Erika Sims, chief executive officer of Sims HD and co-owner of Sims Crane & Equipment, is the eldest of Tampa’s Sims Crane third generation.
Sims HD is wholly owned by Erika. The company specializes in heavy haul and rigging.
Sims’ leadership is a blend of tradition and modernity, balancing the lessons learned from her father, and grandfather, with her own approach to inclusivity and empowerment. As one of the few women in the male-dominated crane and rigging industry, she has broken barriers while building bridges.
Jo-Lynn Brown, managing editor of Tampa Bay Business and Wealth, interviewed Sims at the Mercury Insurance Building, home of the new TBBW office, located in Clearwater. This interview has been edited for length and brevity.
Erika, you were one of our elusive covers. You were a little hesitant to take the plunge and be on the cover of TBBW. Why was that, and what has the experience been like so far?
Bridgette and I have been having this conversation for a couple of years. And, well, if anyone knows Bridgette, she’s relentless. I am not one to want to draw attention to myself. There are a variety of reasons for that. Part of it, I think, is ingrained in me.
When I was three years old, my dad was kidnapped from our driveway. He got out, everything was okay, but, for some reason, that experience stuck with us as kids. So, we were always careful. We never wanted to draw attention to ourselves.
The other part is that, as a third-generation member of a family-owned business, I worked my ass off. I eventually reached a point where I looked around and said, “No, I earned this. Nobody handed this to me. I had to work 10 times harder than anybody else.” But still, sometimes, it’s hard to put yourself out there and say, “Oh, look at me.”
Then Bridgette started engaging everyone I knew—everywhere I went, people would tell me, “Oh, I just talked to Bridgette.” Eventually, I realized I wasn’t going to escape. And here we are.
That said, if you ever have the honor to do this kind of story, I highly recommend you do it. What really pushed me was knowing that I could help someone—especially as a woman in construction, as a leader of a family-owned business—if my story resonated with someone who needed support, then it was worth it.
I’ve learned a lot about myself through this process. I’ve had to challenge beliefs that were ingrained in me. It’s been a reminder that when we put ourselves out there, we connect with the humanity in each other.
One of the things that struck me about your interview was how candid you were. When did you become so confident in being open and candid? Was it something that developed over time or was there a defining moment?
I think it was a lot of little things over time. Life is a series of building blocks—and setbacks.
I said this in the story—being an alcoholic is probably the best thing that ever happened to me. And I say that because in recovery, I learned to stop adding to the baggage I was already carrying. I didn’t have to clean it all up, immediately, but I had to stop making it worse.
Lying was a big issue for me—not necessarily big lies, but small ones that compounded. And, I decided I would always be completely honest. That way, I didn’t have to remember what I had said.
When we are our authentic selves, we can truly connect with others. And that’s when good things happen.
There’s something powerful about owning your story before others try to define it for you.
Exactly. I don’t want someone else telling my story. I want to tell it myself. My dad was big on the “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” philosophy. He collected those little monkey figurines. That principle has guided me—if I didn’t see it, didn’t hear it and didn’t say it, it’s not my business. And that has made things a lot easier in life.
Let’s talk about your upbringing. You grew up in two very different worlds. How did that shape who you are and how you lead?
For many years, I viewed my upbringing as something that just shaped me. But as I’ve grown, I’ve come to see it differently.
My mother’s family was from West Tampa. My grandparents lived in Ybor City. They had five girls in a 900-square-foot house but we were incredibly close. Meanwhile, on my father’s side, there was money—nice cars, nice things—but there were also problems, addictions and a lot of fighting.
I learned that money doesn’t fill the void inside a person. And my mom’s side, despite having less, had a closeness that my father’s side lacked. That shaped my perspective on leadership—understanding that people need more than just a paycheck. They need purpose, community and support.
And you didn’t just walk into a corner office. You worked in different departments and learned the business inside and out.
Absolutely. I worked in safety, sales, operations—I had to prove myself.
One of the things I’ve learned through this experience is how important it is to find your “why.” For me, that has evolved over time. But I know this: I want to help people. I want to create opportunities for them.
For those in the room, struggling to find their own “why,” what advice would you give them?
I don’t have a perfect answer. But I think it takes time. For me, losing my father accelerated that questioning. When you lose someone, you start reevaluating everything.
I’ve spent the last two and a half years talking to people, learning from them and figuring out what’s next for me. And, I’ve realized that I want to take everything I’ve learned and use it to create impact—personally and professionally.
I think it evolves over time. I do not in any way, shape or form regret the decisions I made to come home from college and work at the company, but I never really stopped and said, well, what do I want to do? And so now, I have this opportunity and how do I take everything that I have learned and put it into whatever my legacy is, right?
I don’t care if it’s McDonald’s or Sims Crane or Walmart or Amazon or anything. As business leaders, as business owners, we share the same challenges, the same issues. There is no magic. There is no special recipe.
I think whether it’s business, or life, we just deal with it the same way, one day at a time and try to figure out what is the next right step for us.
ABOUT ‘CEO CONNECT’
TBBW’s “CEO Connect” series is an exclusive, invitation-only, event that brings together the Tampa Bay area’s top business leaders to meet and mingle. The Fallston Group, The William Stanley CFO Group and BankUnited were presenting sponsors. The host sponsor was TBBW.
TBBW’s video partner is Empowering Creative.
The evening begins with a cocktail reception for about 120 guests, followed by an interview with that month’s cover CEO.
Partnering with TBBW provides an opportunity to network with the area’s business elite, generate new business opportunities and increase brand awareness.
For information about event sponsorship opportunities, email Jason Baker at [email protected].
