Polk Manatee Sarasota Charlotte

Lee

Collier

NOTE: Office, industrial and retail sector measured by square footage; multifamily measured by unit. Source: CoStar Group

12

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

AIRPORTS L

ooking at the annual landing and passenger traffic reports for the region’s five major commercial airports, in some ways, is like reading half a book or leaving a game at halftime: You might miss the part where the hero saves the day or

your team mounts an epic comeback win.

In the case of the region’s airports, the big miss happened in the past three months of 2021, when airports from Tampa to Fort Myers booked more than 60 new, nonstop routes and expanded dozens of other routes.

6,000,000 5,000,000

THE DATA

2019 2020

DEPLANINGS

If you were just looking at 2019-2020 airport data, the statistics below are a stark reminder of how bad the pandemic really was, with significant drops in traffic and deplanings (airport lingo for landed) in every market.

2019 2020

PASSENGERS 25,000,000 È54.5%

È41.5%

20,000,000

4,000,000

15,000,000

3,000,000 10,000,000

2,000,000 È39.2%

È27.7%

1,000,000

È37.2%

È41.5%

5,000,000 È27.7%

N/A Southwest Florida International

Tampa International

Punta Gorda Airport

St. PeteClearwater International

SarasotaBradenton International

Southwest Florida International

Tampa International

Punta Gorda Airport

È39.1%

St. PeteClearwater International

È37.1%

SarasotaBradenton International

OV E R 4 0 Y E A R S O F E X P E R I E N C E S E L L I N G & I N S TA L L I N G T I L E BUILDER & COMMERCIAL INSTALLATION I N T H E TA M PA B AY A R E A . W E TILE | HARDWOOD | LAMINATE | CARPET | CARPET TILE | VINYL PLANK | VCT P R I D E O U R S E LV E S O N Q U A L I T Y W O R K M A N S H I P DESIGNER SHOWROOM TOP 500 & F I R S T C L A S S COMPANY CERAMIC & PORCELAIN | MOSAICS | GLASS TILE | NATURAL STONE S E RV I C E .

DECORATIVE INLAYS | LISTELLOS | CARPET | HARDWOOD | LAMINATE VINYL PLANK | QUARRY PAVERS

SHOP ONLINE

7 YEARS IN A ROW!

9533 LAND O LAKES BLVD (US 41) LAND O LAKES, FLORIDA 34638

(813) 235-9775

WWW.GREATBRITAINTILE.COM TOP 500TOP 500 COMPANY COMPANY TOP 500 7 YEARS 7 YEARS COMPANY IN A 500 IN A TOP TOP 500 7 YEARS ROW! ROW! COMPANY COMPANY BUSINESS OBSERVER 13 IN ATOP TOP 500 500 7 YEARS 7 YEARS ROW! COMPANY COMPANY IN A IN500 A TOP 7 YEARS 7 YEARS ROW! ROW! COMPANY IN A IN A 7 YEARS 361598-1

WWW.GBTILECOLLECTIONS.COM

AUGUST 2021 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com

ECONOMIC INDICATORS THE DATA

A

lthough most of the Big Book of Business is an analysis of Florida and, more specifically, the west coast of the state, there’s also value in looking at where the state ranks on a national basis.

The graphs on the right are part of the 14th annual Rich States, Poor States report, a national study from the American Legislative Exchange Council. A free, market-focused think tank, the council looks at how each state in the country ranks against one another in economic performance (the past) and economic outlook (the future.)

On economic performance — GDP, domestic migration and non-farm payroll employment — Florida ranks No. 5 nationally. The study looks at data going back a decade for each metric, and, quite obvious to anyone on Florida’s roads or in grocery stores, the state is a national leader in domestic migration. It’s pretty good in employment, too, with a No. 4 rank.

On economic outlook, Florida shines even brighter, with a No. 2 rank across 15 forward-looking metrics. The only state ahead of Florida is Utah. Rounding out the top five are Oklahoma, Wyoming and North Carolina.

The 15 metrics, according to the report, are variables that can be, and often are, influenced by state policymakers. Hence, Florida is No. 1, in a tie with several others, in top marginal personal income tax rate (zero) and estate/inheritance tax (also zero.) The state is No. 3 nationally in both public employees per 10,000 people and number of tax expenditure limits.

Florida has worked its way up in the survey’s outlook ranking. In 2014 and 2015, it ranked No. 16 and No. 15, respectively. The next four years it moved into the top 10, but not the top five. In 2020 it ranked No. 7.

If state officials want to surpass Utah for No. 1, the report has three distinct areas where Florida underperformed and finished in the bottom half of the country: sales tax burden, remaining tax burden and judicial/ tort climate. Consider that a sunkissed warning, Beehive State.

Source: 2021 Alec-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness

14

BUSINESS OBSERVER

STATE GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT CUMULATIVE GROWTH, 2009-2019

52.5%

RANK: 12

8%

KEY FL

7%

US

6% 5% 4% 3% 2% 1%

2010

’11

’12

’13

’14

’15

ABSOLUTE DOMESTIC MIGRATION CUMULATIVE, 2010-2019

’16

’17

’18

1,313,236

’19

RANK: 1

250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000

2010

’11

’12

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

’18

NON-FARM PAYROLL UNEMPLOYMENT

CUMULATIVE, 2009-2019

’19

RANK: 4

4%

KEY FL US

3%

2%

1%

2010

’11

’12

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

’18

’19

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

BANKRUPTCIES T

closings, forbearances and financial help from the federal government.

Otherwise, the one anomaly was in the total number of personal bankruptcies filed in 2019 — the year before the pandemic, when the economy was strong.

Between 2016 and 2018, the total

THE DATA

he number of personal and business bankruptcies have remained stable over the past five years.

The total number of both personal and business bankruptcies fell in 2020, but that can be attributed to court

number of filings for personal bankruptcy each year varied by no more than a few hundred, with an average of 23,411. But in 2020, that number jumped 7.2% to 25,120. The highest number of cases were Chapter 7 liquidations, which jumped 11% to 18,159 from a three-year average of 16,351.

The big unknown moving forward is how many bankruptcies, both personal and business, will be filed as a result of something that can be traced back to the pandemic.

KEY KEY KEY KEY KEY KEY Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter 7 Chapter Business 7 Business 77 Business 7 Business Business Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Business 11 Business 11 Business 11 Business Business Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter 7 Chapter Personal 7 Personal 77 Personal 7 Personal Personal Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Personal 11 Personal 11 Personal 11 Personal Personal Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter 13 Chapter 13 Personal 13 Personal 13 Personal 13 Personal Personal Chapter 7 Business Chapter 11 Business Chapter 7 Personal Chapter 11 Personal Chapter 13 Personal

2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016

2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017

2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018

2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019

2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020

Source: The Administrative Office of the U.S. Court

THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE in Protecting Your Home, Business and Family

State Licensed | All Employees Background Checked Builder and Realtor Programs Hard Wired and Wireless Systems

OFFICE | INDUSTRIAL | RETAIL | MULTI-FAMILY

AUGUST 2021 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com

361585-1

Member of:

BUSINESS OBSERVER

15

BUSINESS FORMATION

HOSPITALS T

C

THE DATA

he five-year growth trend in revenue for hospitals across Florida proves one thing: Health care, even before the pandemic, is a giant force in the state’s economy. On the outpatient side, revenue grew 49.48% from 2015 to 2019. It grew 33.33% on the inpatient side in the same time frame. And although expenses are up, more than 24%, they’re rising slower than the revenue.

hatter is percolating that business startups are in decline nationwide. Chamber and economic development officials have begun to sound the alarms on that front, asking for the federal government in some cases to do more to lend to small businesses. Don’t tell Florida: LLCs, one of the most common forms of launching a business, are on a steady five-year gain in the state.

KEY 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

$200 billion

150

DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COS. 400,000

S398,575

350,000 300,000 250,000

100

200,000 150,000

50

100,000 50,000 Gross Inpatient Revenue

Gross Outpatient Revenue

Total Net Revenue

Total Net Expenses

Source: American Hospital Association

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Source: Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations

A clean home & office is a healthy place! We use hospital grade disinfectants killing 99.999% of all germs on ALL high-touch areas.

Home & Office Cleaning

Tile & Grout Cleaning

Clean and disinfect your home and office professionally!

$75 OFF Use Code:

BIG BOOK

$25 OFF YOUR 1ST, 3RD, AND 5TH CLEANINGS. Offer good for any recurring service. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Expires 09/30/21.

Window & Power Washing

Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning

Scan this QR code and learn how we’re keeping our communities safe.

Naples & Fort Myers: 239.596.5200 Port Charlotte: 941.201.1460 Sarasota: 941.205.0210 16

BUSINESS OBSERVER

361596-1

Call today to learn about our contactless service and disinfecting process or visit maidpro.com!

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

PROTECTING WHAT MATTERS MOST Al Purmort

Owner | President | Partner

Patrick Del Medico

Owner | Chief Operating Officer | Executive Partner

Why Choose Us?

COMMERCIAL

0 P/C Age 10

y nc

Top

• Protecting over 15,000 companies and individuals in all 50 states • Over 200 Top Carrier Partners • Top Insurance Workplace in the U.S. • Top 50 Independent Agencies in the U.S.

★

★

★★

★

2020

★

GENERAL LIABILITY PROPERTY AUTO WORKERS COMPENSATION CYBER EPLI DIRECTORS & OFFICERS

PERSONAL HOME AUTO FLOOD UMBRELLA COLLECTIBLES

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS CUSTOMIZED EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS WELLNESS PROGRAMS ON-GOING CLAIM REVIEWS BUDGETING AND FORECASTING

Call Us Today!

941.924.3808 3340 Bee Ridge Rd., Sarasota, FL 34239

shepherdins.com/al-purmort

361037-1

Al Purmort Insurance is a part of the Shepherd Insurance Family.

THE LISTS

PUBLIC COMPANIES Company Address Phone Number; Website Jabil Inc. (JBL) 10560 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St., St. Petersburg 33716 727-577-9749; Jabil.com The Mosaic Co. (MOS) 101 E Kennedy Blvd #2500, Tampa 33602 800-918-8270; MosaicCo.com Raymond James Financial Inc. (RJF) 880 Carillon Parkway, St. Petersburg 33716 407-451-3827; RaymondJames.com Roper Technologies Inc. (ROP) 6901 Professional Parkway, Suite 200, Sarasota 34240 941-556-2601; RoperTech.com Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (HTZ) (exiting bankruptcy) 8501 Williams Road, Estero 33928 239-301-7000; Hertz.com Bloomin’ Brands Inc. (BLMN) 2202 N. West Shore Blvd., Suite 500, Tampa 33607 813-282-1225; BloominBrands.com Masonite International Corp. (DOOR) 1205 E. Fifth Ave, Tampa 33605 813-877-2726; Masonite.com Primo Water Corp. (PRMW) 4221 West Boy Scout Blvd., Suite 400, Tampa 33607 813-313-1732; Cott.com Herc Holdings (HRI) 27500 Riverview Center Blvd., Suite 100, Bonita Springs 34134 239-301-1000; HercRentals.com Sykes Enterprises Inc. (SYKE) (acquired in 2021) 400 N. Ashley Drive, Suite 2800, Tampa 33602 813-274-1000; Sykes.com MarineMax Inc. (HZO) 2600 McCormick Drive, Clearwater 33759 727-531-1700; MarineMax.com Kforce Inc. (KFRC) 1001 E. Palm Ave., Tampa 33605 877-453-6723; Kforce.com Chico’s FAS Inc. (CHS) 11215 Metro Parkway, Fort Myers 33966 239-277-6200; Chicos.com ACI Worldwide Inc. (ACIW) 3520 Kraft Road, Naples 34105 239-403-4660; ACIWorldwide.com Intertape Polymer Group (ITP.TO) 100 Paramount Drive, Suite 300, Sarasota 34232 (dually headquartered in Montreal); 877-318-5752; ITape.com Welbilt Inc. (WBT) (acquired in 2021) 2227 Welbilt Blvd., New Port Richey 34655 727-375-7010; Welbilt.com South State Corp. (formerly CenterState Bank) 1101 First St. S., Suite 202, Winter Haven 33880 863-293-4710; SouthStateBank.com PGT Innovations (PGTI) 1070 Technology Drive, North Venice 34275 941-480-1600; PGTInnovations.com UPC Insurance (UIHC) 800 Second Ave. S., St. Petersburg 33701 727-895-7737; UPCInsurance.com Lazydays (LAZY) 6130 Lazy Days Blvd., Seffner 33584 813-246-4999; Lazydays.com Heritage Insurance Holdings Inc. (HRTG) 2600 McCormick Drive, Suite 300, Clearwater 33759 727-362-7200; HeritagePCI.com

Top Executive Mark Mondello, CEO James O’Rourke, CEO, president and director Paul Reilly, chair and CEO Neil Hunn, president and CEO Paul Stone, president and CEO David Deno, CEO Howard Heckes, president, CEO and director Thomas Harrington, CEO Lawrence Silber, president, CEO and director Charles Sykes, president, CEO and director William Brett McGill, CEO, president and director David Dunkel, chair, CEO and director Molly Langenstein, CEO, president and director Odilon Almeida, president and CEO Gregory Yull, president and CEO William Johnson, president and CEO Robert Hill, executive chair; John Corbett, CEO Jeff Jackson, president and CEO Daniel Peed, chair and CEO William Murnane, CEO and chair Ernesto Garateix, CEO

2020 Revenue 2019 Revenue Change $27,266.44 $25,282.32 7.85% $8,681.70 $8,906.30 -2.52% $7,990.00 $7,740.00 3.23% $5,527.10 $5,366.80 2.99% $5,258.00 $9,779.00 -46.23% $3,170.56 $4,139.39 -23.41% $2,257.08 $2,176.68 3.69% $1,953.50 $1,795.40 8.81% $1,781.30 $1,999.00 -10.89% $1,710.26 $1,614.76 5.91% $1,509.71 $1,237.15 22.03% $1,397.70 $1,347.39 3.73% $1,324.05 $2,037.88 -35.03% $1,294.32 $1,258.29 2.86% $1,213.00 $1,158.50 4.70% $1,153.40 $1,593.90 -27.64% $1,130.28 $643.42 75.66% $882.62 $744.96 18.48% $846.66 $825.12 2.61% $817.11 $644.91 26.70% $593.39 $511.31 16.05%

Industry

Line of Business

Manufacturing

global manufacturing, engineering and supply chain solutions provider

Agriculture

concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrient mining

Banking/Finance/ Investment

wealth management

Technology

software and engineered products and solutions

Business/Consumer services

leases vehicles and equipment

Hospitality/Restaurant

casual dining restaurant chain owner

Manufacturing

door manufacturer

Manufacturing

beverage products, packages and distribution

Business/Consumer services

equipment rental supplier

Technology

customer contact management technology provider

Retailers

boat retailer

Business/Consumer services

professional staffing and solutions firm providing strategic partnership in technology and finance/accounting services

Retailers

specialty women’s clothing, accessories and gifts retailer

Technology

payment software for banks and merchants

Manufacturing

manufacturer and seller of paper- and film-based tapes, films, coated fabrics and packaging systems

Manufacturing

manufactures and supplies commercial foodservice equipment

Banking/Finance/ Investment

community bank

Manufacturing

manufactures and supplies premium windows and doors

Banking/Finance/ Investment

property and casualty insurance

Retailers

RV sales, service, parts, accessories, financing and insurance, and RV campground

Banking/Finance/ Investment

provides home, condominium, rental and commercial residential insurance Dollars in millions

18

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

TOP PUBLIC COMPANIES Top Executive Michael Benstock, CEO Josef Matosevic, president, CEO and director Mark Mallon, CEO Samuel Norton, president and CEO Paresh Patel, CEO and chair Joe Marinucci, CEO Trevor Baldwin, CEO Caroline Beasley, CEO and director Stu Sjouwerman, founder and CEO

2020 Revenue 2019 Revenue Change $526.70 $376.70 39.82% $523.04 $554.67 -5.70% $444.45 $408.83 8.71% $418.69 $355.55 17.76% $415.92 $342.08 21.59% $333.38 $238.30 39.90% $240.92 $137.84 74.78% $206.14 $261.55 -21.19% $174.89 $120.58 45.04%

Industry

Line of Business

Manufacturing

designs, manufactures and sells uniforms and apparel

Manufacturing

designer and manufacturer of hydraulic-cartridge valve

Health care

cancer genetic testing laboratory

Shipping Business/Consumer services Technology Insurance

energy transportation services company, delivering crude oil and petroleum products worldwide InsurTech company with operations in insurance, software development and real estate adtech company leveraging brand and marketplace solutions to connect consumers and advertisers private risk management, personal insurance, Medicare, family office, commercial risk management

Entertainment/Media/ Publishing

radio broadcasting group

Technology

data and IT security

THE LISTS

Company Address Phone Number; Website Superior Group of Cos. (SGC) 10055 Seminole Blvd., Seminole 33772 727-397-9611; SuperiorUniformGroup.com Helios Technologies (HLIO) 1500 W. University Parkway, Sarasota 34243 941-362-1200; SunHydraulics.com NeoGenomics Inc. (NEO) 12701 Commonwealth Drive, Suite 9, Fort Myers 33913 239-768-0600; NeoGenomics.com Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (OSG) 302 Knights Run Ave., Suite 1200, Tampa 33602 813-209-0600; OSG.com HCI Group Inc. (HCI) 5300 W. Cypress St., Suite 100, Tampa 33607 813- 849-9500; HCIGroup.com Digital Media Solutions, Inc. (DMS) 4800 140th Ave. N., Suite 101, Clearwater 33762 727-287-0426; DigitalMediaSolutions.com BRP Group Inc. (BRP) 4010 W. Boy Scout Blvd., Suite 200, Tampa 33607 813-984-3200; BaldwinRiskPartners.com Beasley Media Group Inc. (BBGI) 3033 Riviera Drive, Suite 200, Naples 34103 239-263-5000; BBGI.com KnowBe4 (KNBE) 33 N. Garden Ave., Suite 1200, Clearwater 33755 855-566-9234; KnowBe4.com

BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS

Dollars in millions

FROM CONCEPT THROUGH CONSTRUCTION LAI provides full-service expertise in commercial, educational, and high-density residential

ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION

361687-1

239-405-6888 | laigroupfl.com 9911 Corkscrew Road Suite 202 Estero, FL 33928

AUGUST 2021 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com

BUSINESS OBSERVER

19

THE LISTS

TOP PUBLIC COMPANIES Company Address Phone Number; Website Alico (ALCO) 10070 Daniels Interstate Court, Suite 100, Fort Myers 33913 239-226-2000; AlicoInc.com Uniroyal Global Engineered Products LLC (UNIR) 1800 Second St., Suite 970, Sarasota 34236 941-906-8580; UniroyalGlobal.com Nicholas Financial Inc. (NICK) 2454 McMullen Booth Road, Building C, Clearwater 33759 727-726-0763; NicholasFinancial.com Innovative Food Holdings (IVFH) 28411 Race Track Road, Bonita Springs 34135 239-596-0204; IVFH.com Cryo-Cell International Inc. (CCEL) 700 Brooker Creek Road, Suite 1800, Oldsmar 34677 813-749-2100; Cryo-Cell.com HealthLynked Corp. (HLYK) 1265 Creekside Parkway, Suite 302, Naples, FL 34108 healthlynked.com, 1-800-928-7144 T Procyon Corp. (PCYN) 1300 S. Highland Ave., Clearwater 33756 727-447-2998; ProcyonCorp.com OriginClear (OCLN) 13575 58th St. N., Suite 200, Clearwater 33760 727-440-4603; OriginClear.com Invo Bioscience (INVO) 5582 Broadcast Court, Sarasota 34240 978-878-9505; InvoBioscience.com

Top Executive John Kiernan, president and CEO Howard Curd, chair and CEO Doug Marohn, president and CEO Sam Klepfish, chair and CEO David Portnoy, chair and co-CEO; Mark Portnoy, co-CEO Dr. Michael Dent, CEO, founder and chairman Regina Anderson, chair Riggs Eckelberry, president, CEO and chair Steve Shum, CEO

BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS 2020 Revenue 2019 Revenue Change $92.51 $122.25 -24.33% $60.22 $91.14 -33.92% $53.58 $61.80 -13.30% $51.68 $57.90 -10.75% $31.15 $31.82 -2.10% $6.13 $4.01 52.86% $4.33 $4.19 3.41% $4.10 $3.59 14.30% $1.04 $1.48 -29.92%

Industry

Line of Business

Agriculture

land management, agriculture, mining and development

Manufacturing

manufactures and sells vinyl-coated fabrics and gate safety sensors

Banking/Finance/ Investment

consumer loan provider and auto loan consolidator

Distributor/Wholesalers

wholesaler and retailer of perishables and specialty food products

Health care

stem cell blood bank and related research

Health care, technology

cloud-based software to connect doctors, patients and medical data

Health care

manufactures and markets skin and wound care supplies

Water/Water treatment Health care

self-reliant water revolation, connecting investors with water projects, commercializes modular medical device company focused on creating simplified, lower cost treatments for patients with infertility Dollars in millions

Signature Logos

ACCELERATE Commodities USA Division WITH SCOTLYNN Transport Group

“

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, you have to take care of the people who take care of you.

— Ryan Carter, Co-Founder Scotlynn USA

” 361898-1

SOLUTIONS DELIVERED BY DRIVE.

Delivering Excellence Since 2010

Scotlynn USA is one of the fastest growing asset-based logistics companies in North America.

Part of a larger international trucking and farming company, the Florida-based logistics company operates a state-of-the-art fleet of refrigerated tractor trailers along with freight brokerage services to assist clients ship time-sensitive products across North America.

Additionally, Scotlynn manages LTL refrigerated shipments for clients within the state of Florida.

Our passion, integrity, and commitment to superior service drives us to accelerate your business.

239-210-3000 | SCOTLYNN.COM | INFO@SCOTLYNN.COM | 9597 GULF RESEARCH LANE | FORT MYERS, FL 33912 20

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK If you want better career opportunities and a higher income, there’s no substitute for a bachelor’s degree.

BACHELOR OF APPLIED SCIENCE DEGREES

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREES

Health Services Administration

Early Childhood Education

Public Safety and Emergency Management

Nursing

Build your skills in human services, health financial management and health information systems as you prepare for management and administrative positions in health care operations and services.

Master skills in security, crisis and disaster management, public safety, cybersecurity and terrorism prevention to prepare for a career with government agencies, colleges and universities, or private companies.

When you complete this degree you will be qualified to work as a Head Start teacher or director and a Florida Voluntary Pre-K teacher —all while preparing you to earn Florida Teacher Certification.

Our top-ranked RN to BSN program incorporates your prior nursing education and experience with additional practice, theory, concepts, research and leadership skills to open more career opportunities.

Supervision and Management

Develop your potential to succeed in today’s dynamic and competitive global environment. Choose one of three specializations and customize your program to fit your career goals. Select from Supervision and Management, International Business and Trade, or Technology Management.

APPLY TODAY!

360030-1

Text: 941-304-5443 Call: 941-752-5050 Email: Admissions@SCF.edu State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate and baccalaureate degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota does not discriminate on the basis of sex, pregnancy, race, religion, age, national origin/ethnicity, color, marital status, disability, genetic information or sexual orientation in any of its educational programs, services and activities, including admission and employment. Direct inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies to: Equity Officer, 941-752-5323, 5840 26th St. W., Bradenton, FL 34207.

TOP PRIVATE COMPANIES T

he top 50 private companies list is a ranking of companies from Polk through Collier counties with at least $100 million in revenue in 2020. Data is self-reported through email and phone interviews with company officials. Multiple companies in the region, including several in the Business Observer 2020 Top 500 issue, declined to disclose revenue figures for this issue.

Rank 1 2

THE LISTS

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Company Name Address Phone; Website Publix Super Markets Inc. 3300 Publix Corporate Parkway, Lakeland 33802 863-688-7407; Publix.com Morgan Automotive Group 3031 N. Rocky Point Drive, Suite 770, Tampa 33607 813-434-1982; MorganAutoGroup.com Rooms to Go 11540 U.S. 92 E., Seffner 33584 813-623-5400; RoomsToGo.com FrankCrum 100 S. Missouri Ave., Clearwater 33756 727-799-1229; FrankCrum.com Manhattan Construction Group 3705-1 Westview Drive, Naples 34104 239-435-3827; ManhattanConstructionGroup.com Beall’s Inc. 1806 38th Ave. E., Bradenton 34208 941-744-4309; BeallsFlorida.com Gettel Automotive Inc. 5959 E. State Road 64, Bradenton 34208 941-417-5003; Gettel.com Ferman Automotive Group 1306 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa 33606 813-251-2765; Ferman.com FCCI Insurance Group 6300 University Parkway, Sarasota 34240 941-907-3224; FCCI-Group.com Automated Petroleum & Energy Co. Inc. 1201 Oakfield Drive, Brandon 33511 813-681-4279; AutomatedPetroleum.com Power Design Inc. 11600 Ninth St. N., St. Petersburg 33716 727-210-0492; PowerDesignInc.us Gulfeagle Supply Inc. 2900 E. Seventh Ave., Tampa 33605 813-636-9808; GulfeagleSupply.com Dental Care Alliance 6240 Lake Osprey Drive, Sarasota 34240 941-955-3150; DentalCareAlliance.com PSCU 560 Carillon Parkway, St. Petersburg 33716 844-367-7728; PSCU.com March/Hodge Automotive 15438 N. Florida Ave., Tampa 33613 410-336-0210; MarchHodgeAuto.com Stock Development 2639 Professional Circle, Suite 101, Naples 34119 239-292-2721; StockDevelopment.com Bankers Financial Corp.

11101 Roosevelt Blvd. N., St. Petersburg 33716 727-823-4000; BankersFinancialCorp.com BlueGrace Logistics LLC 2846 S. Falkenburg Road, Riverview 33578 800-697-4477; MyBlueGrace.com Sunz Holdings LLC 1301 Sixth Ave. W., Bradenton 34205 941-306-3077; SunzInsurance.com; NextLevelAdmin.com Hit Promotional Products Inc. 7150 Bryan Dairy Road, Largo 33777 727-541-5561; HitPromo.net Neal Communities of Southwest Florida LLC 5800 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. N., Lakewood Ranch 34240 941-328-1111; NealCommunities.com Discovery Senior living 3461 Bonita Bay Blvd., Suite 100, Bonita Springs 34134 239-908-2921; DiscoverySeniorLiving.com Homes by WestBay 4065 Crescent Park Drive, Riverview 33578 813-938-1250; HomesByWestBay.com Scotlynn USA Division 15671 San Carlos Blvd., Fort Myers 33908 239-210-3000; Scotlynn.com

2020 Revenue 2019 Revenue % change $44,900.00 $38,100.00 17.84% $3,200.00 $2,420.00 32.30% $2,850.00 $2,500.00 14.00% $2,160.00 $2,200.00 -1.81% $1,400.00 $1,940.00 -26.31% $1,240.00 $1,385.00 -10.40% $1,025.00 $1,003.00 2.19% $940.00 $936.00 0.40% $896.50 $930.16 -3.56% $725.63 $909.20 -20.19% $725.00 $741.00 -2.10% $680.00 $717.00 -5.16% $653.00 $653.00 0.00% $582.50 $556.30 4.70% $561.00 $558.99 0.35% $545.00 $490.00 11.20% $510 .00 $523.00 -2.48% $458.00 $368.00 24.45% $451.50 $415.02 8.78% $450.95 $496.00 -9.08% $432.70 $412.50 4.89% $355.00 $366.30 -0.03% $347.70 $268.50 29.60% $342.00 $220.00 55.45%

Staff

Year Founded

Top Executive

Industry

Line of Business

225,000

1930

Todd Jones, CEO

Retailers

retail grocery

3,624

2005

Brett Morgan, CEO

Retailers

automotive sales and service

7,350

1991

Jeffrey Seaman, CEO

Retailers

furniture retailer

366

1981

Frank Crum, founder and CEO

Employee leasing

1,375

1896

Larry Rooney, president

Contractors

4,398

1915

Richard “Matt” Beall III, CEO

Retailers

retail apparel, home goods and gifts

1,070

1998

James Gettel, president

Retailers

automotive dealer

1,354

1895

James Ferman, president

Retailers

automobile and motorcycle dealerships

809

1959

Christina “Cina” Welch, president and CEO

Business/ Consumer services

property and casualty insurance

46

1981

Bill McKnight, president

Retailers

petroleum distributor

2,170

1989

Mitch Permuy, CEO

Contractors

electrical contractor

980

1973

Brad Resch, president

Distributor/ Wholesalers

distributor of roofing and building material products

4,550

1991

Jerry Rhodes, CEO

Health care

dental support organization with more than 300 affiliated dental practices in 20 states

2,450

1977

Charles “Chuck” Fagan III, president and CEO

Banking/Finance/ Investment

credit union service organization

800

1998

Tony March and Ernie Hodge, co-CEOs

Retailers

automotive dealership group

322

2001

Brian Stock, CEO

Homebuilders

developer and homebuilder

465

1976

John Strong, CEO and chiair

Business/ Consumer services

private, diversified financial services company

425

2009

Bobby Harris, president and CEO

Logistics

third-party logistics provider

348

2013

Steven Herrig, CEO

2,293

1981

225

PEO offering HR services including payroll, employee benefits, HR consulting and workers’ compensation insurance construction management, general building, design-build, preconstruction, concrete, road and bridge

C.J. Schmidt III, president and CEO

Business/ Consumer services Business/ Consumer services

promotional products wholesale supplier

1970

Patrick Neal, CEO

Homebuilders

land developer and homebuilder

4,200

1998

Richard Hutchinson, CEO

Senior living

developer and operators of senior living communities across the country

125

2009

Willy Nunn, president

Real estate/ Mortgage brokers

new home builder

300

2010

Ryan Carter, executive vice president

Logistics

logistics

workers’ compensation insurance

Dollars in millions

22

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

Caring for patients with a cancer diagnosis is our privilege.

WE PUT OUR PATIENTS FIRST Advocate Radiation Oncology is Southwest Florida’s local partner in the fight against cancer, bringing world-class radiation treatment closer to home. We are the region’s ONLY locally-owned and operated radiation oncology practice. Our team of

Port Charlotte Office 3080 Harbor Blvd.

Port Charlotte, FL 33952 (941) 883-2199

Cape Coral Office

board-certified radiation oncologists has decades of experience and is dedicated to working with each patient to develop a compassionate, personalized treatment plan.

909 Del Prado Blvd.

Cape Coral, FL 33990 (239) 217-8070

Fort Myers Office 15681 New Hampshire Court

Spanish-fluent doctors and care staff

Fort Myers, FL 33908 (239) 437-1977

Bonita Springs Office 25243 Elementary Way Bonita Springs, FL 34135 (239) 317-2772

361788-1

www.AdvocateRO.com

TOP PRIVATE COMPANIES Rank 25 26 27

THE LISTS

28 29 30 31 32 33 33 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Company Name 2020 Revenue Address 2019 Revenue % change Phone; Website Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. $310.00 11941 Fairway Lakes Drive, Fort Myers 33913 $290.00 239-561-4141; Owen-Ames-Kimball.com 6.89% Florida Medical Clinic PA $298.11 38135 Market Square, Zephyrhills 33542 $294.64 813-780-8440; FloridaMedicalClinic.com 1.17% DeAngelis Diamond $297.00 6635 Willow Park Drive, Naples 34109 $318.45 239-594-1994; DeAngelisDiamond.com -6.73% Ripa & Associates LLC $292.20 1409 Tech Blvd., Suite 1, Tampa 33619 $330.82 813-623-6777; RipaTampa.com -11.67% OMS Group Inc. $276.10 26 Lake Wire Drive, Lakeland 33815 $252.90 863-688-1751; OMSGroup.com 9.10% Ajax Building Corp. $235.00 425 Commercial Court, Suite J, Venice 34292 $296.00 813-792-3900; AjaxBuilding.com -20.60% Medallion Home $230.00 1651 Whitfield Ave., Suite 200, Sarasota 34243 $134.00 941-359-9000; MedallionHome.com 71.64% Brooks and Freund LLC $221.00 5661 Independence Circle, Suite 1, Fort Myers 33912 $140.00 239-939-5251; BrooksAndFreund.com 57.85% McNichols Co. $211.00 2502 N. Rocky Point Drive, Suite 750, Tampa 33607 $220.00 813-282-3828; McNichols.com -4.00% RNR Tire Express (SPF Management Co. LLC dba RNR $211 .00 Tire Express) 13922 Monroes Business Park, Tampa 33635 $183.87 813-977-9800; RNRTires.com 14.70% ASG Technologies $207.00 708 Goodlette Road N., Naples 34102 $225.00 239-435-2200; ASG.com -8.00% Gold Coast Eagle Distributing $206.00 7051 Wireless Court, Sarasota 34240 $197.00 941-650-3139; GCEagle.com 4.56% Caspers Co. (McDonald’s restaurants) $205.46 4908 W. Nassau St., Tampa 33607 $197.64 813-287-2231; CaspersCompany.com 3.95% Pepin Distributing Co. $201.00 4121 N. 50th St., Tampa 33610 $194.00 813-626-6176; PepinDistributing.com 3.60% Premier Sotheby’s International Realty $195.30 4001 Tamiami Trail, Suite 350, Naples 34103 $136.30 239-262-4242; PremierSothebysRealty.com 43.28% Amscot Financial Inc. $193.19 600 N. Westshore Blvd., Suite 1200, Tampa 33609 $239.57 813-637-6205; Amscot.com -19.36% Centauri Insurance $181.87 4081 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Suite 200, Sarasota 34240 $189.72 941-870-0204; CentauriInsurance.com -4.10% J.H. Williams Oil Co. Inc. $177.93 423 S. Hyde Park Ave., Tampa 33606 $224.48 813-228-7776; JHWOil.com -20.73% Hawkins Construction Inc. $163.33 1430 L&R Industrial Blvd., Tarpon Springs 34689 $158.25 727-938-9719; HawkinsNet.com 3.21% S-One Holdings Corp. $146.80 1605 Main St., Suite 503, Sarasota 34236 $147.60 800-453-9538; SOne.com -0.54% Sun State International Trucks LLC $146.10 6020 E. Adamo Drive, Tampa 33619 $134.20 813-621-1331; SunStateIntl.com 8.86% College HUNKS Hauling Junk & Moving $145.97 4411 W. Tampa Bay Blvd., Tampa 33614 $124.92 813-523-9003; CollegeHunksHaulingJunk.com 16.85% First Home Bank $141.42 700 Central Ave., St. Petersburg 33701 $78.88 727-440-6848; FirstHomeBank.com 79.28% B&I Contractors Inc. $141.23 2701 Prince St., Fort Myers 33916 $129.58 239-332-4646; BAndIFlorida.com 8.98% Tibbetts Lumber Co. LLC $130.41 3300 Fairfield Ave. S., St. Petersburg 33712 $100.08 727-322-1403; TibbettsLumber.com 30.30% Creative Contractors Inc. $120.00 620 Drew St., Clearwater 33755 $177.00 727-461-5522; CreativeContractors.com -32.03%

BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS

Year Founded

Top Executive

Industry

Line of Business

67

1891

Matthew Zwack, president

Contractors

construction management, general contracting and design-build

1,914

1993

Joe Delatorre, CEO

Health care

multispecialty physician group

168

1996

John DeAngelis, president

Contractors

construction management

750

1998

Chris LaFace, president and CEO

Contractors

civil and utility construction services in central Florida

50

1997

Jeffrey Miles, president

Business/ Consumer services

insurance, payroll, human resources and staffing services

185

1958

William Byrne, president

Contractors

construction management

75

1984

Carlos Beruff, owner

Homebuilders

homebuilder with new communities in Manatee and Sarasota counties

52

2000

Richard Freund, manager

Contractors

general contractor and construction management

350

1952

Scott McNichols, president

Distributor/ Wholesalers

metal service centers supplying and fabricating perforated and expanded metal, wire mesh and gratings products

171

2000

Larry Sutton, founder and CEO

Retailers

tire dealer franchisor

919

1986

Charles Sansbury, CEO

Technology

software and solutions provider for information management and IT systems

334

1996

John Saputo, president and owner

Distributor/ Wholesalers

beer distribution

3,241

1958

Blake Casper, chair and CEO

Hospitality/ Restaurant

quick-service restaurant chain

380

1967

Thomas Pepin, CEO

Distributor/ Wholesalers

beer and beverage distributor

1,448

1983

Budge Huskey, president and CEO

Real estate/ Mortgage brokers

real estate brokerage

1,600

1989

Ian MacKechnie, CEO

Banking/Finance/ Investment

financial services

44

2011

Rick Espino, president and CEO

Insurance

property and casualty insurance

16

1945

J. Hulon Williams III, president

Retailers

petroleum management

100

1975

John McCaugherty, president

Contractors

commercial construction

185

1994

Art Lambert, president and CEO

Manufacturing

provides materials, equipment, technical support in the printing industry

200

1982

Oscar Horton, president and CEO

commercial transportation equipment sales, service, parts

167

2005

Nick Friedman, president

Business/ Consumer services Business/ Consumer services

franchisor of moving and junk removal services

596

1999

Tony Leo, CEO

Banking/Finance/ Investment

lending, residential mortgage and community banking

812

1960

Gary Griffin, president

Contractors

mechanical, plumbing and electrical contractors and service provider

351

2009

Russ Hallenback, CEO

Retailers

lumber and building materials

82

1974

Alan Bomstein, CEO

Contractors

commercial construction

Staff

Dollars in millions

24

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

Your BUSINESS is our BUSINESS At Achieva, we understand that your business is unique. That’s why you need simple, cost-effective solutions to make managing your finances easy. We offer a variety of flexible business banking options tailored to help you meet your goals and the needs of your business.

Business Accounts

Business Lending

• Checking account options for every sized business

• Commercial real estate (owner-occupied & investment)

• Savings, Money Market &Certificate Accounts

• New construction (expansion or remodeling)

• Health Savings Accounts (HSA) & Retirement Services

• Equipment & vehicle loans • Small Business Administration (SBA) 7a & 504

Business Credit Cards • No annual fee

• Business loans under 50k

• Online Banking and Bill Pay

• Additional cards for your employees

Contact Us Accounts 800.593.2274

Business Services* • Merchant Services

• Remote Deposit Capture

• Business Insurance

• HR & Payroll Solutions

Lending 844.231.5901 Services 727.431.7662

Visit us online or in a branch www.achievacu.com/business

Insured by NCUA. Equal Housing Lender.

361920-1

* Products and services are provided through Achieva Credit Union’s business partners and are not NCUA insured, federally insured nor guaranteed by Achieva Credit Union.

LARGEST BANKS Rank 1 2 3

THE LISTS

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Bank Address Phone Number; Website South State Corp. (formerly CenterState Bank) 1101 First St. S., Suite 202, Winter Haven 33880 863-293-4710; SouthStateBank.com Raymond James Bank, National Association 710 Carillon Parkway, St. Petersburg 33716 727-567-8000; RaymondJamesBank.com First Home Bank 700 Central Ave., St. Petersburg 33701 727-440-6848; FirstHomeBank.com FineMark National Bank & Trust 8695 College Parkway, Fort Myers 33919 877-461-5901; FineMarkBank.com The Bank of Tampa 601 Bayshore Blvd., Suite 100, Tampa 33606 813-872-1200; BankOfTampa.com First Florida Integrity Bank 3580 Pine Ridge Road, Naples 34109 877-763-0244; FirstFloridaIntegrityBank.com TCM Bank, National Association 3501 E. Frontage Road, Tampa 33607 800-242-4770; ICBABancard.org Citizens Bank and Trust 2 E. Wall St., Frostproof 33843 863-635-2244; Citizens-Bank.com Sanibel Captiva Community Bank 2406 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel 33957 239-472-6100; SanCapBank.com Pilot Bank 5140 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa 33617 813-496-2600; Pilot.bank Members Trust Co. 14055 Riveredge Drive, Suite 525, Tampa 33637 888-727-9191; MembersTrust.com Bank of Central Florida 5015 S. Florida Ave., Lakeland 33813 863-701-2685; BankOfCentralFlorida.com First Citrus Bank 10824 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa 33618 813-926-2848; FirstCitrus.com Charlotte State Bank & Trust 1100 Tamiami Trail, Port Charlotte 33953 888-624-5454; CharlotteStateBankAndTrust.com Sabal Palm Bank 1950 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota 34236 941-361-1122; SabalPalmBank.com Englewood Bank & Trust 1111 S. McCall Road, Englewood 34223 941-475-6771; EnglewoodBankAndTrust.com Central Bank 20701 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa 33647 813-929-4477; CentralBankFL.com Edison National Bank 13000 S. Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers 33907 239-466-1800; EdisonNationalBank.com First National Bank of Pasco 13315 U.S. Highway 301 S., Dade City 33525 352-521-0141; FNBPasco.com Flagship Bank 29750 U.S. Highway 19 N., Clearwater 33761 727-451-2020; FlagshipBank.com Hillsboro Bank 509 West Alexander St., Plant City 33566 813-707-6506; HillsboroBank.com Gulfside Bank 333 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota 34236 941-303-4200; GulfsideBank.com Century Bank of Florida 716 W. Fletcher Ave., Tampa 33612 813-961-3300; CenturyBk.com

Top Executive

2020 Revenue

2019 Revenue

Change

$1,130.28

$643.42

75.66%

Steve Raney, CEO

$765.71

$992.31

-22.84%

Anthony Leo, CEO

$141.43

$78.88

79.29%

Joseph Catti, chair and CEO

$99.27

$93.90

5.71%

William West, CEO

$82.17

$69.85

17.64%

Garrett Richter, president, CEO and director

$65.86

$67.54

-2.50%

Damon Moorer, president and CEO

$48.51

$55.95

-13.30%

Greg Littleton, president and CEO

$36.42

$32.11

13.41%

Craig Albert, president and CEO

$28.25

$26.52

6.52%

Roy Hellwege, CEO

$25.36

$19.33

31.22%

John Largent, president and CEO

$24.92

$23.11

7.84%

Larry Flowers, president and CEO

$23.00

$21.28

8.11%

John Barrett, president and CEO

$22.03

$20.54

7.27%

Jake Crews, CEO

$21.93

$22.02

-0.40%

Neil McCurry president and CEO

$15.59

$11.57

34.68%

Jake Crews, CEO

$14.67

$15.46

-5.14%

John Thompson, president and CEO

$12.71

$10.31

23.28%

David DuVall, chair

$11.44

$11.46

-0.18%

Steven Hickman, president and CEO

$9.80

$8.92

9.83%

Robert McGivney, CEO and vice chair

$9.40

$1.37

586.63%

Mike Ward, president and CEO

$5.59

$6.37

-12.27%

Dennis Murphy, president and CEO

$4.72

$2.27

108.06%

Jose Vivero, chair and CEO

$4.01

$3.95

1.62%

Robert Hill, executive chair; John Corbett, CEO

NOTES: Raymond James Bank is a unit of Raymond James Financial Inc. Stuart-based Seacoast Banking Corp. acquired St. Petersburg-based Freedom Bank in 2020; South State Bank merged with CenterState Bank in 2020; and deals to acquire First Florida Integrity Bank, Hillsboro Bank and Pilot Bank were announced in 2021.

26

BUSINESS OBSERVER

Dollars in millions Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

The Most Beautiful Jewels in Lakewood Ranch

Center diamond 10ct radiant cut gia certified, fancy yellow vvs1 clarity, surrounded by approximately 50ct white diamonds.

San Marco Plaza | 8225 Natures Way Suite 115 | Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202 | 941-210-4052

361872-1

Call for Price

Price (in millions)

Project Market

Asset Class

Buyer

Seller

$225.75

Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay/Baypoint Plaza Tampa

hotel/office building

IP Capital Partners/GEM Realty Capital

UBS Realty Investors

2019

$214 .00

Don Cesar Hotel & Resort St. Pete Beach

resort hotel

Host Hotels & Resorts

Loews Hotels/Prudential Real Estate

2017

$199.00

Crosstown Center Tampa

offices

JDM Partners

USAA Real Estate

2019

$198.00

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa Fort Myers

resort hotel

Host Hotels & Resorts

Hyatt Hotels Corp.

2018

$180.00

Vinoy Renaissance Resort & Golf Club St. Petersburg

resort hotel

SCG Hospitality

FelCor Lodging Trust

2018

$174.00

34 office buildings Tampa Bay

offices

Workspace Property Trust

Liberty Property Trust

2016

$172.30

The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota Sarasota

resort hotel

Braemar Hotels & Resorts

SLAB LLC

2018

$157.10

WeWork Place, Westshore Center, Cypress Center Tampa

offices

Parkway Properties/Partners Group

Angelo, Gordon & Co./Fla. Commercial Realty

2019

$143.10

Urban Centre I & II Tampa

offices

Starwood Capital Group

Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association

2018

$131.50

Icon Harbour Island Tampa

apartments

Olympus Property

Related Group

2019

$126.30

Camden Pier District St. Petersburg

apartments

Camden Property Trust

American Land Ventures

2018

$125.10

Senior housing portfolio Tampa, Ruskin, etc.

senior housing

Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors

Welltower Inc.

2020

$123.60

Amazon fulfillment center Ruskin

industrial

Industrial Logistics Property Trust

Cole Office & Industrial REIT

2019

It happens like clockwork: every couple of weeks, there’s

another big data breach in the news. Millions of customer records exposed, with the personal data they contained sold and re-sold on the dark web.

It’s a publicity nightmare, of course—but it’s also a productivity nightmare.

Data breaches mean downtime, and downtime is expensive. How expensive? Start with the direct cost of paying employees for time they can’t work. Factor in the opportunity cost of work you can’t bill.

Comprehensive IT | Unified Communications | Advanced IT Security 855.941.TECH (8324) | info@southtech.com

28

BUSINESS OBSERVER

| www.southtech.com

Year Purchased

Then add the hit your company’s reputation will take when you suddenly can’t meet the deadlines you promised. It adds up fast.

Luckily, there’s SouthTech. Our award-winning services can help keep your data locked down and your systems up and running. There’s a reason we’ve been southwest Florida’s leading managed services provider for over 25 years.

Protect your data, and your reputation. Call SouthTech today to get started.

361597-1

THE LISTS

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE DEALS

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS

Project Market

Asset Class

Buyer

Seller

Year Purchased

$120.50

Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa Clearwater Beach

resort hotel

Westmont Hospitality Group

Glassratner Management & Realty Advisors

2016

$120.00

Nine15 Apartments Tampa

apartments

Blaze Partners

Carter

2020

$116.00

3800 Citibank Center Tampa

office park

Citigroup Technology Inc.

Zurich Alternative Asset Management

2016

$114.00

Trellis at the Lakes St. Petersburg

apartments

Stoneweg US/Hartford Investment Man.

Admiral Capital Group/ESG Kullen

2020

$112.40

Element Tampa

apartments

Northland Investment Corp.

Crescent Heights IP

2017

$110.25

Carlton Arms of Bradenton Bradenton

apartments

FLF Holdings

Mahaffey Apartment Co.

2018

$110.00

Tampa City Center Tampa

offices

Banyan Street Capital/Oaktree Capital Man.

Alliance Partners HSP

2018

$109.00

Gulfstream Isles Apartments Fort Myers

apartments

Lurin Capital

Starwood Capital Group

2019

$108.20

Sirata Beach Resort & Conference Center St. Pete Beach

resort hotel

Crescent Real Estate/Five Star Realty

Nicklaus family

2017

$108.00

Renaissance Center Tampa

office park

Vision Properties

Liberty Property Ltd. Partnership

2016

$104.20

Cortland Bayside Clearwater Beach

apartments

Cortland Partners

Bainbridge Cos.

2020

$103.60

Amazon fulfillment center Ruskin

industrial

Cole Office & Industrial REIT

USAA Real Estate

2016

Deals ranked in order of largest financial transaction over the past five years.

THE LISTS

Price (in millions)

Source: County property records

OWEN-AMES-KIMBALL COMPANY

Newly Completed Lovers Key Welcome & Discovery Center, Fort Myers Beach

MANAGING ICONIC BUILDING CONSTRUCTION IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA SINCE 1982

Fort Myers • Naples • 239-561-4141 • www.owen-ames-kimball.com • facebook.com/OwenAmesKimball.FL CGC1528725

AUGUST 2021 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com

BUSINESS OBSERVER

361592-1

Construction Management | General Contracting | Design-Build 29

PATENTS Company/Institution University of Florida Research Foundation Citrix Systems University of South Florida Siemens Energy Carrier Corp.

Harris Corp.

Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Magic Leap Arthrex

Patents issued 2015-2019 1,008 740 547 543 417 414 378 238 230

Total patents held 3,841 1,567 1,495 1,254 2,755 3,643 963 506 557

Based Gainesville Fort Lauderdale Tampa Orlando Palm Beach Gardens Melbourne Jacksonville Plantation Naples Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

PATENTS, 2020 Company/Institution Magic Leap Inc. University of Florida Research Foundation Citrix Systems Carrier Corp.

University of South Florida The Florida International University Board of Trustees Sensormatic Electronics Arthrex Metra Electronics

Patents issued 2020 268 242 216 153 130 61 58 58 49

Total patents held 506 3,841 1,567 2,755 1,495 261 633 577 220

Based Plantation Gainesville Fort Lauderdale Palm Beach Gardens Tampa Miami Boca Raton Naples Holly Hill

353590-1

THE LISTS

PATENTS, FIVE YEARS

30

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

R E A L E S TAT E A D V I S O R S

Let Our Professional Property Advisory Team Provide All The Commercial Services You Need!

Prime Commercial is a full service commercial brokerage rm offering a wide variety of commercial services, including property management p and brokerage services, to real estate owners and investors

During These Challenging Times Prime Commercial Is Offering Discounted Management & Lease Renewal Fees For Underperforming Assets!

Our team of professionals has the resources to guide our clients though the entire life cycle of an asset:

Acquisition • Ownership/Property Management • Disposition We work diligently to improve operational efficiency, tenant satisfaction and nancial sustainability.

The advisors and property managers at Prime Commercial are committed to providing our clients with the highest level of service and deliver all your commercial real estate needs.

Brokerage

From small commercial buildings to large institutionally-owned shopping centers, we can scale our services to meet the needs of our clients.

• Acquisitions • Dispositions • 1031 Exchange • Tenant

Representation

Property Management

• Seamless Management

Transition • Portfolio Management • OREO Management • Commercial Association Management

Facility Maintenance

Call Us Today ~ We Are Looking Forward To Our New Assignment!

361895-1

Serving The Florida West Coast & Central Florida Market Areas

TOP 50 CONTRACTORS Rank 1 2 3 4 5

THE LISTS

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 26 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

Company, Headquarters Manhattan Construction Group Naples Power Design St. Petersbug O-A-K/Florida Inc. (dba Owen-Ames-Kimball Co.) Fort Myers DeAngelis Diamond Naples Ripa & Associates Tampa Ajax Building Company LLC Oldsmar Brooks & Freund LLC Fort Myers Hawkins Construction Inc. Tarpon Springs B&I Contractors Inc. Fort Myers Creative Contractors Inc. Clearwater Connor & Gaskins Unlimited LLC Naples KHS&S Contractors Tampa APG Clearwater Willis Smith Construction Sarasota Crown Roofing LLC Sarasota Kellogg & Kimsey Inc. Sarasota Wright Construction Group Fort Myers Crowther Roofing & Sheet Metal Fort Myers Bandes Construction Co. Dunedin Woodruff & Sons Inc. Bradenton iConstructors LLC Tampa Envirostruct LLC Bonita Springs Conditioned Air Naples Bay to Bay Properties LLC Safety Harbor Stevens Construction Inc. Fort Myers TLC Diversified Palmetto Coast to Coast Pools Sarasota Halfacre Construction Co. Sarasota Sutter Roofing Sarasota TDS Construction Inc. Bradenton Diaz Fritz Group General Contractors Temple Terrace Gator Grading & Paving LLC Palmetto J.O. DeLotto & Sons Inc. Tampa Superior Pools Port Charlotte J2 Solutions Inc. Venice

Top Executives

2020 Revenue

2019 Revenue

Change

$1,400.00

$1,900.00

-26.32%

Mitch Permuy, Dana Permuy

$725.00

$741.00

-2.16%

Matthew Zwack, Jan Conrad, Abel Natali, John LaBarge, Frank Stanek John DeAngelis, David Diamond, Jason Sain, Reggie Morgan, Brett Diamond, Robert Lewis

$310.00

$290.00

6.90%

$297.00

$318.45

-6.74%

Chris LaFace

$292.20

$330.82

-11.67%

William Byrne, John Smith, Brian Desotell

$235.00

$296.00

-20.61%

Richard Freund, Jesse Olsovsky, David Lawless, Rose McCurry, Michelle Wise, Lenny Maenza Miguel Leyva, Michael Beausir, Josh Spooner, Aaron Leech, Todd Mullins Gary Griffin, Jason Grabowski, Brian Kelly, Mike Novo, Jeff Zenoniani Alan Bomstein, Joshua Bomstein, Alan Holderith, Jery Siminski, Jim Cacini

$221.00

$140.00

57.86%

$163.33

$158.25

3.21%

$141.23

$129.59

8.98%

$120.00

$177.00

-32.20%

Barry Connor, Craig Gaskins

$103.12

$99.31

3.84%

Michael Cannon, Erik Santiago, Jess Robinson, Neal Harris, Robert Luker, Rob Evans, Lynda Licht

$101.00

$146.74

-31.17%

Michael Henley, Chris Johnson

$97.10

$86.30

12.51%

David Sessions, F. John LaCivita, Taylor Aultman, Nathan Carr, David Otterness, Bretton Raymaker

$94.00

$130.00

-27.69%

Chris Copeland, Guil Geneau

$90.80

$113.00

-19.65%

Philip Kellogg, Charles Kimsey, David Pfeil

$86.00

$82.00

4.88%

Fred Edman

$85.90

$57.10

50.44%

Lee J. Crowther, Lee S. Crowther, Kevin Callans, Dan Mazon

$83.00

$89.00

-6.74%

Robert Bandes

$70.00

$60.00

16.67%

Donald Woodruff, Bruce Woodruff, Linda Wakeman

$68.00

$61.00

11.48%

Robert Healy, Michael Montecalvo, Kevin Murphy, Edward Smith, Tracy Pritchard, David Smith

$65.00

$94.01

-30.86%

Neil Simon, Steve McKenna Jr.

$60.00

$90.00

-33.33%

Timothy Dupre, Tim Russell

$55.33

$56.90

-2.76%

Joe Faw, Jerome Ciliento

$55.16

$80.22

-31.24%

Mark Stevens, Troy Hernly, Daniel Adams, Terri Sobeck

$54.60

$43.90

24.37%

Thurston Lamberson, Joanne Lamberson

$45.30

$47.10

-3.82%

Dustin Pointer

$45.30

$38.62

17.30%

Jack Cox, Reed Giasson, Tom Rees

$44.00

$29.00

51.72%

Steve Sutter, Doug Sutter, Brad Sutter

$43.80

$53.38

-17.95%

Christina Scherer Bock, Terri Scherer, Chris Paynter

$41.50

$51.50

-19.42%

Delvis (Del) Diaz

$38.00

$30.00

26.67%

Kevin Hicks, Mike Novak

$35.30

$31.80

11.01%

Craig Lamberson, Wayne Fernandez, Doug Littrell, Darrin Thomson, Jeff Doan

$33.70

$25.80

30.62%

Jon Krawczyk

$29.88

$24.20

23.47%

Jess Fronckowiak, David Fouche

$29.43

$30.47

-3.41%

Larry Rooney

Dollars in millions

32

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

TOP CONTRACTORS Rank 36 37 38 39 40 41

43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Top Executives

2020 Revenue

2019 Revenue

Change

Gary Curry, Jesse Curry

$29.00

$29.00

0.00%

Albert O’Donnell, Stephen O’Donnell, Patricia O’Donnell, Kristin O’Donnell

$26.42

$25.58

3.28%

Ben Burgess

$26.36

$22.81

15.56%

Jeffrey Smith, Utahna Smith

$26.00

$31.50

-17.46%

Ethan Adams

$23.10

$20.90

10.53%

Joseph Gonzalez, Frank Fistner

$22.83

$20.20

13.02%

Maurice Opstal

$22.00

$28.50

-22.81%

Greg Burkhart, Justin Burkhart, Sheril Burkhart

$21.90

$16.75

30.75%

Jason Swift, Jon Swift, Ross Russo, Justin Williams

$21.00

$23.00

-8.70%

Frederick Derr, Keith Ravazzoli

$20.86

$24.30

-14.16%

Michael McEnany

$20.50

$25.60

-19.92%

Megan Kitchner

$20.33

$17.05

19.24%

Tom Bradley, Todd Bradley

$20.30

$24.50

-17.14%

Burk Clark, Graham Clark, Cameron Clark

$20.00

$24.00

-16.67%

Bill Daubmann

$18.82

$17.64

6.69%

THE LISTS

42

Company, Headquarters Roofing by Curry Sarasota O’Donnell Landscapes Inc. Estero Burgess Civil LLC Tampa R.E. Crawford Construction LLC Sarasota Adams Group North Port ArtisTree Landscape Maintenance & Design Venice Stellar Development Inc. Sarasota Key Glass Inc. Bradenton Jon F. Swift Construction Sarasota Frederick Derr & Co. Sarasota McEnany Roofing Inc. Tampa Atlantic TNG LLC Sarasota Masonry Builders Inc. Tampa The Sinclair Group Tampa MY Shower Door/D3 Glass Fort Myers

BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS

Dollars in millions

BUSINESS EXIT STRATEGIES TALK TO AN EXPERT WHAT IS THE OPTIMAL TIME FOR YOU TO EXIT YOUR BUSINESS? Tony Dempsey, CEPA Certified Exit Planning Advisor Specializing in: • Exit Strategies • Succession planning • Business valuations

• Preparing a business for sale • Consultative services • 40 years experience

Serving clients along the entire West Coast of Florida If you are considering selling your business ...

CALL TONY DEMPSEY FOR A CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTATION

361584-1

941.932.5512 | tony@sbbrokers.com

SUNSTATE BUSINESS BROKERS

AUGUST 2021 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com

BUSINESS OBSERVER

33

LARGEST HOSPITALS

THE LISTS

System

34

Bed Count

Location

St. Joseph’s Hospital

1,062

Tampa

Tampa General Hospital

1,007

Tampa

Lee Memorial Hospital

874

Fort Myers

Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center

841

Lakeland

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System

788

Sarasota

NCH Baker Hospital

676

Naples

Morton Plant Hospital

650

Clearwater

AdventHealth Tampa

536

Tampa

Bayfront Health St. Petersburg

480

St. Petersburg

Gulf Coast Medical Center

431

Fort Myers

Shriners Hospitals for Children

420

Tampa

Brandon Regional Hospital

407

Brandon

Blake Medical Center

383

Bradenton

Winter Haven Hospital

361

Winter Haven

St. Anthony’s Hospital

358

St. Petersburg

Oglethorpe Recovery and Behavioral Hospitals

350

Tampa

Manatee Memorial Hospital

319

Bradenton

Mease Countryside Hospital

311

Safety Harbor

Cape Coral Hospital

291

Cape Coral

Medical Center of Trinity

276

Trinity

Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital

259

St. Petersburg

Bayfront Health Port Charlotte

254

Port Charlotte

Largo Medical Center

243

Largo

Fawcett Memorial Hospital

237

Port Charlotte

Venice Regional Bayfront Health

221

Venice

St. Petersburg General Hospital

219

St. Petersburg

Morton Plant North Bay Hospital

217

New Port Richey

Northside Hospital

217

St. Petersburg

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute

206

Tampa

Physicians Regional - Pine Ridge

193

Naples

AdventHealth Heart of Florida

193

Davenport

Bayfront Health Punta Gorda

190

Punta Gorda

AdventHealth North Pinellas

187

Tarpon Springs

Doctors Hospital of Sarasota

155

Sarasota

Palms of Pasadena Hospital

150

St. Petersburg

AdventHealth Zephyrhills

149

Zephyrhills

AdventHealth Wesley Chapel

145

Wesley Chapel

Windmoor Healthcare of Clearwater

144

Clearwater

South Florida Baptist Hospital

141

Plant City

Memorial Hospital of Tampa

139

Tampa

South Bay Hospital

138

Sun City Center

Lakewood Ranch Medical Center

120

Lakewood Ranch

Mease Dunedin Hospital

120

Dunedin

AdventHealth Dade City

120

Dade City

Park Royal Hospital

114

Fort Myers

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

LARGEST HOSPITALS System

BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS Bed Count

Location

Kindred Hospital Central Tampa

109

Tampa

Englewood Community Hospital

100

Englewood

96

Sarasota

AdventHealth Carrollwood

95

Tampa

The Willough at Naples

80

Naples

North Tampa Behavioral Health

78

Wesley Chapel

AdventHealth Connerton

77

Land O’Lakes

Kindred Hospital Bay Area-Tampa

73

Tampa

Bartow Regional Medical Center

72

Bartow

Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Largo

70

Largo

Centerstone Hospital

62

Bradenton

Select Specialty Hospital-Fort Myers

60

Fort Myers

Suncoast Behavioral Health Center

60

Bradenton

Lehigh Regional Medical Center

53

Lehigh Acres

Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of North Tampa

50

Lutz

Landmark Hospital of Southwest Florida

50

Naples

PAM Specialty Hospital of Sarasota

40

Sarasota

BayCare Alliant Hospital

34

Dunedin Source: American Hospital Association

NOTE: Lee Health oversees multiple individual hospitals including Gulf Coast Medical Center, Cape Coral Hospital, Health Park Medical Center and Lee Memorial Hospital. Morton Plant Hospital and Morton Plant North Bay Hospital are part of Morton Plant Mease Health Care.

SELL

INVESTMENT PROPERTY

THE LISTS

Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Sarasota

TAX FREE

Learn how a 1031 exchange may help you defer taxes, save money and maximize your investment dollars. Visit our website or call for a FREE consultation.

JEFFERSON F. RIDDELL

RYAN H. STULMAN Vice President rstulman@us1031.com

3400 S. Tamiami Tr. | Sarasota, FL 34239 | P: 941.366 .1300 | F: 941.366 .6973 AUGUST 2021 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com

361829-1

President jriddell@rlglawfirm.com

U.S. 1031

EXCHANGE SERVICES, INC.

Learn about 1031 exchanges VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.US1031.com BUSINESS OBSERVER

35

Company Name and Location Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Naples Michael Saunders & Co., Sarasota John R. Wood Properties, Naples Keller Williams Realty - Chadwick Group, St. Petersburg Premier Plus Realty, Naples Charles Rutenberg Realty, Clearwater Downing-Frye Realty LLC, Naples Keller Williams Realty of Central Florida, Lakeland Re/Max Alliance Group, Sarasota Smith & Associates Real Estate, Tampa

2020 Closed Sales Volume (in millions) $6,861.25 $3,422.14 $3,399.99 $3,117.77 $2,494.93 $2,359.59 $1,768.03 $1,715.20 $1,617.84 $1,606.12

Change vs. 2019 36.50% 28.00% 29.00% 8.50% 45.90% N/A 21.50% 6.20% 10.70% 9.10%

Total Number of Sides 2020 8,334 6,170 5,253 9,402 5,333 9,319 2,985 6,567 4,930 2,470

Change vs. 2019 22.70% 14.20% 24.20% -3.20% 18.10% N/A 6.40% -3.00% 5.20% -6.40% Source: RealTrends 500

CONCRETE THE NEXT GENERATION ADD US ON FACEBOOK:

PLANS FOR THE

READY TO GET STARTED?

FUTURE LET’S GET YOUR PROJECT MOVING TODAY!

GIVE US A CALL + 941.355.2988

361590-1

THE LISTS

RESIDENTIAL BROKERAGES

About Us and Our Services: Florida’s infrastructure is built upon the precast products we produce - new communities, FDOT roadways, commercial buildings... the underground sanitary and storm water systems that sustain them are all manufactured right here at our plant in Sarasota, Florida. Our team is comprised of creative problem solvers, attentive customer service professionals and a product manufacturing team that is second to none.

WWW.ATLANTICTNG.COM 36

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

1

0-

36 18 3

TOP EMPLOYERS BY COUNTY

THE LISTS

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

PASCO COUNTY

PINELLAS COUNTY

EMPLOYERS

STAFF

EMPLOYERS

STAFF

EMPLOYERS

STAFF

Hillsborough County Public Schools

26,763

Pasco School District

11,056

Pinellas County Schools

15,251

University of South Florida

8,671

Publix Super Markets

2,954

Publix Super Markets

7,055

Publix Super Markets

7,059

Pasco County

2,349

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

4,502

St. Joseph’s Hosptial

6,219

Pasco County Sheriffs Office

1,286

Raymond James & Associates

3,472

Tampa General Healthcare

6,080

New Port Richey Hospital

1,265

All Children’s Hospital

3,471

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

5,132

Florida Medical Clinic

1,149

City of St. Petersburg

3,408

Hillsborough County

5,098

Oak Hill Hospital

1,085

Morton F Plant Hospital

2,902

Comprehensive Health Management

4,693

PAS Community

1,032

Ascenda USA

2,885

City of Tampa

4,386

Morton Plant Hospital

1,036

Pinellas County Sheriffs Office

2,689

University Community Hospital

3,950

AdventHealth Zephyrhills

St. Petersburg College

2,466

926

Knowledge. Integrity. Results.

estructuring / Bankruptcy | Business Law | Commercial Litigation

• BUSINESS FORMATION • CORPORATE GOVERNANCE • FIDUCIARY DUTIES • INSOLVENCY MAT TERS • OUT-OF-COURT RESTRUCTURING • BANKRUPTCY REORGANIZATION • CHAPTER 7, CHAPTER 11 AND SUBCHAPTER V BANKRUPTCY CASES • GENERAL CORPORATE COUNSELING

Mike Dal Lago, Esq.

www.dallagolaw.com

999 Vanderbilt Beach Rd. Suite 200 Naples, FL 34108

Mike Dal Lago, Esq. | Christian Haman, Esq.

239-571-6877

ACCOLADES INCLUDE:

2021

2021

Business Law | Business Restructuring | Business Bankruptcy ing: Naples, Ft. Myers, Sarasota, Tampa & Orlando SERVING: Naples,

Ft. Myers, Sarasota & Tampa

239-571-6877

38

BUSINESS OBSERVER

www.dallagolaw.com

361594-1

999 Vanderbilt Beach Rd., Suite 200, Naples, FL 34108 | 4972 Royal Gulf Circle, Fort Myers, FL 33966

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

TOP EMPLOYERS POLK COUNTY

BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS SARASOTA COUNTY

MANATEE COUNTY

EMPLOYERS

STAFF

EMPLOYERS

STAFF

EMPLOYERS

STAFF

Polk County School Board

12,772

Sarasota County School Board

6,271

School Board of Manatee County

5,634

Publix Super Markets

11,612

SMH Health Care

5,830

Publix Super Markets

2,577

4,778

Publix Super Markets

3,654

Beall’s

2,363

GEI General Insurance Co.

2,456

Sarasota County

2,362

Manatee Memorial Hospital

2,183

City of Lakeland

2,311

PGT Industries

1,944

Manatee County

1,922

Winter Haven Hospital

2,030

Sarasota County Sheriff

953

Manatee County Sheriff’s Office

1,219

Polk County

1,919

Venice Regional Bayfront Health

906

Pacific Tomato Growers

1,139

Polk County Sheriffs Office

1,894

City of Sarasota

776

Tropicana Manufacturing

900

Mosaic Fertilizer

1,860

U.S. Postal Service

689

State College of Fla., Manatee-Sarasota

889

Watson Clinic

1,632

Lowe’s

655

IMG Academy

832

CHARLOTTE COUNTY EMPLOYERS

LEE COUNTY STAFF

THE LISTS

Lakeland Regional Medical Center

COLLIER COUNTY

EMPLOYERS

STAFF

EMPLOYERS

STAFF

Charlotte County School District

2,407

Lee Memorial Health System

12,784

Collier County Public Schools

6,559

Charlotte County

1,306

Lee County School District

12,434

Naples Community Hospital

3,094

Publix Super Markets

1,169

Publix Super Markets

5,153

Publix Super Markets

2,947

Fawcett Memorial Hospital

857

Lee County

2,782

Collier County

2,110

Peace River Regional Medical Center

835

Florida Gulf Coast University

1,927

Arthrex Manufacturing

1,520

Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office

639

Gartner

1,811

LFC Agricultural Services

1,471

Millennium Physician Group

577

City of Cape Coral

1,721

Collier County Sheriff’s Office

1,237

Home Depot

525

Lee County Sheriff’s Office

1,589

Ritz-Carlton Hotel

1,236

Charlotte Regional Medical

499

Home Depot

1,384

Arthrex

1,199

BKD Twenty-One Management Co.

463

U.S. Postal Service

1,368

Physicians Regional Medical Center

1,191

NOTES: BKD Twenty-One Management Co. is a subsidiary of Brookdale Senior Living; Ascenda USA is a Colorado-based call center company; LFC Agricultural Services is a subsidiary of Lipman Produce, an Immokalee-based produce and tomato firm.

SOURCE: Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Employer Database

AUGUST 2021 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com

BUSINESS OBSERVER

39

THE LISTS

COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS C COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS

ommunity foundations are grant-making public charities usually serving a local area or region. Community foundations combine resources from individuals, families and businesses to execute on a range of charitable missions and causes. Other kinds of foundations include family foundations, corporate foundations, public charity foundations and independent foundations.

In fiscal 2019, Florida was home to 3,156 foundations with assets of $53.4 billion and giving totals of $6.6 billion, according to data from the Florida Philanthropic Network, the Foundation Center and GuideStar. The Foundation Center and GuideStar track and analyze giving data to nonprofits and foundations, in addition to research and training. The organizations merged in 2019 and now operate under the name Candid.

Foundation Community Foundation of Sarasota County Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Sarasota

Assets $417,592,562 $357,445,580

Gifts $45,144,929 $55,034,775

Grants $30,931,921 $40,149,577

Community Foundation of Tampa Bay Inc. Pinellas Community Foundation

$278,048,789 $199,984,096

$36,216,519 $10,873,674

$20,151,869 $3,766,789

Community Foundation of Collier County GiveWell Community Foundation Inc., Polk County Southwest Florida Community Foundation, Fort Myers Manatee Community Foundation, Bradenton Charlotte Community Foundation Cape Coral Community Foundation

$199,975,672 $192,493,129 $134,951,570 $50,032,428 $12,911,085 $4,848,360

$36,888,134 $19,353,787 $13,997,185 $6,553,435 $923,185 $465,198

$13,674,780 $15,524,341 $5,642,682 $4,535,991 $705,250 $156,471

NOTE: Data is for fiscal year 2019. The Southwest Florida Community Foundation Inc. recently re-branded under the name Collaboratory.

Source: Columbus Survey of Community Foundations, individual foundations

TYPE OF FLORIDA FOUNDATIONS 2019 Type Community Corporate Family Health Legacy Independent Operating Public Charity

Number 22 21 699 7 872 60 1,475

%/Total Number 1% 1% 22% 0 28% 2% 47%

Assets $1,877,681,592 $488,510,851 $3,772,412,622 $668,968,151 $5,438,975,072 $384,436,815 $40,739,316,778

%/Total Assets 4 1 7 1 10 1 76

Total Giving $164,948,947 $49,341,043 $269,627,946 $60,167,382 $268,437,267 $4,402,918 $5,832,242,796

%/Total Giving 2% 1% 4% 1% 4% 0 88%

Source: Candid, 2021. Includes all nonterminated independent, corporate, community and operating foundations active (awarding at least $1 in grants) in the selected year. Sources of data for these foundations include IRS information returns (Form 990-PF for private organizations, Form-990 for community foundations), foundation reports and information reported to Candid on annual surveys of foundations. Assets are stated at market value. Total giving amount includes grants, scholarships and employee matching gifts; it does not include all qualifying distributions, e.g., loans, PRIs, set-asides, and program or other administrative expenses.

HOW SECURE IS

YOUR BUSINESS? According to the U.S. National Cyber Security Alliance, 60% of companies fail six months after a cyberattack.

If you are unsure about modern cyber threats, call us today.

Protect your business with confidence.

Scan code to learn how we can help your business.

361789-1

www. c s i n e tw o r k s . c o m

40

P r o v i d i n g S o ut h w e s t F l o r i d a

BUSINESS OBSERVER

with

|

941.379.4747

Dependable IT Service for

30

Years

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS

BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS

TOP 25 FLORIDA FOUNDATIONS BY ASSETS Name Shriners Hospitals for Children Orlando Health Inc. John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Inc. University of Florida Foundation Inc. Chris-Tex Inc. Anc Healthcare Inc. Withlacoochee River Electriccooperative Inc. University Community Hospital Inc. Trustees of Mease Hospital Inc Florida State University Foundation Inc. Step Up for Students Inc The Moorings Incorporated Raymond James Charitable Endowment Lakeland Regional Health Systems Inc. The Community Foundation of Sarasota County Inc. Oneblood Inc University Athletic Association Inc. The Batchelor Foundation Inc. Triumph Gulf Coast Inc The Miami Foundation Gulf Coast Community Foundation Greater Miami Jewish Federation Jupiter Medical Center Florida International University Foundation Inc. Harry-Anna Investment Fund Inc.

Location Tampa Orlando Miami Gainesville Pensacola Winter Park Dade City Tampa Dunedin Tallahassee Jacksonville Naples St. Petersburg Lakeland Sarasota St. Petersburg Gainesville Miami Beach Tallahassee Miami Sarasota Miami Jupiter Miami Umatilla

Total Assets 2019 $10,003,771,442 $4,483,329,867 $2,283,660,148 $2,103,290,237 $1,165,352,484 $1,158,076,635 $1,129,965,078 $1,125,458,239 $9,45,482,647 $750,191,436 $697,130,640 $674,178,247 $662,073,374 $564,009,609 $417,592,562 $380,356,904 $379,025,179 $376,558,197 $361,150,783 $358,919,569 $357,445,580 $346,599,743 $342,129,456 $338,892,035 $334,109,988

THE LISTS

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

TOP 25 FLORIDA FOUNDATIONS BY GIVING Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Name Anc Healthcare Inc Food for the Poor Inc. Step Up for Students Inc Florida Clinical Practice Association Inc. Central Florida Behavioral Health Network Inc. University of South Florida University of Florida Jacksonville Physicians Inc. Lutheran Services Florida Inc. University of Florida Foundation Inc John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Inc. Raymond James Charitable Endowment Early Learning Coalition of Broward County Inc Community Coordinated Care For Children Inc South Florida Behavioral Health Network Big Bend Community Based Care Inc. Cross International Inc Greater Miami Jewish Federation Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network Salvadoran American Humanitarian Foundation Inc. The Miami Foundation Aaa Scholarship Foundation Inc Hillsborough County School Readiness Coalition Inc. Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida Inc. Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida Gulf Coast Community Foundation

Location Winter Park Coconut Creek Jacksonville Gainesville Tampa Tampa Jacksonville Tampa Gainesville Miami St. Petersburg Fort Lauderdale Orlando Miami Tallahassee Pompano Beach Miami Jupiter Miami Miami Tampa Tampa Fort Myers Fort Myers Sarasota

Total Giving 2019 $841,582,393 $829,635,337 $624,325,720 $499,133,289 $194,984,747 $190,508,046 $166,460,859 $136,308,384 $126,021,072 $117,429,939 $105,029,535 $94,152,486 $87,411,414 $87,179,245 $81,063,928 $80,963,063 $71,157,815 $62,454,964 $60,945,920 $56,626,933 $44,883,801 $44,481,719 $42,825,903 $41,522,947 $40,149,577 Source: Candid, Florida Philanthropic Network, Foundation Center

AUGUST 2021 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com

BUSINESS OBSERVER

41

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

Leader handles a pair of surprises — one positive, one negative, with a core value front-andcenter: transparency.

MARK WEMPLE

JESSICA MUROFF was named CEO of United Way Suncoast in October 2019.

Jessica Muroff CEO, UNITED WAY

AT A GLANCE

ELIZABETH DJINIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

JESSICA MUROFF

W

hen Jessica Muroff took on the CEO role at United Way Suncoast, she had no way to know she would be mired in a global pandemic in four months.

Her focus as the organization’s newly minted leader was determining the challenges and opportunities it faced.

Soon after joining the nonprofit, she presented the board with an 18-month strategy for growth. Then two months later, there was a small wrench in her plan: the pandemic.

Within two days of COVID-19, United Way Suncoast, which covers DeSoto, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota counties, was

42

BUSINESS OBSERVER

Title/organization: CEO, United Way Change-making: Overseeing a $20M donation from Mackenzie Scott; guiding one of the region’s largest nonprofits through the pandemic.

100% working remotely. In quick succession, it launched the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund and raised almost $1.6 million.

Still, it wasn’t the easiest path forward, and Muroff was at the helm of it all. Her upbeat and enthusiastic nature darkens as she talks about the onset of COVID-19. “It was a lot to manage all at the same time and having to bring our team

together in big ways,” she admits before brightening again.

“One of the things I noticed we needed to really strengthen as an organization was our culture. How we came together to respond in COVID-19 made all the difference in really transforming the organization.”

One of Muroff’s core values is transparency. If employees understand what’s going on — the results, the work, the finances — they’re more likely to be invested. And they’ll be even more engaged if they themselves are connected to the planning process.

That’s why Muroff facilitated a process to encourage employees to create their own code that dictates company culture. The aptly named causeway code establishes key behaviors for employees — or what Muroff calls guideposts — such as assuming positivity, being present, keeping an open mind and being accountable.

“When you have that guide-

post, that helps you when you’re not only responding to change in our community and our environment but also having to change the way that we approach (things),” Muroff says.

Other tweaks she’s made to the culture have been more literal, like a daily huddle meeting. When United Way first went fully remote, Muroff instituted two huddles a day — one at the beginning of the workday and one at its close. With the physical watercooler gone, this served as a substitute.

But now employees crave the built-in connection. Because United Way Suncoast serves five counties, feeling part of a bigger team connects everyone to the organization’s mission on a daily basis. At the end of each meeting, one person shares something they’re happy about, something that’s hard and something they’re hoping for — a practice Muroff says employees have come to love.

Coming to United Way was a big change for Muroff herself. For four years, she ran the Girls Scouts of West Central Florida, a role she calls “the most fun job I have ever had in my life and probably will ever have.” But she joined United Way because she was ready to make a deeper community impact and improve and elevate other organizations. She chose the adjustment.

She’s already had multiple See MUROFF page 46

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

THE PLACE FOR SPACE IN

OVER

1.3 MILLION SF

MANAGED IN MARKET

2 SIOR & 5 CCIM D ES I G N AT I O N S

941.906.8688 | 1 South School Ave. Suite 600, Sarasota, FL 34237 | www.ian-black.com

361599-1

#theplaceforspace

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

Hospital CEO kept his team focused on the big picture — even amid the pandemic.

DAVID VERINDER has been president and CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System since 2014.

David Verinder PRESIDENT AND CEO OF SARASOTA MEMORIAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM BETH LUBERECKI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

W

hen you work i n health care, you always need to be able to think on your feet. “You get presented with challenges that are somewhat unpredictable, and you have to be able to adapt and work with different problems,” says David Verinder, the president and CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System.

Those kinds of skills were tested more than ever before in 2020, when health care

44

BUSINESS OBSERVER

AT A GLANCE DAVID VERINDER Title/organization: President and CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System Change: Leading the health care system through a period of major expansion of delivery methods — and a once-in-alifetime health crisis

providers were faced with the pandemic. “No one here, or anywhere, had ever gone through anything like this, so we were learning and trying to adapt to what the needs of the community were,” Verinder says. “It was listening to

FILE PHOTO

lots of experts and our team members to make judgments as we went along.”

But throughout the challenging year, Verinder, 54, also kept Sarasota Memorial Health Care System moving forward with what the organization calls its “most significant expansion” in its 95year history. That includes the building of a new hospital in Venice to serve the southern part of the county, the development of a comprehensive cancer institute to give oncology patients access to the latest treatments, technologies and clinical trials, and the planned construction of a state-of-the-art behavioral health pavilion at the Sarasota campus.

“We made a decision early on not to back off of our long-term strategies,” he says. “We felt, in a very real way, the need to be

able to multitask and keep our long-range plans moving on because those are the needs that are going to continue to grow for the community.”

C on s t a nt l y e v a lu a t i n g the needs of the people you serve and then changing and adapting where necessary to meet those needs are vital for continued success as a health care provider. That’s the reasoning behind all the new projects underway at Sarasota Memorial.

The development of a comprehensive cancer program, for example, came about because patient behavior demonstrated a clear issue. “We saw about 50% of patients diagnosed w ith cancer in Sarasota choosing to leave the area (for treatment), and we thought that was unacceptable,” Verinder says. “So we started looking into ‘How do we do cancer in a different way?’ and ‘How do we make it not only so people don’t feel like they need to leave the area but also so they would be attracted to the area to seek out care?’”

Verinder says a natural curiosity and a thirst for learning are musts when leading a large organization like SMH through change. “I think at the end of the day, we always have to keep asking the question ‘What more can we do for our community?’” he says.

See VERINDER page 46

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

PROVIDING ROOFING SOLUTIONS ROOF REPLACEMENT NEW CONSTRUCTION FOR YOUR ROOF REPAIRS & PRESERVATION MAINTENANCE PLANS BUSINESS CAPEX BUDGETING & DUE DILIGENCE DRONE INSPECTIONS & THERMAL IMAGING

ADERHOLD ROOFING Serving all of Florida Email : info@aderholdroofing.com

CALL NOW! Service Disable Veteran Owned Business

CCC1329750 CGC1520242

361593-1

(813)681-3735

AderholdRoofing.com

BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

MUROFF from page 42 curveballs thrown at her since coming on board — one of the negative variety, such as COVID-19, and one of the “so good you almost can’t believe it” type. That would be the $20 million donation the nonprofit received from MacKenzie Scott, a philanthropist and Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife.

When Muroff first received the email from Scott’s team, she genuinely thought it was fraud. In fact, she took a picture and forwarded it to her chief advancement officer asking if it could be a phishing scam. The email’s scant information and lack of a branded signature worried her.

But when she agreed to talk to the person over the phone, the dots started to connect.

“When they told me who

it was and the amount that we were get t i ng, my jaw dropped,” she says. “I was like: ‘I’ve got to be on Candid Camera someplace. This has got to be a joke.’”

The nonprofit is still in the process of determining how to best use the gift, Muroff says, putting together a task force that will make recommendations to its board by the end of August. She wants it to be a “community gift, not a United Way gift.”

That approach is pivotal to the way she sees her work and her life. She gets up every day to lift up others.

“Whether that be individuals in our community who need help or a member of my team who wants to talk through a challenge, I am driven by making an impact,” she says. “The fact that this is what I get paid to do is just a dream.”

I have Buyers.

Are you Selling?

361798-1

46

BUSINESS above commercial property listing websites depending on product type.

Listings OBSERVER will be marketed on the

I think at the end of the day, we always have to keep asking the question ‘What more can we do for our community?’

David Verinder

SALE

ACT R T ON RC E D Whitfield Business Center UN 7060 & 7096 15th St E Sarasota, FL 34243

Income producing multi tenant industrial investment in Sarasota, Florida! Highlights Over $530,000 of annual gross income. 55,392 total s/f. 3 buildings. 49 units. Ample parking. Rear loading zone. Professional property management available. Excellent 1031 exchange investment opportunity.

LISTING SYNDICATION

www.cbcworldwide.com

Being open to new ideas or approaches is also key. “You need to put a lot of your biases on hold or on the side and listen to as many different people as you can,” he says.

That’s why he’s found it important to have a good team in place. “When we get faced with a challenge, be it a hurricane or some type of infrastructure problem in the hospital or the pandemic, if you’ve assembled a team around you of people that you trust, you’ll work together to come up with solutions,” he says. “Everyone brings a different aspect to the problem, and that’s where you come up with the best answers.”

Although Verinder mostly looks ahead to anticipate what the communit y might require down the road — more

change — he’s also not afraid to look back.

“I think you always have to go back in and look at what made you go down a certain path,” he says. “If you make a decision and never look back, you never learn from that.

And there are always alternatives for how to do something. … You can never be afraid to say we maybe should have gone in a different direction.

If you let your pride get in the way, I think you’ll find a less desirable outcome at the end.”

COMMERCIAL

CALL ME TODAY

to discuss how we can sell your commercial property!

VERINDER from page 44

Mousa Wakileh

Certified International Property Specialist Commercial Real Estate Advisor

(941) 960-9336 Mousa.Wakileh@CBRealty.com 100 N Tamiami Trail | Sarasota, FL 34236

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

ERIKA DONALDS founded the Naples-based Optima Foundation in 2017.

Erika Donalds FOUNDER, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF OPTIMA FOUNDATION MARK GORDON MANAGING EDITOR

AT A GLANCE

E

Title/organization: President and CEO, Optima Foundation

ERIKA DONALDS

r i ka Dona lds never set out to be a changemaker — and now a statewide rainmaker — in the area of charter schools.

But she got there the way many entrepreneurs do: She saw an unmet need and figured out a way to fill it. That goes back to 2013, when she a nd her husba nd, By ron, struggled to find schools with a classical , broad-based education in Naples for their three sons. First she served a term on the Collier County School Board. (Byron Donalds is also in politics; a Republican, he’s a two-term state representative from Naples who ran for and won a seat in U.S. Congress in 2020.)

When Erika Donalds soon AUGUST 2021 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com

Change-making: Building a statewide organization to launch and support charter schools discovered facilitating change from a five-person elected political board was, at a best, a frustrating experience, she cha nged d i rec t ion s. She founded the Optima Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to support and help charter schools statewide.

While each Optima-backed school’s curriculum and focus is customized for the community, the foundation works under the Hillsdale College Bar-

STEFANIA PIFFERI

ney Charter School Initiative.

Serving K-12 students, the initiative is based on a classical education in liberal arts and sciences, with instruction in the principles of moral character and civic virtue. The approach also utilizes the Socratic method of instruction.

“We are educating parents about what’s possible, and we are raising the bar on what’s possible,” says Donalds, 41.

“Public schools have been a monopoly for years, for decades, and parents rea lly didn’t know they had other options.”

The Naples-based Optima Foundation, with 13 employees and $905,000 in revenue in its most recent fiscal year, helps new and potential charter schools with everything from the application to initial fundraising to hiring principals. Donalds, a CFO and COO of a New York investment firm in a past career, says most charter schools fail from that lack of business experience — not academics.

The foundation’s revenue

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

With a fearless entrepreneurial spirit, Erika Donalds tackles change in what has become a polarizing part of the community: education. comes from a student enrollment fee, which it uses, in turn, to provide executive administration, back office, IT, compliance and more for a charter school. (A charter school, different than a private school, is a tuition-free public school created through an agreement, or charter, between the school and county school board. The agreement, according to the state Department of Education, “gives the charter school a measure of expanded freedom relative to traditional public schools in return for a commitment to higher standards of accountability.”)

Optima currently has three schools, in Naples, Jacksonville and Stuart on the Treasure Coast. All the schools have waiting lists for students, and expansion plans are already underway while Optima looks at opening in other markets, including possibly Lee County.

The target is to launch at least one school a year for the next decade. “We want to be the standard-bearers of choice school and learning education in Florida,” Donalds says.

Donalds says one key to Optima’s early success has been not only hiring smart people and getting out of their way but also hiring at headquarters-like levels from the beginning. Donalds calls that strategy a must-do when leading a change-based mission.

“I didn’t start with the staff accountant,” she says. “I started See DONALDS page 50

BUSINESS OBSERVER

47

Jared Meyers THE CHANGE-MAKERS

FOUNDER AND CHAIR OF SALT PALM DEVELOPMENT AND LEGACY VACATION RESORTS LOUIS LLOVIO TAMPA BAY EDITOR

W

e’ve all heard someone say put you r money where your mouth is.

It’s not clear if anybody ever told Jared Meyers that, but even if they didn’t, he did it anyway.

Meyers, 45, is the founder and chair of St. Petersburgbased Salt Palm Development and Legacy Vacation Resorts and an advocate — apostle, really — for B corporations.

B corporations, also known public-benefit corporations, are “businesses that meet the highest standards of verified

social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose,” according to B Lab, a global network of B corporations.

Basically, B Corps are companies created with altruism built into their DNA. In Meyers’ view, that means corporations have a responsibility to the communities they serve and to the larger world. At minimum, he says, corporations should do no harm. But his personal belief is a company should only exist if it is a “net positive contributor and making the world better.”

He bel ieves compa n ies

AT A GLANCE JARED MEYERS Title/organization: Founder and chair of Salt Palm Development and Legacy Vacation Resorts Change-making: Leading the way in helping startup and established businesses become B Corporations, including his own companies need to elevate communities all year and not just “rely on a year-end charitable donation or end-of-life gift.”

Meyers thinks that most corporations should consider becoming a B Corp. He says by structuring a company as a B Corp, the responsibility to give back is laid out in the governing documents and makes a business legally obligated to make a positive impact.

Plus, he says being designated a B Corp allows a compa-

ny to differentiate itself from competitors, attract investors and retain better employees.

To help push the idea, Meyers created Florida for Good.

The organization helps companies become more sustainable and focused on the planet instead of just looking at profit.

For Meyers, the subject of corporate responsibility is not just talk.

Salt Palm has pledged to put at least 50% of its profits back into St. Petersburg and the state. Since 2018, Meyers says the company, a socially conscious developer of sustainable housing, has reinvested more than $600,000 to support community efforts.

Meyers says this profit-sharing approach leads Salt Palm to use more environmentally friendly building products than the market demands and to be carbon-neutral even if it means a smaller profit in the short term.

And LVR, as the travel com-

YOUR PROACTIVE PARTNER Managing the “big books” of your business is time-consuming even in the best circumstances, but you are not alone. Reinvest your time and energy wherever it matters most with payroll and tax administration, human resources, risk management, bookkeeping and more from the best professional employer organization (PEO) in the business. Our responsive, experienced team will work proactively to improve your bottom line, leaving you free to focus on growing your successful business.

The Integrity Advantage Save Time Reduce Risk Cut Costs Enhance Benefits Minimize Liability Recruit Better Talent

(941) 621-9481 | IntegrityEL.com 48

BUSINESS OBSERVER

358015-1

Put a proactive partnership with Integrity Employee Leasing to work for you today.

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

Jared Meyers is pushing the idea of B Corps to get businesses to give back more to their communities.

COURTESY

JARED MEYERS is pushing the idea of B Corps to get businesses to give back more to their communities.

How About a Lift to work.

See MEYERS page 50

Goodbye Backache!

BDI Lift Desk Go from standing to sitting, and back again with a durable, electronically powered leg system that can be controlled with the touch of a keypad.

Whether working from a corner office or the corner of your living room, Copenhagen Imports has something to fit your specific needs. We carry a wide variety of beautiful, flexible, and functional office furnishings for any size space!

FURNITURE+LIGHTING+ACCENTS+INTERIOR DESIGN 7211 S. Tamiami Trail Sarasota, Florida 34231

*See Sales Associate for Details

Mon.-Sat. 10-6 • Sun. 12-5 941-923-2569 copenhagen-imports.com

AUGUST 2021 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com

361418-1

copenhagen imports

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

pany is known, has committed to donate 1% of its revenue to the community. It’s also launched initiatives to institute living wage programs, recycling programs and committed to reducing its ecological footprint.

Meyers says the approaches from both companies allow him to align his values with the work he does each day.

“It was important to me that any company that I am a part of be a positive agent of change and that it transparently do so,” he says. “There is simply too much greenwashing out there, and B Corps are the only way I know to easily

differentiate companies that are actually doing what they say from ones that are merely good at marketing.”

Meyers’ push to improve how businesses operate comes in part from his desire to live a fulfilling life that makes the world better for others. And he wants his actions to set an example for his 15-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter to “help them embrace the concept of interdependence.”

He says that when we view ourselves as separated from the world around us, we lose our humanity and are more likely to exploit instead of being compassionate. “When I think about giving back, I think of living in harmony, living sustainably,” he says.

“We cannot take more than we give and have balance in life. We’ve seen our imbalanced economic system lead to

X-Chair™ is an office chair like no other. 10 ergonomic adjustments allow it to fit your body like a glove. Fine-tune the arms, seat, back, headrest, and lumbar until you‘re relaxing in the most comfortable seat of your life. Choose from vibrant color and material options to create a truly individualized workspace.

BUSINESS OBSERVER

49

BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

DONALDS from page 47 with a higher level person.”

Donalds thought she might have some trouble finding people for Optima, but she found it was the opposite: When she went to some trusted advisers with her plan and mission, they quickly bought into her plan and signed on.

Donalds says finding teachers has also been easier than she anticipated, once she and her team have gotten the Optima mission out. “They say there’s a teacher shortage, but we have a flood of teachers coming in here,” she says.

Of course, in education, which has grown increasingly political, not everything has gone as smooth for Optima — reminding Donalds that big change doesn’t come easily. She cites Treasure Coast Classical Academy in Mar-

tin County, the foundation’s first school, as one example.

Charter school opponents, she says, put up several obstacles, from permits to traffic concerns. “They were trying to throw anything to block us from building our building,” she says.

Donalds says a big takeaway from that experience, which she and her team have used again, is to turn negatives to positives. “We talked about the school and what we are going to do to help the kids,” she says.

Going back to how she went from business to education in the first place, Donalds says her advice for others seeking to create big change is to keep t he solutions pa ra mount.

“I take it in stride,” Donalds says. “I get that there are forces out there who don’t want us to succeed. It’s like, OK, what does our solution tree say?”

MEYERS from page 49 wealth inequality, racial injustice and the current climate crisis. To address issues like these, we need more than words.”

For those wanting to follow his footsteps, Meyers has one piece of advice and one warning: He suggests to anyone who wants to start or transform their company to find a community of people or companies that have been through the process. These are people who can help minimize mistakes and provide support.

As for the warning: When he first made the switch from a company where the goal was maximizing profit to one that focused on “stakeholder prosperity,” he entrusted the work to some who saw the shift “as nice-to-have rather than a necessity.”

“Becoming a force for good

is not a ‘check the box’ activity,” Meyers says. “It is constant, never ending and needs to be at the core of your decisions. To change the DNA, a company needs buy-in from the bottom to top of the organization and in both hearts and minds. However, when you do so, it will be incredibly rewarding, and its rewards go far beyond profits.”

To change the DNA, a company needs buy-in from the bottom to top of the organization and in both hearts and minds.

However, when you do so, it will be incredibly rewarding, and its rewards go far beyond profits.

Jared Meyers

Serving Our Community since 1953.

Insurance. Bonding.

Employee Benefits.

7120 Beneva Road, Sarasota, FL 34238

atlasinsuranceagency.com

(941) 366-8424 361595-1

Contact Information:

National Network. Local Presence. Personal Service.

Successful individuals and businesses have unique goals.

As the leading choice in Southwest Florida for business and residential insurance, Atlas Insurance will help you define your needs, handle the details and provide unmatched personal service.

50

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

The Gold Standard in Commercial Real Estate Success LAKEWOOD RANCH SOLD

The SRQ Gold Team led by Susan Goldstein brings experience secured by closing over $120 million in business, tenacity, and industry leading resources to all commercial real estate transactions. Choosing SRQ Gold for your next real estate project ensures a Gold Standard success.

Setting the Gold Standard since 2005, Susan has facilitated commercial

$4,735,000 6802 Energy Court

real estate transactions for countless individuals, national corporations,

BRADENTON SOLD

local businesses, and developers across Sarasota and Manatee counties.

This top-producing commercial advisor at Michael Saunders & Company continues to leverage both local expertise and marketing prowess to allow her clients to accomplish their goals.

Developing multi-tiered marketing tactics, thoughtfully utilizing leading

$2,400,000 1206 Manatee Ave W

SARASOTA LEASED

resources within her extensive network, and strategically leveraging a property’s characteristics to optimize value, Susan always works to meet the goals and needs of her clients.

Her expertise and industry instincts prove time and again she brings clients the highest level of success and service while continuously raising the standard in commercial real estate.

1777 Main St

SUSAN GOLDSTEIN

CCIM, MBA, Senior Commercial Advisor

941.350.9747

361962-1

susangoldstein@michaelsaunders.com srqgold.com

Teri Hansen THE CHANGE-MAKERS

CEO, CHARLES & MARGERY BARANCIK FOUNDATION, SARASOTA AMANDA POSTMA SARASOTA-MANATEE WRITER

W

hen Teri Hansen was brought on as president and CEO of the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, she knew she was going to tackle big things.

“Money helps, but it’s not really what makes the change,” she says.

Created in 2014 by philanthropists Charles and Margery Barancik, the Sarasota private family foundation has $487.04 million in assets — and is growing that quickly. It works with a host of partners to address challenges in education,

humanitarian causes, arts and culture, the environment and medical research that impact the Sarasota community. The organization has grown and matured since Hansen took the position in 2015, including adding staff members and increasing assets.

Part of the added assets came after the founding couple died in 2020 following a car accident on Longboat Key. A donation of nearly all their wealth was made to the foundation upon their passing.

Hansen says the funds will be available by the end of next year. At that point, the foundation’s assets will be worth

AT A GLANCE TERI HANSEN Title/organization: CEO, Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, Change-making: Overseeing a large growth in assets and working with community partners to distribute the funds about $700 million.

“That’s seven- or six-fold from what we were,” she says.

In addition, the growth has allowed Hansen to broaden the scale of the foundation’s work.

Her overarching goal with the foundation? Work toward long-term systemic change.

“We don’t want to put BandAids on things,” she says.

When Hansen, for example, saw Florida holds the infamous title of having the highest number of children aged 3 and under being removed from homes for six years in a

row, she didn’t sit idly by.

The first thing she did was ask questions — one of her ha l l ma rk s of faci l itat i ng change in any organization or situation. “What are the root causes?” she says. “How can we help or change this?”

Then she involved Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties to get to the bottom of the situation, following another change-ma k ing ha llmark: collaboration.

“That’s the kind of work we like to do,” Hansen says, noting the foundation works on grants and initiatives, but that’s not the only work the team focuses on.

Something like this type of change requires interviews, research and data collection.

Then Hansen brings in partners, and they go over the findings together. “We figure out what can be done,” she says.

Hansen credits her parents

LIKE US WEEKLY? YOU’LL LOVE US DAILY

Receive the top business news of the day in your inbox.

SIGN UP TODAY! 361889-1

www.BusinessObserverFL.com/EmailSubscribe

52

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

COURTESY

TERI HANSEN seeks to find community partners when tackling big projects.

See HANSEN page 56

361693-1

for why she’s passionate about her work today. “I didn’t really know any different,” she says.

Growing up, she remembers helping her father load up the family station wagon with food, clothes and other essentials and driving to Tijuana. W hen they arrived, her father would open up the supplies to children living around there. They did this at least once a month.

“That’s just what people did,” she says. “It’s part of being in a communit y or society.”

When Hansen discovered t he Barancik Foundation, she had been at the helm of the Venice-based Gulf Coast

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

Community Foundation, one of the largest communit y foundations in Florida, for over a decade. But she rather quickly embraced the Barancik Foundation opportunity.

“I knew their values, and that matched with mine,” she says.

Those values and passion have led to a 30-year career working in the foundation business. Her father used to tell her the old saying, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”

Hansen loves that she can confidently say she’s never worked a day in her life. “It just fits what and who I am,” Hansen says. “I’m privileged to be in a position where the work I do makes a difference.”

Of course, not everything has gone according to plan in her career.

“The biggest mista ke is t hin k ing I cou ld, in fact,

Teri Hansen grew up with the passion to help others instilled in her. It shows in her work.

AUGUST 2021 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com

BUSINESS OBSERVER

53

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

Physician with a rock ‘n’ roll side has long sought to facilitate big change — in an industry that sometimes moves slowly.

DR. ARIE DOSORETZ co-founded Advocate Radiation Oncology in 2019.

Dr. Arie Dosoretz

AT A GLANCE

FOUNDER, MANAGING PARTNER ADVOCATE RADIATION ONCOLOGY

Title/organization: Managing partner, Advocate Radiation Oncology

MARK GORDON MANAGING EDITOR

C

hanging the status quo doesn’t keep Dr. Arie Dosoretz up at night.

Instead, his anxiety comes from when he doesn’t believe he’s doing enough to change the core of what’s been his career focus: delivering community-based cancer care.

Dosoretz, 39, is the managing partner with Fort Myersbased Advocate Radiation Oncology, which has five locations, four in Southwest Florida and one in Tamarac, Broward County. When Dosoretz and his founding colleagues launched the practice in late 2019, the goals were to create a medical company where top-shelf customer service is a daily must-do; decisions

54

STEFANIA PIFFERI

BUSINESS OBSERVER

on equipment and personnel are based on patient need first, not cost; and people get world-class cancer treatment where they live, without driving to Tampa or Miami or flying to Houston or New York.

“There is real demand for high-level cancer care services in Southwest Florida,” Dosoretz told the Business Observer after the first office opened. “While that sounds simple, it’s actua lly quite disruptive.”

Dosoretz took a big step in the disruption path earlier this year when he announced Advocate Radiation Oncology intends to bring a proton therapy center to the region. The stateof-the-art machine is the first of its kind on the west coast of Florida and one of only a few statewide. (Others are in Miami and Orlando.) Dosoretz declines to disclose the price for the center, which will be manufactured, installed and

DR. ARIE DOSORETZ

Change-making: Creating a community-based oncology practice that prioritizes customer service

serviced by Belgium-based Ion Beam Applications S.A. But a practice that makes this kind of investment, he says, typically spends more than $20 million. “Proton machines are far and few between,” Dosoretz says. “People literally will fly across the country for access to a proton machine.”

A Business Observer 40 Under 40 winner in 2020, Dosoretz traces his passion for change and shaking things up to when he was a kid. (He traces his passion for medicine to that too, given his father, grandfather and sister are all oncologists.) One of his he-

roes, outside his family, while growing up was Bob Dylan — who built a six-decade career and music and performing on constantly changing his tunes and persona. “Dylan is 20 people in one,” Dosoretz says.

Although Dosoretz played guitar and sang in a rock band in high school, he knew medicine would be his career. But he didn’t want to be “just” a doctor. He wanted to mix his passion for helping others with big ideas to change how an industry operates. “I’ve always been driven to combine arts and science,” he says.

“It’s interesting to me how to be creative with an area that’s very dogmatic and static.”

That’s one of the reasons why in medical school, at the University of Pennsylvania, he pursued a dual Doctor of Medicine and Master of Business Administration degree. It was a rare move for a physician, but Dosoretz sought to understand the business side of health care like an entrepreneur. “I didn’t want (an MBA) to be just another accreditation, just a way to open doors,” he says.

Dosoretz recalls some fellow MBA students razzing him, that he was making a mistake by focusing on health care because in most cases anyone with an advanced degree can do it. “They were all in biotechnology, and they were always saying ‘If you don’t have IP to protect, then you don’t have a barrier to entry,’” he says.

See DOSORETZ page 56

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

JUST ASK!

TM

LIST WITH US! COMMERCIAL REALTOR

LET’S TALK!

TM 359602-1

STAN RUTSTEIN

3007 MANATEE AVENUE WEST BRADENTON, FL 34205 OFFICE: 941-758-7777 CELL: 941-539-8313 STAN@STANRUTSTEIN.COM WWW.STANRUTSTEIN.COM

BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS

change the world,” she says.

One big example? Hansen previously sought to make it easier for families to access Medicaid. She contacted Medicaid insurance providers to learn more and find out what she could do to change it. But ever y time she got someone interested in helping, they would leave their position. Turnover was just that high, Hansen says. This went on for 18 months.

“It was like trying to catch a fly with your hand,” she says.

“It was a mistake thinking we could tackle something like that.”

As a philanthropic organization, the Barancik Foundation has the resources and tools to change the world — or at least greater Sarasota. But Hansen says those are wasted

without the experts and partners involved. That goes back to her ideal that sustainable change requires a commitment to collaboration. “We connect everything we do so there is no one-off,” she says.

“Every grant is connected.”

At one point, for instance, one of the nonprofits the foundation partners with was in need of a thermometer. As the connecting puzzle piece, the Barancik Foundation was able to connect that nonprofit with another organization that had the thermometer.

Connections like that help put the foundation under the communit y spotlight — a place Hansen and her team relish, now with a heightened sense of urgency given the increase in funding.

“Some foundations sit on the money,” she says. “We try to be responsive.”

DOSORETZ from page 54 But in Dosoret z’s v iew, doing health care with a focus on patients, though that sounds like a simplistic bumper sticker, is, if done right, a barrier to entry. Seeing all the creative disruption at Penn — four of his classmates founded Warby Parker, now a billondollar eyeglass brand, while in school — only drove him more to create that change in health care. “I began to think that cancer care,” he says, “really any form of health care, shouldn’t be any different.”

An important lesson Dosoretz has learned in nearly two years of helping to guide Advocate Radiation Oncology is change requires constant communication of the plan and consistent buy-in. That goes for employees, as well as patients and their families.

“Getting buy-in to the plan is one of the most important things in business,” he says.

“But that’s not easily won.”

Dosoretz addresses that, in part, by making sure he has a variety of viewpoints. That also helps avoid groupthink.

“The most dangerous point about being in an echo chamber is at some point you don’t realize you are in an echo chamber,” he says. “But when you have a diversity of opinions you can always be look-

The most dangerous point about being in an echo chamber is at some point you don’t realize you are in an echo chamber.

Dr. Arie Dosoretz

361787-1

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

HANSEN from page 53

56

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

The Home Service Pros Who Care

The Area’s Most Trusted Name since 1974

New AC System

Starting at

4,800!

$

+ 12 Months 0% Financing Available!

Some restrictions apply. This offer applies to a 1.5 T, 14 SEER HVAC System with heat strip and thermostat included. Includes reconnection to existing ductwork, wiring, refrigerant piping and drain. Not valid on prior purchases and cannot combine offers.

Limited time offer. Contact Aqua Plumbing & Air for details. Offer expires 9/30/2021.

250 OFF

$

Whole House Water Treatment System Cannot be combined with other offers.

Contact Aqua Plumbing & Air for details.

Offer expires 9/30/2021.

100 OFF

$

Reme Halo Air Purifier

Cannot be combined with other offers.

Contact Aqua Plumbing & Air for details. Offer expires 9/30/2021.

FREE

Water Quality Analysis ($99 value)

Cannot be combined with other offers. Must present coupon at time of service.

Contact Aqua Plumbing & Air for details.

Offer expires 9/30/2021.

!

941.866.6210 W O N L L CA or visit www.AquaPlumbingSarasota.com

Lic # cAc1816020 • PLbg cFc1428223 • ELEc Ec13009313

361245-1

SEE HOW MUCH MORE YOU CAN SAVE!!

Air Conditioning

Plumbing

Electrical

Water Treatment

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

Antoinette HayesTriplett fights to help people, especially veterans, to stay off the streets.

ANTOINETTE HAYES-TRIPLETT began working at the Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative in August 2014.

MARK WEMPLE

Antoinette Hayes-Triplett CEO OF TAMPA HILLSBOROUGH HOMELESS INITIATIVE LOUIS LLOVIO TAMPA BAY EDITOR

M

any years before she became a caretaker for the homeless in Tampa, Antoinette HayesTriplett knew she was going have to make a difference in the world.

It wasn’t a calling, a burning bush or a vision that informed her she was supposed to use her life to give back. It wasn’t even a choice, really.

What drove Hayes-Triplett to her passion was her mother.

More importantly, the example her mother set.

Hattie Hayes got married when she was about 17 and had her first child shortly thereafter. Within seven years, she had five children before a divorce left her a single mother.

This was St. Louis in the 1970s, and although life was difficult for the young mother,

58

BUSINESS OBSERVER

Hattie managed to become a surgical nurse and a pediatric nurse practitioner. “If she can do those things,” says HayesTriplett, the third child, “I have to do at least that.”

Hayes-Triplett is the CEO of the Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative. The organization’s goal is to provide services for the homeless as well come to the aid of people on the brink of homelessness.

Working with other local groups, it administers funding through social service agencies, develops and monitors new and existing housing and service programs, and coordinates the county’s annual homeless count. The goal is to improve crisis response systems, implement models to help those in need and engage the community. The organization holds job fairs, speed leasing events with landlords and clinics to help people ex-

AT A GLANCE ANTOINETTE HAYES-TRIPLETT Title/Organization: CEO of the Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative Change-making: Leading a charge to eliminate veterans homelessness and to help families and individuals stay or get off the streets

punge their records.

Hayes-Triplett began working at THHI in August 2014.

Her personal passion, and the project closest to her heart there, is Operation: Reveille, a one-day rapid rehousing program aimed at ending homelessness among veterans.

The program’s aim is to reach homeless vets and get them housing assistance, food, financial help and, when needed, treatment for substance abuse. Vets also get help to find

furnished apartments and then work with case managers on how to access other services, including job training and help with transportation.

She helped create Operation: Reveille in St. Louis in 2013 and was asked to replicate it in Tampa when she moved to town. The catch?

Her new bosses wanted her to hold the one-day program on Veterans Day in three months.

It was daunting putting all the pieces together, but “we did it,” she says. “We pulled it off. Fifty-one veterans were housed on Veterans Day.” Since Hayes-Triplett joined THHI, there has been a 42% reduction in the number of homeless veterans in the area, according to the organization.

The program is in seven states now and Hayes-Triplett, a U.S. Air Force veteran, is working with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense working to spread it nationally.

“Hopefully,” she says, “we can sunset Operation: Reveille in Tampa soon when we have every vet that’s experiencing homelessness housed — right now, we have about 140, 150 — and I think we can get there by the end of the year.”

But as much as HayesTriplett has dedicated her life to the cause of homelessness, working on the cause was not her original goal.

The third of Hattie’s five children, Hayes-Triplett originally wanted to be a journalist.

But after a couple false starts in college, she wound up joinSee TRIPLETT page 62

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

now leasing in

Sarasota’s Only Lakefront Town Center

A New Dynamic Town Center Opening Early Fall 2021!

•

Easy access to I-75

•

115,000 square feet of mixed-use retail, office and entertainment

Waterside Place will soon be Sarasota’s hottest new

•

Waterfront restaurant sites available

•

Open air lakefront destination

•

In-line and free-standing commercial space

your business will be surrounded by new homes in the

•

Primarily street-oriented siting

country’s best-selling community for all ages.

•

8-acre waterfront park and entertainment venue

•

Year-round Farmers’ Market

•

Water taxi from residential neighborhoods

•

21,000 households, 52,000 residents and counting

•

Median household income of $124,000

•

133,520 residents in the 10-mile radius trade area

destination for lakefront dining, walkable retail and entertainment. Located in Waterside, a new village of the thriving master-planned community of Lakewood Ranch,

Secure Your Spot Today! TOM.JOHNSON@LWRCOMMERCIAL.COM | 941.757.163 | watersideplace.com Plans, specifications, community amenities, standard features, availability and prices are subject to change without notice. The information, illustrations, maps and depictions based on the current proposed development concepts. Actual development may vary from what is depicted. © Lakewood Ranch 2021 361893-1

Emily Colón

ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, CITY OF LAKELAND

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

ELIZABETH DJINIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

W

hen Emily Colón first moved to Florida, it was without much of a plan.

She came to the state as a first-generation college student from Minnesota, with dreams of palm trees and playing collegiate volleyball.

As for career-planning, she says, that was about it.

It’s hard to imagine that version of Colón, more aimless and carefree. As assistant city manager for the city of Lakeland, the 34-year-old lives on intention — with a capital ‘I.’ She approaches life

like a strategic plan and believes there is no such thing as being stagnant, only becoming better or worse.

She’s a go-getter in every sense of the word, guided by a desire to solve problems and make an impact. And despite previous opportunities at the state and federal level, Colón is passionate about the importance of local government.

“You feel the community impact of where you live,” Colón says. “It’s more tangible than at the state and federal level. You can do a lot of hard work (there) and not make a lot of movement.”

A f ter graduating w it h a master’s in public adminis-

AT A GLANCE EMILY COLÓN Title/organization: Assistant city manager, city of Lakeland Change-making: Overseeing 2,600 employees in a fast-growing Florida city

tration from the University of South Florida, Colón took a job as a budget analyst in Pasco County.

There, she learned an important lesson: Doing two jobs for the price of one was a good strategy to ascend the career ladder. She took a temporary position — on top of her full-time job — when a department head was unexpectedly hospitalized, and his second-in-command had recently retired.

Some employees m ig ht have taken that decision with frustration, but not Colón. She

saw it as a “great opportunity” to understand complex problems and figure them out.

That became a pattern for her — opportunity opens up, Colón jumps to the occasion, success ensues. During her roughly five years with Pasco County, Colón held about as many positions, eventually rising to program administrator of the Internal Services Branch Departments. The pattern also had a theme in the context of making change: Because change is inevitable, Colón chose to embrace it — and all its ups and downs.

“I always say I was a utility player in Pasco County,” she says. “I went to where the problems were, and I got to work with a bunch of different teams and be agile in that sense.”

Those adjustments weren’t always easy. Effecting change, Colón has learned, usually

2021 BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS

NOW ON SALE!

DON’T WAIT, ORDER TODAY!

1. The Data: Economic information to help business owners keep up with changing trends in our region and forecast what’s next.

2. The Lists: Rankings of the top companies and organizations by industry, size, influence and more.

3. The Change-Makers: Profiles of the people who are changing and shaping the business landscape in your area.

34

ONLY $

95 BusinessObserverFL.com

60

BUSINESS OBSERVER

361797-1

Visit BusinessObserverFL.com/big-book-of-business

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

EMILY COLÓN was recruited to work for the city of Lakeland in April 2019. a nd w it h no pu rcha si ng background, trying to direct a room full of long-standing county employees.

So on her f irst day, she

brought a peace offering: donuts. And her message was simple: “I donut know what I would do without you.”

“It’s being intentional about

it. It’s not the Emily Colón show,” she says. “I don’t have my own city or my own corporation. I work for a government organization, and that’s ultimately the citizens.”

Her transition to Lakeland in April 2019 wasn’t part of the plan, but it felt right. She was recruited to work there by the previous city manager.

Her goal had always been a city manager role, and this See COLÓN page 62

361591-1

isn’t. When she became the interim purchasing director, her third step up, she found herself in a “hostile environment” — here she was, young

CALVIN KNIGHT

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

Emily Colón recognized early in her career that tackling difficult, change-worthy problems and issues helps build a strong path to success.

AUGUST 2021 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com

BUSINESS OBSERVER

61

BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS TRIPLETT from page 58

COLÓN from page 61 seemed like the logical next step. But leaving Pasco was bittersweet.

In theory, a city might seem more approachable than a county. But the city of Lakeland has roughly the same number of full time employees as Pasco County — 2,600, Colón says. One of her chief focuses in Lakeland is to bring every employee on board with viewing the city’s strategic plan as a “living and breathing thing.”

“I want everyone to understand how important they are to the city and what role they play,” she says.

Her role in strategic planning has since led in large part to a recent promotion to Lakeland’s Manager of Innovation and Strategy — once again on top of her full-time

job. And although she doesn’t manage all 2,600 employees personally, she makes sure to discuss future goals with each of her direct reports.

That means putting together a personal strategic plan to dictate their impending growth. And that also means embracing more change.

That recipe is also what it’s all about for her: people, problem-solving and making an impact.

“The more complex a problem or the more disgruntled a person is that I can turn around, that is what fulfills me,” she says. “If it’s a developer having an issue through the permitting process or an employee just not understanding something, the moment that it clicks into place, and you’ve sorted out the problem — that is why I’m here.”

361818-1

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

ing the U.S. Air Force in 1989.

Dur ing her t ime in t he military, she was able to go to school and earned two bachelor’s degrees and her master’s degree. Then, as it did with Hattie, fate interfered.

One month before becoming an officer, Hayes-Triplett was in a car accident and hurt her back so bad that she had to leave the Air Force. She worked in several positions over the years, including as a planning executive in St. Louis for 13 years.

“All those things put together made me the person I am in this job,” she says, adding, “I don’t think this is the stopping point either. The goal is to continue to make policies that will make changes, not just here in Tampa, not just Hillsborough County, but across the nation.”

That approach to life, that you as an individual can affect change in the larger world, is one of the most important lessons Hayes-Triplett learned from Hattie.

You see, in the mid-1970s when Hattie was a young single mother with five children, there was a raffle that would allow families to move into a single-family home in a diverse neighborhood. You needed a $1 to buy a ticket and to show proof you could afford to fix up the home — Hattie, who is 73 today, had somehow managed to save about $15,000.

They got the house, and the kids were put to work hanging drywall, repairing the roof and knocking down walls.

“One little deed by someone I don’t even know has changed four generations for my family,” she says. “And now we can do the same thing for other people as well.”

62

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

TOWN HALL 2019 Greetings, TOWN HALL Patrons, Dear We are honored to present another wonderful line-up for for our annual fundraiser, TOWN HALL lecture series. our annual fundraiser, the the TOWN HALL Lecture Series.

Our speakers speakers are arethe theauthority authorityon onaadiverse diverserange rangeofoftopics: Our topics:U.S. inside S. Law Enforcement, Constitutional Law, inside LawU.Enforcement, Constitutional Law, Global Global Forecasting, the Internet and Sports. will Forecasting, the Internet and Sports.

Each willEach explore explore relevant issues changing andtoday society relevant issues changing our livesour andlives society and today in yearsPrepare to come.

Prepare to be inspired, and in yearsand to come. to be inspired, entertained Monday, January 17, 2022 entertainedby and by group this exceptional captivated thiscaptivated exceptional of people.group of people.

CHRIS CHRISTIE As a reminder, Ringling College Library Association 55th New Jersey Governor Christie is currently aaccess senior and political AsChris a reminder, allearly orders mustlegal completed sent via MEMBERS have tobeTOWN HALLand Lecture commentator for ABC News. the mail, we do not take orders over thethe phone or on-line.

Series subscriptions, if ordered during pre-sale All orders will be processed based post out mark date, dates.

Subscription packets will be on mailed April 15thand th Monday, February 7, 2022 availability.

Please note seating needs onon theApril form, to LIFETIME and PATRON members and 30and weSUPPORTER will do our best accommodate. to andtoFRIEND members, so please return PAUL NICKLEN your ticket forms as soon as possible to ensure your order One of the world’s most acclaimed nature photographers, polar Receipts willhandling. be sent with tickets November, gets priority On your May 15th weinwill mail out the specialist and National Geographic fellow. please makesales sure to include whereTOWN you would like your subscription non-member HALL 2018 th tickets mailed theJune fall. 18 to the general public. subscribers andinon AsMonday, a reminder, allFebruary orders are processed based on 21, 2022 We you for your interest hope Tonythank Dungy retired in 2009 after a and 31-year NFLto see you at post-mark date.

RONAN FARROW career. HALL In 13 seasons head your coachsupport of the IndiaTOWN 2019, as where of our series will allow us toyou continue our mission.and We thank for your continued support of the Ringling Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award-Winning investigative reporter New York Times bestselling author.

College Library Association.

Stephanie Grosskreutz Henson Tuesday, MarchMitzie 15, 2022 Executive Director TOWN HALL 2019 Chair

KAREN GORDON MILLS

Renowned expert on finance technology, small business growth, entrepreneurism, job creation, and the economy at large.

TONY DUNGY

Our Mission: Ringling College Library Association is dedicated to the ongoing development of the Alfred R. Goldstein Library at The Monday, March 28, 2022 Ringling College of Art and Design and acts as a catalyst for the educational growth of students, faculty and the community.

Former NFL Super Bowl winning Head Coach, and leader who shows how faith, strength and solidarity can sustain inspire any team.

Toand learn more about our speakers, visit

us at:

www.RCLAssociation.org To learn more about our speakers and to subscribe to the series visit us at RCLAssociation.org or call us at 941-309-5100 All presentations at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall Morning Presentations at 10:30 AM | Evening Presentations at 7:30 PM

BRINGING INFLUENCERS FROM THE WORLD STAGE TO OUR STAGE IN SARASOTA

361873-1

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

Developer, going against his industry’s norm, maintains big vision to change the world.

FILE

SYD KITSON founded Kitson & Partners in 1992.

Syd Kitson CHAIR AND CEO, KITSON & PARTNERS BETH LUBERECKI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

W

hen Syd Kitson first t a l ked about h i s ambitious plans for Babcock Ranch back in 2005, the concept of creating America’s first solar-powered town was considered a bit out there.

“I talked about sustainability and creating this town that is environmentally responsible and had all latest technology,” says Kitson, the chair and CEO of real estate company Kitson & Partners.

“And people had no idea what I was talking about. The word sustainability hadn’t really hit the mainstream — people just really weren’t focused on that in 2005. But fast-forward to today, and it’s all anyone

64

BUSINESS OBSERVER

is talking about. We were a part of that evolution of really embracing something that I think is becoming more commonplace today.”

Staying ahead of the curve is always the goal for Kitson.

“We believe deeply in innovation,” he says. “We try not to do what everybody else is doing.

We go down the path that may be the more difficult path. We don’t follow the path of least resistance. We’re looking for ways to change the world, and we think we can do that by building a new town that is the most sustainable town that’s ever been created.”

It’s not necessary hyperbole when Kitson, 62, talks about changing the world. A New Jersey native, he’s beat the odds before, going back to his

AT A GLANCE SYD KITSON Title/organization: Chair and CEO of Kitson & Partners Change: Developing the first solar-powered town in the country, and in doing so proving to others sustainability sells

first career professional football: He played offensive line for the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys from 19811984. He got into real estate in 1986 and has served on numerous statewide board and organizations, founding Palm Beach Gardens-based Kitson & Partners in 1992.

It’s taken a bit longer than expected for Kitson’s vision to come to life. The purchase of 91,000-acre Babcock Ranch was completed in 2006, shortly after which 73,000 acres w it hin Charlotte and Lee

Counties were sold back to the State of Florida for preservation. But the recession delayed the development of the rest of that land. Kitson says that although getting started sooner was of course the original objective, the pause provided extra time to verify and refine plans.

Si nce work f i rst bega n i n 2015, Babc ock R a nch has been steadily growing.

Planned to ultimately include 19,500 homes and 6 million square feet of commercial space, the community has sold more than 1,000 homes so far and is currently selling 15 to 20-plus homes a week.

A Publix-anchored shopping center is opening soon, and an apartment complex and a new high school are also entering the mix.

“Babcock is a town,” Kitson says. “We have several thousand people living here already, and with the pace we’re going, we’re well ahead of plan.”

Anyone who’s been watching to see if Kitson could pull off his vision should be convinced by now. “It’s easy to talk about things, but it’s another thing to actually do it,” he says. “I don’t think anyone can say, when they look at Babcock Ranch and see what we’ve done here, that we haven’t fulfilled the promise of what Babcock Ranch is all about. It’s judge me on my actions and not my words. …

Everything we said we were going to do, we’ve done.”

See KITSON page 68

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

361874-1

Rob Brady ROBRADY, CEO AND DESIGN DIRECTOR AMANDA POSTMA SARASOTA-MANATEE WRITER

A

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

round 15 years ago, Rob Brady took his Sarasota-based product design company, Robrady, in a new direction.

He discovered the health care industry was in need of product design services. So Brady, the CEO and design director, changed his focus to target medical fields. Now it’s most of what Robrady does.

“It’s really about doing noble work,” Brady says. This change in his company has had a lasting impact on the health care industry itself, as well as the Robrady team.

“We get a bonus when we do

a good job,” he says. “When we do work that will help the health of people, that’s lasting. That sticks with you.”

The products Robrady designs for the health care industr y focus on remov ing pain and improv ing daily life. A significant part of introducing product design to the health care industry involved a lot of ergonomic research.

Brady spent a lot of time immersing himself in learning about what type of products the industr y needed. That research continues today in the products the company designs.

The Robrady team spends time ensuring a product is durable and cost efficient. Brady

Custom Insurance Solutions for Businesses & Individuals All-in-one approach Limits up to $10MM, with excess available Available in 50 states Flexible underwriting Risk management expertise 24/7 claims hotline Agent friendly

356006-1

> > > > > > >

66

BUSINESS OBSERVER

Ask us about the new coverage option Communicable Disease Liability

AT A GLANCE ROB BRADY Title/organization: CEO and design director, Robrady Change-making: Creates change in the health care industry through product design

also says a lot of his work involves understanding regulations so products can be taken to market.

Brady leads his team in a way that they’re always trying to determine how much of a change they can make — how far to push things.

And because Brady is constantly pushing the boundaries of product design to create more change in the world, he currently has a “whole host” of new ventures seeking Robrady out to design products.

In order to enact change

in the health care industry, Brady and his team have to ask a lot of questions along the way. They’ve made some mistakes, too. On that, Brady will tell you failing is just part of the job. He encourages the team to fail early, so the product is a success in the long run.

That’s why Brady’s motto is to challenge and question everything. From the mock-ups to the model, he’s learned to question every detail to sand down the product to perfection. Something you’ll often hear Brady tell his team and clients is, “Challenge your solution.”

When a customer comes in with a challenge, the team’s first question is always why.

A great example of challenging the solution, Brady says, comes from GMX 7, an athletic gear company. When David McCagg, the founder and CEO of GMX 7, came to Brady with an idea of designing a new

Scan the QR code to get a free quote or contact 877.585.2853 info@xinsurance.com www.xinsurance.com XINSURANCE is powered by Evolution Insurance Brokers, LC (“EIB”), an excess and surplus lines insurance brokerage. XINSURANCE is a DBA of EIB, which is domiciled in and has its principal place of business in Sandy, Utah. This insurance product is offered by an unlicensed surplus lines insurer. The NPN for EIB is 5464658 and CA license number is 0H93938.

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

aquatic resistance training product, Brady questioned the original design brought forth.

“We design things in that way to create solutions,” he says.

For years, swimmers have relied on power towers, parachutes, water belts and stretch cords for resistance training.

Every single product had a downside whether it was just too big or broke too easily.

By the time Brady was done with it, the product was lifechanging for swimmers. The X-1 Pro is compact and portable. The resistance levels

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

provide endless workouts for swimmers of all levels.

It wasn’t a finalized product just like that. The product went through a number of changes and different models before it was gold medal-worthy. The X-1 Pro was a finalist on the “America by Design” T V series, where Oly mpic swimmer Ryan Lochte, in the first episode, discusses the product’s impact on his life.

“I’ve tried every resistance tool, and hands down, this is the best one,” Lochte says in the show. “If you don’t have this as a swimmer, you’re going to fall behind.”

A not he r l i f e - c h a n g i n g product Robrady designed is the SafER portable negative pressure system product — something especially important during the pandemic. The SafER system, a face

Rob Brady discovered how important product design was for the health care industry 15 years ago. Now Brady is changing the industry — one crisis at a time.

LORI SAX

ROB BRADY challenges every solution he crosses paths with in order to create significant change in health care.

See BRADY page 68

FLORIDA’S LEADING SPECIALTY CONTRACTOR B & I’s Core Values and Dedication of our Employee-Owners are ALWAYS at the center of every Award Winning Project!

•

•

Safety

MECHANICAL | ELECTRICAL | PLUMBING | REFRIGERATION | SERVICE LEARN MORE: CALL 239-332-4646 or VISIT bandiflorida.com

AUGUST 2021 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com

BUSINESS OBSERVER

353594-1

•

67

BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

KITSON from page 64 He’s also inspiring others to follow his lead, fielding inquiries from developers nationwide interested in learning his playbook. “The greatest compliment you can receive is when someone copies what you’re doing,” he says. “That is certainly happening, and it’s great to see.”

One myth Kitson constantly works to dispel is it’s more expensive to create a sustainable community. “Probably one of the biggest fallacies is that to be environmentally responsible it costs money, and it just simply is not true,” he says. “It’s just about being very thoughtful and doing the work upfront. If you do that as a developer, you’re going to find that it doesn’t cost more.

And I think economically what you find is the returns

on any investment you make are pretty terrific.”

Kitson realizes that change can be hard for people. But it’s reached the point where the status quo isn’t an option anymore. “Climate change isn’t something that is made up,” he says. “It’s happening; the science tells us that. … As a developer, we create impacts, so we need to mitigate those impacts.

And I think it’s our responsibility to step forward and say we don’t need the government to tell us we have to do this. We should just do it because it’s the right thing to do. And people are starting to realize it’s important to our future.”

His advice for others hoping to lead and inspire change?

“Don’t get discouraged,” Kitson says. “If you believe in it and have a passion for it and know it’s the right thing, don’t let others discourage you from doing it.”

BRADY from page 67 shield that uses a vacuum to direct the flow of air, provides defense against exposure and spread of airborne contaminants. A study showed the shield removes more than 93% of 0.5 micron-sized particles that are exhaled. “We think this is another layer of keeping health care workers safe,” Brady says.

The company has also created a product called PILL designed to stop an opioid addiction before it even starts.

An acronym that stands for prescribed interval limit lock, PILL hasn’t made it to market yet, but here’s how it works: A doctor creates an order for a specific medicine, dosage and regime. The manufacturer would follow the order and set the timer inside the PILL device prior to the pa-

tient receiving it. Then the device would serve pills at the prescribed interval. The device could be a key weapon in the fight against the national opioid crisis. Again, Brady is thinking big changes to make a big impact. “No one wakes up planning to become an addict,” Brady says.

We get a bonus when we do a good job. When we do work that will help the health of people, that’s lasting. That sticks with you.

Rob Brady

Employee Benefits Human Resource Consulting HR Benefits Technology Compliance & Strategy New Mindfulness Solution

354841-1

Alltrust Insurance is here for you and ready to help with:

Work: (727) 772-4225 | Direct: (941) 713-6187 SHALL@AlltrustInsurance.com www.alltrustinsurance.com 68

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

Inspired by you. Created by us.

Concierge Custom Construction

Remodeling

Project Management

3534 South Osprey Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34239 | 941.924.1868 | NutterCustomConstruction.com LEED Accredited Professional Florida Licensed Building Contractor CBC 060004

Florida Licensed Real Estate Broker BK3222256 Florida Licensed Home Inspector HI4630 361786-1

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

When Tonya Buford noticed the dating game had become ruled by technology, she wanted to change that. With her business, Singles Pop Up, she’s bringing back face-to-face interactions.

MARK WEMPLE

Singles Pop Up, founded by TONYA BUFORD, is dedicated to bringing back face-to-face interactions.

Tonya Buford SINGLES POP UP, FOUNDER AND OWNER AMANDA POSTMA SARASOTA-MANATEE WRITER

T

onya Buford has long been in the business of assisting others. “I always want to get people connected with help,” she says.

This is what led to her business, Singles Pop Up. The compa ny is ded icated to bringing back face-to-face in-

70

BUSINESS OBSERVER

teractions with dating in the Tampa Bay area.

Buford has a long history of helping people — especially those in need of some kind of change. She has 15 years of nonprofit administrative experience, including helping at Reach St. Pete and serving Pinellas Community Church. She was also previously an ambassador

for the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce and Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce, helping greet out-of-town visitors. This experience paved the way for Singles Pop Up. When Buford set out to start her business, she happened to be single at the time. She remembers using different dating apps and meeting people she didn’t really connect with.

The scene of connecting with people has become impersonal, she says. Instead, it’s being run by technology.

“Technology was replacing people,” Buford says. “People are not connecting. How many people are we really friends with?”

So she set out to change that by creating a space for people to connect.

Through Singles Pop Up, people are given the opportunity to meet others. It’s not just a place to find love. Attendees come for all different types of reasons, like trying to find a good plumber recommendation. Buford says it’s a great career networking opportunity as well.

The business was off to a good start before COVID-19 hit. Although she continued to hold Zoom calls to keep those connections alive, it just wasn’t the same.

Now Buford is trying to get back the momentum she had, partially by partnering with other businesses with a similar goal. She’s even branching out and hosting some events in Washington, D.C., where she’s from, in September.

“This change is necessary,” she says, especia l ly a f ter COVID-19. “Just the experi-

ence of not being able to hug someone. That intimacy — we couldn’t have it. (This is) more important now.”

One of Buford’s great joys in life is seeing others happy.

That’s her goal every time she hosts an event. “I want them to wa lk away w it h something,” she says, “even if it’s not romantic.”

In her eyes, change is necessary. From changing how people connected through the pandemic to changing how people think about themselves, Buford is always seeking the next change.

Although most would agree that the change COV ID-19 brought was filled with anxiety and unease, Buford didn’t skip a beat. She found a way around and changed the way people were interacting in the middle of a pandemic.

W hen Buford was single and using dating apps, she did something about it to change it. And when someone says they’re not good enough, she changes that mindset. “I just want people to know they’re enough,” she says.

On Singles Pop Up, meanwhile, people take different See BUFORD page 74

AT A GLANCE TONYA BUFORD Title/organization: Founder and owner, Singles Pop Up Change making: Helps facilitate new relationships and connections for people

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

Member FDIC

Alison LaPointe VP, Private Relationship Manager

Nick Thurston SVP, Plant City Market Director

What is a relationship?

At The Bank of Tampa, the relationships we have with our clients and communities go far beyond transactional banking—we stand by them every step of the way, during the good times and the uncertain ones. Each person, business, and situation is unique. You deserve personalized service. You deserve a relationship. And we are in the relationship business.

813.872.1200 thebankoftampa.com

351556-1

THE BANK OF TAMPA I RELATIONSHIP BANKING DEFINED

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

Steve MacDonald did well in tech and health care. Now he’s spreading the wealth to those with ideas that can change the world.

COURTESY

STEVE MACDONALD is offering his time, and treasure, to budding entrepreneurs.

Steve MacDonald

ANGEL INVESTOR AND FOUNDER OF MACDONALD VENTURES LOUIS LLOVIO TAMPA BAY EDITOR

AT A GLANCE

S

STEVE MACDONALD

teve MacDonald sees his mission as pretty straightforward.

He wants to find dreamers and innovators, smart people with good ideas and the desire to see them through. And then he wants to give them the money they’ll need to see those ideas come to life and, in the process, make a better world.

Simple, right?

For anybody else, the answer would likely be no. But to hear MacDonald talk, what he’s proposing and what he wants to do with his life is as easy as can be.

One of the reasons for that is he doesn’t ask anyone to do something he hasn’t already done. And MacDonald, 53, has done a lot.

A long with being an an-

72

BUSINESS OBSERVER

Title: Angel investor and founder of MacDonald Ventures Change-making: Becoming a mentor and helping fund the next generation of thinkers and innovators.

gel investor, a trusted mentor throughout Tampa Bay’s startup community, he’s also a marathoner and mountain climber.

MacDonald made his fortune after founding MyMatrix x, a pharmacy benefits company, in 2001. He grew it into one of the largest companies in the industry and then sold it in 2017 for $250 million.

Rather than sitting on his wealth, MacDonald, the Business Observer’s Top Entrepreneur in 2013 who has more than $400 million in exits of companies he founded, started MacDonald Ventures.

The firm, as well as the mentorship he does throughout the area, is a way for him to indulge in a passion for finding entrepreneurs with change-making ideas he can back and watch grow.

The website for the firm says MacDonald Ventures is “more than investors. We embed ourselves at inception, partnering with inventors, challengers, adventurers to cultivate leaders.”

But MacDonald himself put it in simpler terms: “I want to help build the next generation of change agents and surf in their wakes.”

“As an investor, what I’m

looking for is those early-stage entrepreneurs, with lots of energy, lots of ambition, creativity,” MacDonald says.

“People that I see who have ideas and the willingness, the fortitude, to take these ideas to market and build them.”

For MacDonald, helping these entrepreneurs is a way to pass on the knowledge he’s developed over the years and help make lasting change.

The firm invests anywhere from $50,000 to $1 million in companies at all stages of the startup process.

Among the companies MacDonald has invested in over the years are MammaBear App, an app that allows parents to monitor their children’s online activities; Booksy, an app that allows you to book health and beaut y ser v ices; and Skillshare, an online learning community offering classes for people looking to embrace their creative side. Overall, he has a portfolio of more than 100 angel investments, according to his website.

MacDonald says the desire to help people get their business started either by investing money or being a mentor is rooted in a desire to do good in the world. And that desire is rooted in his upbringing.

Orphaned at a young age, he says his adoptive parents’ love is probably what makes him so open to helping others.

“If my parents hadn’t adopted me and taken a chance, who See MACDONALD page 74

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

Superior enterprise technology support.

World class technical team.

Global leadership, local excellence.

TRANSFORM YOUR BUSINESS +1 727-538-4114 • www.source1solutions.com • 4904 Creekside Dr, Clearwater, FL 33760

361691-1

Located in Tampa Bay. 24/7/365 technical support.

BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS

THE CHANGE-MAKERS

BUFORD from page 70 things away from Buford’s events. It all depends on what stage they’re at in their life, she says.

Buford also isn’t stopping with just a Singles Pop Up. Couples mixers are next. “I know what it’s like to move here and not know where

This change is necessary. Just the experience of not being able to hug someone.

That intimacy — we couldn’t have it. (This is) more important now.

Tonya Buford

the best Chinese restaurant is,” she says. This part of the company would be dedicated to helping couples find their “in” within the community.

The biggest mistake she’s made along the way is waiting too long to start the company. This is something she’s been interested in starting for a long time. She says the company would have been a little further along if she had gotten started when she was first excited about it.

As for t he lessons she’s learned, she says getting paper work in order is something that needs to be done early. That way the business is legitimized.

Another lesson is that the entrepreneur game isn’t for everyone. “Make sure you’re passionate about it because it’s a roller coaster ride,” she says.

MACDONALD from page 72

knows where I would be?” he says. “(Helping others now) is my way of paying it forward.”

Other than giving money, one valuable of way of giving back is passing on the lessons from his failures.

And he’s had his fair share.

A company he started called AccessLife failed when the internet bubble popped in 1999.

And then he was fired from a second company he founded, TechHealth.

But, he says, his biggest mistake — a term he doesn’t like — is when he didn’t have the confidence or experience to trust his own instincts.

MacDonald says he’s faced situations when a gut feeling was telling him what to do — but he ignored it. “And then the outcome was what my gut told me it was going to be.”

Over the years he’s learned to identify the feeling and to have the confidence to trust it. And although he can’t teach someone to trust their instincts, he believes they can be taught to identify the feeling and learn to gain confidence in it.

That’s a lso an essentia l point of what MacDona ld does — and why he stands out from other investors. He knows smart people can come up with solutions, and he sees it as his mission to make sure they stay focused and never lose sight of the goal.

“Nothing worth having is easy,” he says. “You’re going to have lots of obstacles along the way — it’s part of it. Don’t blame anyone except yourself, and learn from those obstacles. Apply those lessons, and move on.”

Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that everyone gets to make few bucks along the way.

Our NEW EASY

ComfortSolution

TM

- One low monthly payment

is HERE!

- No down payment - Annual tune-ups - Smart thermostat & air filters included 351566-1

- Repairs due to normal wear & tear

239.643.2445 1.888.COLD.AIR conditionedair.com

License# CAC1819590, CAC1813219, CPC1459449 74

BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2021

WOODRUFF & SONS, INC.

CELEBRATING

75 Years of

Quality

Quality Begins at Ground Level DESIGN-BUILD • CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT • SITE DEVELOPMENT • HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION • UTILITIES • EARTH MOVING • STORM DRAINAGE DEMOLITION • CONCRETE RECYCLING • SOIL CEMENT • UNDERGROUND FIRE MAINS • SOCK UNDERDRAIN DEWATERING • BOX CULVERTS

(941) 756-1871 • 6450 31st St E, Bradenton, FL 34203

www.woodruffandsons.com CGC# 026840 • CUC#032662 • FPSCV#56528900012005 361828-1

361588-1

Process makes the difference — Not just with technology but with the people who use that technology.

Our time-tested and client approved process will provide your business with a fully managed technology solution delivered in a way that best fits your team.

Together, we can do what matters.

Bradenton | Sarasota | Fort Myers | Naples

entechUS.com