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Billy West has officially stepped into the role of president of M.E. Wilson Company, after the passing of Guy King III in June of 2021. West previously was chief revenue officer, and partner, for the Tampa insurance brokerage. “It is a bittersweet feeling because I envisioned having Guy here to hand off the baton,” says

Champa Bay Sports and Quantum Evolution were added as members of the NFL Alumni Tampa Chapter. Starting in March 2022, the companies will be hosting monthly community events to bring together “champions” in the Tampa Bay area, in various professions, a statement said. Ben Sever founded, and launched, Champa Bay Sports in 2021. Quantum Evolution,

Dixon Hughes Goodman, an accounting firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina but with a presence in Tampa Bay, has announced it will merge with BKD CPAs & Advisors. The merger of the two firms creates a national top-ten firm that will have a combined $1.4 billion in revenue, a statement said. Tom Watson, current chief

Shilen Patel, chief executive officer of HealthAxis, in Tampa, will be honored with the Indo-US Chamber Community Service Leader award at this year’s Banyan Ball, on April 16, 2022, being held at the Grand Hyatt, in Tampa. Shilen is an active early-stage and private equity investor, as well as the founder of multiple other enterprises.

The University of South Florida Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy in the Muma College of Business has named three accounting faculty members in the school as Kerkering Barberio Fellows, an honor that recognizes continued excellence in undergraduate teaching. The 2022 Kerkering Barberio Fellows are Patricia Gaukel, senior instructor in the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy

Inspired Leadership Group starts with a simple premise: to inspire leaders to take care of themselves so they can better take care of their teams. With retreats across the United States—Florida, California, Texas and Colorado among a growing list—and across the globe in Mexico and Italy, Inspired Leadership Group focuses on an integrated approach to

The St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corp. celebrated five years of impact, at the Don Cesar, last week. Since the organization’s founding in 2016, it has announced nearly 2,000 jobs, opened 267 job creation projects and assisted 45 companies with relocations, expansions or openings, according to a statement. Here is a recap of the five

The South Tampa Chamber announced its 2022 Board of Directors. The board will be led by Rebekah Nault, account manager and community relations representative for PBX-Change. She has been involved with the Chamber since 2015. Nault also serves as an Honorary Commander for the 6th Air Refueling Wing, at MacDill Air Force Base, is a

Big Storm Brewing Co., based in Clearwater, has teamed up with Feeding Tampa Bay to help end hunger by creating a new specialty beer. The brewing company is launching “Hops for Hunger,” a honey wheat orange ale. A percentage of every beer sold will be donated to Feeding Tampa Bay. “Hops for Hunger” will make

Dugout Mugs, the Winter Haven-based maker of mugs made from baseball bats, and now stainless-steel mugs, is kicking off 2022 with a number of large-scale retail deals, including Fanatics, Pro Image Sports and Dick’s Sporting Goods. “One of my main goals this year was to go hard into retail because we’re getting to a point

Former St. Petersburg Mayor, Rick Kriseman, will join Shumaker Advisors Florida as managing principal of the United States Cities Practice, where he will focus on sustainable economic development and urban planning, while working with clients locally and nationally. He will also join the Shumaker law firm, as Of Council, in the Public Policy and Government

Cuba is a fascinating place with deep ties to the Tampa Bay area community. And a new exhibit at the Tampa Bay History Center seeks to portray that. “What do you imagine when you think about today’s Cuba? Or the Cuba visited by pastel-wearing tourists in the 1950s? The island nation is the largest in