Amy Martinez-Monfort is looking to make 2023 an “unforgettable” year for members of the CEO Council of Tampa Bay. As the newest chair for the CEO-centric membership organization, she says with the board she has, she’s confident the year will produce valuable resources and events that members will find tremendous value in. She also credits … Read more
MarineMax (NYSE: HZO), a recreational boat and yacht retailer based in Clearwater, has completed the acquisition of Boatzon, an online boat and marine digital retail platform, through its recently formed technology entity, New Wave Innovations. The Boatzon platform allows users to browse for financing, purchase and insure a boat, entirely online, according to a statement. … Read more
Rita Lowman, former president of Pilot Bank, now LMCU, has been appointed to the board of directors for Encore Bank. Lowman is a 45-year banking veteran with career highlights including managing 23 acquisitions, including the NationsBank-Barnett merger, in 1997. “Encore Bank is delighted to welcome Rita to its board of directors,” said Chris Roberts, Encore’s … Read more
PBX-Change, a Tampa-based telecommunications company, has rebranded and changed its name to KUDUCOM. Ryan Yaldor, the chief technology officer of KUDUCOM (formerly PBX-Change) says the new name, brand, vision and mission launched on January 3, 2023. “Our company has been providing businesses with voice, Internet and Cloud-based communication services for over two decades, and now … Read more
It’s not the first time we’ve heard this part of the story. In fact, it’s becoming quite the theme. Someone visits the Tampa Bay area, falls in love and, down the road, decides to plant roots and start a business here. Moises Agami is another chief executive officer to have such a story. Born in … Read more
More than 40 architectural firms, from around the world, have submitted their qualifications applications to design a new Sarasota Performing Arts Center. Out of 43 respondents, only 18 were selected to respond to a request for proposals for the project, according to a statement. The 18 firms invited to submit proposals are Adjaye Associates, Arquitectonica, … Read more
Eric Maier and Courtney Koch, OLDER LUNDY KOCH & MARTINO Pondering how, and when, to ask the love of one’s life, “Will you marry me?” often generates huge anxiety for the proposer; often it can pale in comparison to pondering how, and when, to subsequently ask the same love, “Will you sign a prenuptial agreement?” … Read more
Punit Shah was Tampa Bay Business and Wealth’s first-ever cover story, in September 2018. Since then, he’s been a busy guy, despite a global pandemic. “Covid put a pause on a lot,” Shah says. “But we used the downtime, during covid, to plan and focus on several multi-family projects.” One of those was purchasing the … Read more
By Kevin Gilligan, SBA Lending Director at The Bank of Tampa Thanks to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the Small Business Administration (SBA) has become a household name—at least within the business community. In actuality, the SBA offers business owners so much more than the PPP. Since its inception, the SBA’s primary mission has been … Read more
Warning: This story contains some suggestive “play on word” language. But if you know Kris Dehnert, that won’t surprise you. Dehnert, partner and chief executive officer of Dugout Mugs, based in Lakeland, is a serial entrepreneur who is known in the Tampa area for being a maverick with a golden touch when it comes to … Read more
