Business Observer: 40 under 40 by Kat Hughes

OC T O B E R 26 , N OV E M B E R 1, 2018 | TH R E E D O LL A R S

FLOR IDA’S NE WSPAPER FOR T HE C - SUI T E

Tampa Bay | Young entrepreneurs overcome obstacles — and kick down doors. PG.8 PASCO • H ILL SBOROUG H • PIN ELL AS • P OLK • M A N ATEE • SA R ASOTA • C H A R LOT TE • LEE • COLLIER

40 UNDER 40 The region’s top young business leaders show why they’re head of the class. INSIDE: PAGES 6-39

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BUSINESS OBSERVER | OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 Vol. XXII, No. 40

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OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

CoffeeTalk Brevity — the soul of branding?

COURTESY

The former Valley National Bank, with a growing presence in Tampa, has simplified its name to Valley. First there was Dunkin’. Now there’s Valley. Valley National Bank, which recently entered the Tampa Bay market by acquiring Clearwater-based USAmeriBank, is following in the footsteps of Dunkin’ Donuts by excising part of its name. Henceforth, only the word “Valley” will be displayed on its signage and marketing materials. “In reality, everybody calls us ‘Valley,’” says Mark Fernandez, the bank’s chief marketing officer. “Our customers call us Valley. We call ourselves Valley. Our community partners call us Valley. So that’s what you’ll see on our buildings, our business cards … it’s what you’ll see in how we market ourselves.” Headquartered in Wayne, N.J., Valley has more than $30 billion in assets and

has been in business for 91 years. In all that time, the bank has never had a “losing quarter,” Fernandez says, and so officials didn’t want to completely overhaul the name and image. “You don’t want to dismiss what’s an incredibly strong heritage.” The changes are indeed subtle. There’s less emphasis on yellow in the color scheme, while the blue is deeper and richer. Graphic elements have been combined to suggest the presence of an arrow that indicates forward motion. Fernandez says branch operations also will be tweaked to fit the new image, most noticeably in the form of a “universal banker” service model that will see the entirety of a customer’s needs routed through a single member of the banking staff. Joe Chillura, Valley’s president of commercial lending for Florida and Alabama, says the bank inherited and is now implementing a slew of “forwardthinking ideas” in the USAmeriBank deal, which represents Valley’s largestever acquisition. Valley was also able to buck a trend, he says. “With mergers, you tend to lose somewhere between 3 and 5% of the business in the first six months because people become disenchanted and they follow their banker who left to go somewhere else,” he says. “And that’s the exact opposite of what’s happened here. We’ve actually seen a lift of well over 10% in our balance sheet growth.”

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COURTESY

A rendering of the Canoe Creek community in Parrish, which will include urban farmhouse design. Farmhouses aren’t just for farms anymore. A new community in Manatee County, from Lakewood Ranch-based homebuilder Neal Communities, aims to capitalize on the design’s popularity by giving homeowners the option to live in their own urban farmhousestyle house. The community, Canoe Creek in Parrish, is a big undertaking, with about 621 home sites on 304 acres. Homeowners will be able to choose from 13 floor plan options at Canoe Creek, and each floor plan has at least one farmhouse elevation. Charlene Neal, president of Charlene Neal PureStyle and vice president of design at Neal Communities, tells Coffee Talk the community’s location gives it a bit of a rural feeling, so the urban farmhouse style made sense. “Farmhouse architecture would have originally been a home that was added onto or a barn that was added onto,” Neal says. “The elements are very simple. It’s very bright, and it’s also authentic to Florida.” Canoe Creek has generated some

buzz — the community has an interest list with about 600 people. Homeowners are expected to be able to move in during late spring 2019. At the Canoe Creek clubhouse, meanwhile, Neal will convey the farmhouse look by using elements such as painted white brick, board-and-batten siding and metal roofing. The community marks the first time Neal has employed the urban farmhouse theme in one of the company’s neighborhoods. It was first popularized by the television channel HGTV and the show “Fixer Upper,” with stars Chip and Joanna Gaines, she says, and the impact of the style hasn’t faded. Canoe Creek likely won’t be the only time Neal offers homeowners the chance to get their hands on farmhouse style. “I do think we’ll do it in other locations that are architecturally appropriate,” she says. “I’m just excited. It’s a new, fresh look for us, and for me, on a design level, it’s been really fun to work on.”

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4 topstories from BusinessObserverFL.com BusinessObserverFL.com

TAMPA BAY

Ferry service returns to region The Cross-Bay Ferry service will relaunch Nov. 1 with a new schedule, lower fares and a new dock in Tampa. Six months’ worth of funding for the service, which will run Tuesday through Sunday until April 19, has been provided by the city of St. Petersburg, city of Tampa, Hillsborough County and Pinellas County, according to a press release In St. Petersburg, the ferry will dock at the Vinoy Yacht Basin, within walking distance of Straub Park, the Museum of Fine Arts and the shops and restaurants along Beach Drive. In Tampa, the ferry will dock at a new location adjacent to the Florida Aquarium, near Sparkman Wharf, Amalie Arena, the Tampa Bay History Center and the Tampa Riverwalk.

quote of theweek Purpose and passion are the highest priority when it comes to pursuing anything. Thomas Paterek | Stevie & Fern, St. Petersburg SEE PAGE 15

SARASOTA-MANATEE

Bank appoints market president SunTrust Banks Inc. appointed Fermin “JJ” Miranda as the bank’s Southwest Florida market president. He will based in Sarasota. According to a press release, Miranda was most recently with Cadence Bank. At Ca-

You Take Care of Business. We Take Care of You.

BUSINESS OBSERVER | OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018

dence, he worked in business banking as part of the local leadership team in Sarasota and Manatee counties. “JJ will be key to leading the growth of our commercial banking business in Southwest Florida,” says SunTrust Tampa Bay Market President Tim Schar in the statement.

Area Airport traffic surges 35% Passenger traffic at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport is up 35% this September compared to September 2017. According to a press release, September was the fifth straight month of double-digit increases in passenger traffic. The airport saw a 25% increase in August; a 30% increase in July; a 23% increase in June; and a 16% increase in May. Several airlines have recently boosted service at the airport, under the call letters SRQ. CHARLOTTE-LEE-COLLIER

Law practice names partner Marc Hetzner has joined the law firm Galbraith PLLC as a partner in its trusts and real estate department. He will divide his time between Galbraith’s Indianapolis and Naples offices, ac-

cording to a release. Hetzner spent the prior 32 years with Indianapolis-Based Krieg DeVault Alexander & Capehart, where he provided estate planning and administration for wealthy clients, many of whom owned substantial closely held business interests, the statement adds. Licensed to practice law in Florida and Indiana, Hetzner is also board-certified in tax law by the Florida Bar Association.

Tech firm assists angel fund Stickboy Creative, a custom software and mobile app development firm with a focus on artificial intelligence, has teamed up with Naples-based Tamiami Angel Funds, the largest angel fund in Florida. The partnership will provide the fund with technology development while it conducts its due diligence investigation of prospective companies, according to a statement. “In order to investigate companies that utilize artificial intelligence or behavioral analysis, we need someone who is skilled and current in this technology,” says Tim Cartwright, chairman of Tamiami Angel Funds in the statement. Stickboy is based in Fort Myers.

BY THE NUMBERS

50 People Haley Crum seeks

to hire over the next year at FrankCrum PAGE 11

15,000 Worldwide number of stores that sell Jacqueline Darna’s NoMoNausea relief bands PAGE 12

9 Age Jason Bartz was when he had his first job: cleaning after his future employer’s dog PAGE 21

4:30 Time, in the morning, Chris

Fils gets up and heads to the gym before work PAGE 23

20 Number of communities Keith Gelder has developed infrastructure for at Stock Development since 2006. PAGE 34

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CoffeeTalk

BusinessObserverFL.com

PROTECTING WHAT YOU VALUE MOST.

FROM PAGE 3

System on the move Support systems for financial and professional enterprises have quietly become the backbone of the Tampa Bay economy. More than 1 million people are employed in the sector, according to LAWLESS the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. That’s partially thanks to the region’s competitive talent pool and lower costs of doing business compared to Northeast states, like New York and New Jersey, for example, that have traditionally been home to backoffice operations for big banks and law firms. Case in point: Baker McKenzie, an international law firm that generated $2.9 billion in revenue last year, plans to build a new global support facility in Tampa that will employ 300 people when it opens in 2020. The company has nearly 6,200 fee-earning lawyers worldwide and operates similar facilities in Manila and Belfast, according to a news release. Jamie Lawless, formerly COO of Baker McKenzie’s Washington, D.C., and New York offices, will head up the firm’s new Tampa support hub. The facility will handle a wide array of back-office work in areas such as legal

services, finance, IT, talent acquisition, business development and marketing and communications, the release adds. Lawless, in the release, praises Tampa’s prodigious talent pool as a deciding factor. “Talent is the biggest asset to any global professional services firm, and we intend our Tampa center to be a great place to work for the best and brightest in the area,” she states. “Solid, collaborative and trusted relationships with the local community will make us more effective in delivering on that promise.” Baker McKenzie follows in the footsteps of Holland & Knight LLP, another prominent international law firm, which in 2015 opened a 50,000-squarefoot administrative support facility in Brandon with 250 employees. The firm sacrificed some of its prime downtown Tampa real estate to make the move, but its lawyers remain in the city center. The spacious, open-plan, lightfilled back-office ops center, meanwhile, has been a hit. “We’ve really seen a dramatic increase in collaboration,” Carrie Weintraub, the firm’s chief professional development and human resources officer, told the Business Observer in 2016.

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Court Appointed Receiver, Property Management and Specialty Oversight

Opinions wanted relevant to your life and business. Interested? Please follow this link, surveymonkey.com/r/bizobserve2018 and take the 10-minute anonymous survey. (There’s also a print version included in this issue.) Topics include content and reading habits.

Kenneth P. Saundry, Jr. brings 39+ years of business and real estate management experience to each Court Appointed Receiver assignment. Assignments involving: Estates Divorces or Family Disputes Guardianships Bankruptcy Property Oversight and Supervision Foreclosure, or ‘Workouts’ Litigation Support Excellent Experience working with Lenders, Attorneys and Court Supervised Assignments.

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The Business Observer wants to hear from you, our readers. We seek to better understand your needs for business news and information — and when, where and how you consume it. We want to make the Business Observer and our website, BusinessObserverFL.com, even more

DEL

SARASOTA | BRADENTON | TAMPA | FT. MYERS | NAPLES

Seminar steps up to the plate A seminar related to starting, operating, protecting and exiting a business will be hosted by the Fort Myers-based law firm Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, in association with Kena Yoke Consulting, Oct. 31 in Naples. The day-long, baseball-themed event, “Play YOUR Game: Creating and Running a Championship Business,” will be held at the Hilton Naples. Topics intended to help entrepreneurs knock it out of the park include: corporate structure and the options to protect the owners from potential harm; learning how tax elections and

ER WN

PUR

A RT

ICK R T PA

DI ME

Kenneth P. Saundry, Jr.

275 Burnt Pine Drive Naples, FL 34119

BUSINESS OBSERVER | OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018

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40UNDER40 | 2018

HEAD OF THE CLASS T

he theme of our 2018 40 Under 40 issue is Head of the Class: The business leaders from Tampa to Naples who shine brightest among their peers, from entrepreneurs to medical administrators to bank executives. And, like in school, one of the questions asked most often about the 40 Under 40 issue — one of the most-anticipated issues of the year — comes with a somewhat subjective answer. The question: What do we look for in the winners? Some of it, more subjective, is we look for businesses community leadership, the people who, if you are new to town, you need to meet. Success in a given career is another requisite, but that too

can be subjective. Elizabeth Diaz in Sarasota, a 33-yearold partner at one of the most prestigious law firms in the region, is one definition of success. Diaz made our 2018 class — but other lawyers, who are likewise uber-successful, didn’t make the list. Another subjective factor: People who we believe, based on their career so far and a host of intangibles, are going places — the people who would be on the most-likelyto-succeed page of a high school yearbook. Someone like Brandon Box, a market leader for IberiaBank, with a territory that covers Lee, Sarasota and Manatee counties. A southern gentleman, Box has the “it” factor, where it’s pretty clear he will run his own bank or large bank division someday. Same for commercial real estate executive Mike Griffin. With an easygoing style, Griffin is the kind

of person who can chat about the Buffalo Bills losing four straight Super Bowls right after a discussion on triple net lease rates. (It doesn’t hurt that Griffin, senior managing director of Savills Studley, has already been a Port Tampa bay commissioner and chairman of the Greater Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce.) Of course, like any good school project, there’s an objective side: We also seek people who have risked money and everything else to start or run a business. The people with stories of overcoming obstacles that can both inform and inspire. The 2018 list includes at least a dozen winners who have started their own business, from a furniture builder and a clothing maker to a digital marketing pioneer and a pregnancy-focused entrepreneur. Or take Dan Bavaro, owner

of a small and growing chain of pizza restaurants in the Tampa area. Going against the school theme, Bavaro says his head-of-the-class success comes from street smarts, and the kinds of things you don’t learn in school. A high school dropout, Bavaro did go back for a GED. And in his triumphs, there’s an education lesson for every business owner and executive — that sometimes, getting to the head of the class requires a healthy dose of self-reliance. “What it says in the book is what it says in the book,” Bavaro says, “but where you sometimes — in my case, most of the time — find success is by doing what’s not in the book.” — Mark Gordon, Managing Editor

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OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

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FUN FACTS Can you match the 40 Under 40 winner with his or her school picture? Answers are at the bottom of the page. Learn more about the winners in their profiles. YOUR BIGGEST FEAR: 1.

A. Wyatt Chocklett, p.21

“Not living up to the type of person my dog thinks I am.” Wyatt Chocklett, 33 | COO, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota

G. Heather Williams, p.28

H. Ben Wilson, p.29

I. Elizabeth Muniz, p.39

J. Mack Feldman, p.12

10.

K. Abdiel Marin, p.38

11.

L. Ericka Perry, p.16

12.

DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN THREE WORDS:

“Here’s the plan.”

Ben Wilson, 33 | Vice president of operations, Suffolk Construction, Lakewood Ranch

TOP ITEM ON YOUR BUCKET LIST:

“Break the sound barrier in a fighter jet.” 5.

E. Libby McHugh, p.38

Abdiel Marin, 38, CEO, EyeMD EMR Healthcare Systems, Bonita Springs

Ryan Benson, 37 | Co-owner, A. Vernon Allen Builder, Naples,

has two sets of twins: Banks (boy) and Rory (girl) are 3 1/2, and Beckham (boy) and Ellie (girl) are 6 months old

F. Ryan Benson, p.31

USF Bulls

COLLEGES

UF Gators

(UNDERGRAD)

Out of Florida

5 No college

2 FSU Seminoles

UCF Knights

ANSWERS: 1,I; 2,H; 3,L; 4,J; 5,C; 6,G; 7,K; 8,E; 9,D; 10,A; 11,B; 12,F

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BUSINESS OBSERVER | OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018

40UNDER40

TAMPA BAY

PHOTOS BY KAYLEIGH OMANG

FRENCH AMERICAN SCHOOL OF TAMPA BAY | 2100 62ND AVE. N., ST. PETERSBURGâ&#x20AC;&#x192;Founded in February 2017, the school provides an immersion school

experience for students from early childhood through 12th grade. Elizabeth and Willy LeBihan founded the school, investing $2 million to buy the building, renovate it, construct a new playground and order educational materials directly from French suppliers. The couple previously founded The French School of Maine.

OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

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CONGRATS NATHAN BAILEY

CHAD GOBLE

JACKSON HASKINS

Chief Operating Officer

Chief Technology Officer 2008 40 Under 40

Business Development Manager 2015 40 Under 40

2005 40 Under 40

Recognizing excellence is one of SouthTech’s keys to

SouthTech is dedicated to maintaining the best IT

success—one best represented by its people. Not only does SouthTech have three previous ‘40 Under 40’ award recipients on its management team, but the company’s 50+ employees maintain technology certifications to meet the needs of their clients.

workforce in Southwest Florida. Sound interesting? Consistently ranked one of the best places to work over the past several years, SouthTech is always looking for talented individuals to join the team. Visit www.southtech.com/careers for job opportunities.

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WELCOME TO THE 40 UNDER 40

BUSINESS OBSERVER | OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018

BusinessObserverFL.com

40UNDER40 |

SOUTH TAMPA | DAN BAVARO, 39 | FOUNDER AND OWNER, BAVARO HOSPITALITY INC.

DAN BAVARO

If I didn’t decide to change my life, I’d be dead or in prison right now.

an Bavaro grew up on t he me a n st re et s of Freehold, N.J., a locale any self-respecting music fan will instantly identify as the hometown of Bruce Springsteen — and to hear Bavaro tell it, his early years could easily be summed up by the gritty yet poignant lyrics of The Boss. “If I didn’t decide to change my life, I’d be dead or in prison right now,” says Bavaro, a high school dropout. “I stopped caring about school at the age of 12. I was out on the streets hu st l i ng. School wa s l i ke punishment.” Those street smarts served Bavaro well when he decided to leave the old neighborhood behind to start a limousine company in Manhattan. “I learned the transportation business from the old-timers, the guys on the street that they don’t make anymore,” he says. “That kind of experience is for a certain kind of person, and it’s an education that can’t be taught in school.” The company became a suc-

SURVEY SAYS Best business lesson ever learned: Always listen to your gut. Your favorite class/ subject in school: None, which is why I dropped out. Favorite off-hours activity: Pingpong with my kids. I usually lose. What you would be doing if you could pick another career: Nothing. I’m right where I’m supposed to be. Who would play you in a movie about your life: Al Pacino

40UNDER40 |

— Brian Hartz

TAMPA BAY | MATT CRANE, 37 | COMMERCIAL BANKING RELATIONSHIP MANAGER, REGIONS BANK

MATT CRANE

cess. Bavaro even landed some big-na me customers. “The founder of CitiGroup was a client of mine … DeNiro, Pacino … all my clients,” he recalls. In 2005, a larger competitor came calling with a buyout offer Bavaro couldn’t refuse. He sold the company and decided to try his hand at the pizza business, importing a special Neapolitan-style oven from Italy. His vision for a chain of high-end pizzerias didn’t f ly in New York, though, so four years later, he packed up and headed south to Florida — determined to make a fresh start at age 30. With three Bavaro’s restaurants in the Tampa Bay area and one on the way in Sarasota, Bavaro seems at peace with knowing what he doesn’t know. “What it says in the book is what it says in the book, but where you sometimes — in my case, most of the time — find success is by doing what’s not in the book.”

s a commercial banking relationship manager for Regions Bank in Tampa for nearly six years, Matt Crane’s key to success has been to embrace relationships and let go of the pressure for results. Earlier in his career, he says he mistakenly tried to force his way into decisions, even going so far as to try to influence outcomes. “But then you recognize the chain of command and realize there’s somebody who’s being paid to make those decisions, and you’re being paid to present an opportunity,” he says. “How you manage that presentation and that relationship [to your superior] is going to go a long way toward your success. It’s a waste of energy to try to make somebody’s decisions for them.” Crane says he makes an effort every week to develop a new, quality relationship — business or personal — with someone he doesn’t k now. Honing his interpersonal skills

in that way helps him add and keep clients, because they feel like they have a personal, attentive advocate despite doing business with one of the largest banks in the market. “It’s a ma zing how much business you can win just by being responsive,” Crane says. “People are just looking to know that they’re being heard and taken care of.” Crane’s relationship-first, “go with the flow” mindset means he doesn’t have any must-hit goals by the time he hits 40, other than starting a family. And he’s OK with that. “From a professional standpoint,” he says, “I just work really hard at doing the best I can for my clients and then letting whatever else is going to happen shake out internally. I would rather swim downstream, being able and ready to take opportunities as they come, rather than swimming upstream and trying to force things.” — Brian Hartz

It’s amazing how much business you can win just by being responsive. People are just looking to know that they’re being heard and taken care of.

SURVEY SAYS Years on the Gulf Coast: 32 years Best place to network: Buddy Brew or CAMP Tampa Messy desk or clean workspace: Messy Best business lesson ever learned: Help enough people get what they want and you will eventually get what you want. Favorite off-hours activity: Kite-boarding and yoga Top item on your bucket list: About to check it off the list … heading to Africa on Sept. 1 to find Simba. Your happy place is: With my family and dogs. Your biggest fear: Becoming a jerk. Who would play you in a movie about your life: Chris O’Donnell What best describes you from high school? Jock. Played football, basketball and baseball. Describe yourself in three words: Curious, authentic and strategic.

OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

If I had to do it all over again, I would do it the same way. SURVEY SAYS Best business lesson ever learned: Slow down and make calculated decisions versus shooting from the hip quickly. Your least favorite job interview question: If you could be any Disney character, whom would you be and why? Your favorite class/ subject in school: Any sciences Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Balloon specialist at a party store Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: Bobby Kennedy and Ellen DeGeneres

TRINITY | HALEY CRUM, 36 | EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, FRANKCRUM/FRANKCRUM STAFFING

HALEY CRUM

aley Crum was totally fine with her career track soon after college, working 100-hour weeks as a chef in Clearwater. “I was having a blast,” she says. Crum’s dad, Frank Crum, wou ld come by a nd of ten ask her: When are you going to come work for the family business? Far from a restaurant, the Crum family business is FrankCrum, a business-to-business entity, with services in insurance, benefits, human resource outsourcing, payroll and staffing. A pioneer in what’s now known as a professional employer organization sector, Crum and his father founded t he business in 1981 w it h $25,000. It has since grown to $1.6 billion in annual revenue. Haley Crum, in her mid-20s a decade ago, had little desire to join the company. But her father was persistent, and when her grandfather got sick, she thought, finally, the timing was right. She had one caveat: She had to start from the bottom and work her way up on her merits. The senior Crum agreed, and

Haley Crum started in basically a clerk position, four levels removed from the C-suite. “It was a big benefit,” says Haley Crum, citing the training and gettingto-know-the-company phase. “If I had to do it all over again, I would do it the same way.” Crum, now with a law degree, oversees the staffing unit in addition to operations on the PEO side at FrankCrum, from compliance to business affairs. With the company growing, from some 260 employees today, for example, to seeking to hire 50 more people over the next year, Crum is particularly focused on client relations. “We have to make sure that we maintain great customer service or it even gets better as we grow,” she says. Another focus: continuing to work well with her dad and her brother, Matt Crum, a fellow top executive at FrankCrum. She says arguments among family tend to work out sooner than later. “It’s not perfect. We have our riffs,” says Crum. “But we have learned to work together for the greater good.” — Mark Gordon

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TAMPA | JACQUELINE DARNA, 33 | FOUNDER AND CEO, NOMO NAUSEA

SURVEY SAYS

JACQUELINE DARNA

acqueline Darna’s antinausea wristband company, NoMo Nausea, continues to prove the American dream is possible for a Tampabased startup. Darna, an anesthesia clinician, came up with the idea in 2013 when her doctors suggested she be put in a medically induced coma due to postpartum nausea. Instead, Darna used a combination of aromatherapy and acupuncture on her wrist to avoid a scary medical procedure. She filed a provisional patent in January 2014 and went to production six months later. Within the first 18 months she was selling to 12 countries worldwide in more than 1,000 stores. Now, Darna’s product is sold in 15,000 stores globally, including a number of big-box retailers such as Bed Bath and Beyond, Buy Buy Baby and 6,000 CVS stores. In addition to the NoMo Nausea band, Darna sells a migraine relief band and a band for nausea in pets. Darna says Target and Walmart are interested in selling her product in four different areas of the stores.

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SURVEY SAYS Your least favorite job interview question: “Why won’t you stop calling us?” Weirdest job you’ve ever had: I worked for a Republican gay rights lobbying firm in 2012. It was an incredible experience, but both sides of the aisle had something to dislike about us. Favorite off-hours activity: a bike ride to Green Bench Brewery with friends Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, to show them we’re still here. What you would be doing if you could pick another career: Department of State Political Officer in a country ending in “-stan.” Top item on your bucket list: Amazon rainforest river tour Who would play you in a movie about your life: Bruce Willis with hair What best describes you from high school? Nerd (I played a lot of World of Warcraft)

Best business lesson ever learned: Do, then say. Be quick to get it done, follow up, or complete the task at hand, but don’t forget to talk about it after to get the notoriety deserved.

She also has sales reps working to get her product in multiple spaces in hospitals and to HR divisions of large companies that seek to provide natural relief to employees for nausea and headaches. This past June, Darna won the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council PepsiCo Choice Competition, which awarded $15,000 in prize money and multiple mentoring sessions with PepsiCo executives. The money w ill go toward building manufacturing for her newest creation: the NoMo Sleepless Nights product. She’s also hoping the increased manufacturing will allow her to start landing big government contracts as soon as she is certified as an 8(a) business for being a Hispanic woman-owned small business. Darna was a lso the 2017 winner of Shark Tank investor Kevin Harrington’s new show, “The Big Pitch,” filmed at the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas. Since then, she’s been on the road, sharing her pitch and her product with expos and startup groups nationwide.

Favorite off-hours activity: Latin dancing Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (I was named after her) and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Top item on your bucket list: Run for a political office to really make a change. Your happy place is: In the shower with music blasting Your biggest fear: Mediocrity, I never want to get comfortable or hit a cruise control in life. Favorite Podcast: Pregnancy Pukeology Podcast Who would play you in a movie about your life: Jennifer Garner

ST. PETERSBURG | MACK FELDMAN, 25 | VICE PRESIDENT, FELDMAN EQUITIES LLC

MACK FELDMAN

f Donald Trump hadn’t come a long a nd completely up-ended politics, Mack Feldman’s career trajectory might be on a different arc. He was part of Jeb Bush’s policy team during the 2016 election cycle, which saw the former Florida governor’s campaign (and many others) get completely derailed by the Trump phenomenon. Feldman, the son of Feldman Equities LLC chairman and CEO Larry Feldman, was willing to do whatever it took to help the Bush team win. He says he went from reading reports to the candidate himself to knocking on doors and making cold calls for a month in Iowa. “I developed a voter persuasion guide for Iowa that was adopted statewide by the campaign —basically a cheat sheet that we passed out to all the phone bankers throughout the state. I like to think that it helped, but granted, we got only

2.8% of the vote, so not sure I’ll broadcast that,” he says with a laugh. The political world’s loss is Tampa Bay’s gain: Feldman has become a key player in the development of Riverwalk Place, the $350 million Feldman Equities mixed-use condo tower project that will be the tallest building on the Gulf Coast. (In a bit of comeuppance, Riverwalk Place is slated to rise on the site of a failed Trump Tower project.) Feldman says working for the family business was never part of his game plan. “I was a little skeptical when my dad and I first started talking about it,” he admits. “But I can’t say how happy I am that I took the job. I spend more time with my father now than I ever have before … I really didn’t know him until I had this chance to work with him on a day-to-day basis.” — Brian Hartz

I can’t say how happy I am that I took the job. I spend more time with my father now than I ever have before … I really didn’t know him until I had this chance to work with him on a day-to-day basis.

OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

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TAMPA | ESTELLA GRAY, 37 | DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, STATE ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, 13TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

ESTELLA GRAY

stella Gray was never interested in leaving her global public relations firm job — she had built a successful career at Hill+Knowlton Strategies. But when a friend mentioned an opportunity that would allow her to continue to do the PR work she loved and combine it with making a difference in the community, it sparked her interest. That job was director of communications for the State Attorney’s office in the 13th Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County, a position she took in May. With experience leading PR strategies for aviation, maritime and private utility clients, and prior to that, government affairs for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, Gray mentions a few qualities that will serve her well in her new position. Not only has she brought a network of contacts, she also describes herself as cutthroat and creative, with sincere dedication to public service. Du r i ng t he pa st severa l months, her biggest challenge has been navigating the com-

plexities of the criminal justice system and the nuances of the law. Continuously learning more from the attorneys she works with emboldens her to be a better spokesperson for impartial application of that law, she says. She’s also a strong believer that “if you can’t learn from the janitor or the receptionist, then you can’t learn from the CEO.” Currently, Gray is working to launch a youth mentorship program in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters, offering juveniles with intermediate offenses a path for their future. Gray is also on the board at the United Way Suncoast; Leadership Florida Connect; and the Florida Public Relations Association of Tampa Bay. Gray says the best lesson she’s learned in her career is “you have to learn from the job you hated.” No matter the challenge, whether it be a difficult manager or lack of infrastructure, she says, “You have to thrive in the valley.” — Traci Beach

You have to learn from the job you hated. SURVEY SAYS Best place to network: The Hall on Franklin Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Walmart cashier. I could write a tell-all book on the staff. Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: Meryl Streep, Josephine Baker What you would be doing if you could pick another career: Owning a bookstore in France Your happy place is: Any music festival wearing Toms and cut-off shorts Favorite Podcast: The Corporate Homie What best describes you from high school? Civic geek, I was in too many student organizations.

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TAMPA | MIKE GRIFFIN, 37 | SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, SAVILLS STUDLEY OCCUPIER SERVICES

MIKE GRIFFIN

I feel like I’m part of a generation that’s kicking down doors.

ike Griffin has combined good timing with outright hustle, an affable personality and keen insight to build a successful commercial real estate career. Sta r t ing w it h t im ing, in 2003, he was the first employee of a Tampa startup, Vertical Integration, which focused on tenant representation, mostly for corporate and government entities. “It was a tremendous opportunity to get in with a compa ny from t he ground floor,” says Griffin. In 2015, Savills Studley Occupier Services acquired Vertical Integration, and Griffin was named managing director of Savills Studley’s Tampa office. He has since worked with a host of new clients, in addition to overseeing a team of brokers. The focus remains on tenant representation, now particularly for multimarket accounts. Griffin says a key to his success at Savills Studley, and with Vertical Integration, is to look for ways to differentiate

SURVEY SAYS Weirdest job you’ve ever had: In middle school, I sold Coke and peanuts in the stands at the old Tampa Stadium. I also sold filtered tap water on the side during the hot Bucs games. I made a small fortune as a middle schooler. Your biggest fear: Heights and clowns What best describes you from high school? A good combination of “Nerd” (I was president of the Student Council) and “Jock” (I caught the first touchdown in my high school’s history). Go Sickles Gryphons.

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himself in a crowded field. “We have to constantly raise the bar of what our value is for clients,” Griffin says. “It’s not about going through the motions. It’s not just a cliché. We want to go the extra mile for our clients.” Griffin, three years shy of 40, has also already held some lofty positions in the community, in addition to his commercial real estate work. He was chairman of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce in 2017, and served one year as a commissioner of Port Tampa Bay. He’s also been a vocal and visible supporter of organizations that support the Tampa Rays. That goes for both the team’s quest for a new stadium in Ybor City and its search for more business community partners. “I feel like I’m part of a generation that’s kicking down doors, and I’m happy to be part of that,” he says. “I don’t want to run every board in town. I want to make an impact.”

TAMPA BAY | MAJA LACEVIC, 31 | ATTORNEY, TRENAM LAW

MAJA LACEVIC

— Mark Gordon

orn in war-torn Bosnia and Herzegovina, part of the former Yugoslavia at the time, Maja Lacevic and her family became refugees in Croatia and Germany before a church in Kentucky sponsored them to come to the United States. She says her chaotic upbringing gave her “a healthy respect for the rule of law” that motivated her career choices. Her mother worked as a physician, so it’s fitting that Lacevic has become a lawyer specializing in health care law, particularly corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions involving hospitals and health systems. Lacev ic’s formative years also taught her, she says, “to be a lot more empathetic and to look at the world with a much more global perspective, which is so important in this day and age when we are connected to

anyone, any where, with the click of a button.” In her corporate law practice, Lacevic doesn’t litigate, but that’s the way she likes it. “I like to work with people at the forefront and solve their problems before they become problems,” she says, adding that even in business law, passion, commitment and authenticity are keys to success. “Clients can tell if you’re not interested,” Lacevic explains. “They can tell if you’re really just about the bottom line and if you’re not genuinely interested in who they are, helping them grow and helping them achieve their goals. So having authenticity in your relationships, in your networking, I think is very important, especially in the legal industry.” — Brian Hartz

[My formative years taught me] to be a lot more empathetic and to look at the world with a much more global perspective, which is so important in this day and age when we are connected to anyone, anywhere with the click of a button.

SURVEY SAYS Birthplace: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Yugoslavia at the time) Best business lesson ever learned: Embrace failure and setbacks as opportunities for growth. Challenges are what cause you to grow and really perfect your goals. It is when we are faced with a setback that our true character can shine. Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: First, Nikola Tesla. In the Nikola Tesla versus Thomas Edison, debate I am firmly #teamTesla. Fun fact, when you are cheering on the Tampa Bay Lightning, those are two Tesla coils which generate real “lightning” into the roof structure. The second would be Madeline Albright, the first female United States Secretary of State in U.S. history. Favorite Podcast: Pod Save the World Who would play you in a movie about your life: Nina Dobrov or Mila Kunis. Nina is from Bulgaria and Mila is from the Ukraine, so I can see either of them playing me.

OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

ST. PETERSBURG | THOMAS PATEREK, 32 | CO-FOUNDER AND CO-OWNER, STEVIE & FERN

SURVEY SAYS

THOMAS PATEREK

Marital status/children: Dogfather to #kojaktheboxer

Messy desk or clean workspace: Messy, meaning the ideas are flowing like the salmon of Capistrano.

tevie & Fern, by way of explanation, is a St. Petersburg-based ad agency that specializes in creative branding for clients ranging from Red Stripe beer and the Women’s Tennis Association to commercial property developer Sembler and St. Pete fintech startup Intrinio. The company’s unusual name is indicative of the unique outlook of co-founder Thomas Paterek, a surfer dude who says “purpose and passion are the highest priority when it comes to pursuing anything.” Paterek grew up riding the waves of Long Island and the Jersey Shore, and even now travels the world to find the best breaks. Surfing in developing countries like Costa Rica, he says, “exposed me to a lot of things I had never seen here in the First World. It fueled a passion for wanting to make an impact.” He’s carried that passion over into his career via a Stevie & Fern program called Waves

Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Hand-sanding vintage Porsches in my dad’s restoration shop until my fingers bled. Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: My 18-year-old self and then 80-year-old self, in a DeLorean, of course. What you would be doing if you could pick another career: CEO of the Surfrider Foundation, comin’ for ya Chad ;) Who would play you in a movie about your life: Keanu Reeves a la the original Matrix. What best describes you from high school? Skaterboy

of Change, in which the firm selects two nonprofits per year and delivers a heav ily discounted rebranding of the entity’s visual identity, website and collateral materials. So far, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Great Explorations Children Museum and Community Action Stops Abuse, which aids victims of domestic violence, have benefited from the program. “We provide over $100,000 of branding services for next to nothing,” Paterek says. “And it’s not because we have extra time on our hands or because we’ve hit certain revenue criteria. It’s something that we wholeheartedly believe is the right thing to do … it’s part of our business plan, because when you run a nonprofit, it’s tough — you’re asking for money to go toward marketing, but no one wants to donate for that. It’s important for marketing teams to come in and support these nonprofits.” — Brian Hartz

[Surfing] exposed me to a lot of things I had never seen here in the First World. It fueled a passion for wanting to make an impact.

Describe yourself in three words: Don’t stop believin’

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NEW TAMPA | ERICKA PERRY, 32 | CEO, THE STORK BAG

SURVEY SAYS

ERICKA PERRY

ricka Perry says being a mother has made her a better businesswoman, and being a businesswoman has made her a better mother. “I use incentives for my kids. They want to do certain things now because if they do, they know certain good things are going to happen,” she says. “My business, my personal brand, my company — everything is kind of intertwined.” Perry has made it a goal to align her personality with her purpose, and in doing so she’s inspired mothers who want to be successful businesswomen. But at first she didn’t realize she was building a powerful brand when she would give interviews and speak at conferences about The Stork Bag — her 4-year-old entrepreneurial venture that provides care packages for pregnant women. “When women become mothers, they typically don’t think outside of motherhood,” Perry says. “But for me, being a mom

Years on the Gulf Coast: 1 Best business lesson ever learned: Align your personality with your purpose, and no one can touch you. (Oprah taught me that.)

and an entrepreneur go hand in hand because I am always multitasking, so I innately started to talk about how motherhood fits in with entrepreneurship.” The company’s Stork Bags are modeled on a care package Perry personally assembled and sent to one of her friends who was having a difficult pregnancy. Perry found it hard to believe there wasn’t a similar product already on the market, so she filled the gap, selling 100 Stork Bags in her first three months in business and hitting her goal of $100,000 in revenue much faster than projected, “all without outside investment,” she says. “Now, each time I see an order come in or my staff shipping out boxes, I think to myself, ‘These are people who are buying into a dream that I had,’” says Perry. “I put this idea on paper and then I worked day and night on it. So much blood, sweat and tears have gone into it.”

Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Finger-spacing hangers on clothing racks … (good ole’ retail) Community group you’re most involved with: HeyMama Co. Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: Madam C.J. Walker and Lucille Ball What you would be doing if you could pick another career: Therapist Your biggest fear: Hitting an iceberg while on a cruise (Titanic really did a number on me) Favorite Podcast: Girlboss Radio

— Brian Hartz

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SURVEY SAYS Messy desk or clean workspace: My desk always mirrors my brain. So usually it’s extremely organized, but right now it looks like a nuke went off. Eat lunch out or at your desk: Out, but usually I survive off black coffee until 3 p.m. Your favorite class/ subject in school: Marine biology Favorite off-hours activity: Yoga and hiking Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway What you would be doing if you could pick another career: Civil rights attorney or a commercial diver Top item on your bucket list: Visit Indonesia and Nepal Who would play you in a movie about your life: Tiny Fey. She has a hilarious awkwardness that I think would capture me. What best describes you from high school? Teacher’s Pet

What best describes you from high school? Cheerleader

ST. PETERSBURG | CAROLINE SMITH, 34 | FOUNDER, SMITH CREATIVE LLC

CAROLINE SMITH

aroline Smith and her husband and business partner, Evan, were part of the filmmaking team responsible for “St. Pete Unfiltered,” a documentary about the city of St. Petersburg’s much-maligned approach to sewage treatment that has resulted in millions of gallons of untreated waste dumped into the waters of Tampa Bay and the surrounding waters. Smith says she went “full throttle,” on the film, putting in 12- to 14-hour days as its executive producer, director and writer. The film won an award in January at the Gasparilla International Film Festival, and will be screened early next year at the Dunedin International Film Festival. When she’s not out holding local politicians’ feet to the fire, however, Smith runs a successful photography business, Smith Creative LLC. It special-

izes in boutique, highly personalized wedding photo services. Running her ow n business suits Smith fine. “W hen I worked for other people, I was always the person saying, ‘Well, what if we did it this way?’ Sometimes companies don’t like to hear that when they’ve been doing something a certain way for so long,” she says. “But if I’m in charge, I can easily just say, ‘OK, well let’s try it this way for a while. Even if it’s just a couple of weeks, let’s just see what happens and experiment.’” Don’t try to pigeonhole her, though. “By the time I’m 40, I plan on being in a completely different career,” Smith says. “Honestly, I’m one of those people who will probably have three more careers by the time I retire. I’m just into so many different things.” — Brian Hartz

I was always the person saying, ‘Well, what if we did it this way?’ Sometimes companies don’t like to hear that when they’ve been doing something a certain way for so long.

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LUTZ | RYAN VAUGHT, 27 | EXECUTIVE MANAGING DIRECTOR, COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL

SURVEY SAYS

RYAN VAUGHT

Best place to network: Youth sports Best business lesson ever learned: If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.

self-described “chameleon,” Ryan Vaught is accustomed to, as he puts it, “running parallel paths.” Growing up, his family moved often, and he attended 11 different schools. “Tampa is the ninth different city I’ve lived in,” he says. That ability to adapt served him well when he decided to join the military, where people of all races, religions and socioeconomic backgrounds are thrown together and molded into a team with clearly defined goals. “At 21 years old, I was in charge of 45 people,” he says. “Kids who are 18 and men in their late 30s, early 40s. You have leaders above you, but your feet are held to the fire at a very young age.” Vaught left active duty around the same time his interest in business grew — though until

Your favorite class/ subject in school: Behavioral economics Community group you’re most involved with: Florida Premier FC (Youth soccer), Make-A-Wish Foundation Favorite off-hours activity: Coaching Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: Elon Musk and Osama Bin Laden What you would be doing if you could pick another career: High school teacher Top item on your bucket list: Run across the United States

recently he continued to serve in the National Guard as part of the U.S. Army’s 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based in Pinellas Park. He satisfies his leadership and team-building itch via a long-running side gig as a youth soccer coach, a job to which he devotes as many as 20 hours per week. “I’ve always held the belief that I’d much rather have two doors to choose to walk through than just one,” he says. “From a professional standpoint, I would deal with developers, bankers and lawyers most of the month, but then I’d go off and play soldier for three or four days, then I’d come back from being a soldier and put the coaching hat on.” He adds, “I’ve been blessed by either creating or being a part of a lot of really talented teams.”

I’d much rather have two doors to choose to walk through than just one.

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TAMPA | TONI WARREN, 35 | PRESIDENT, SUNCOAST DEVELOPERS GUILD

TONI WARREN

— Brian Hartz

he mantra that guides Toni Warren’s life is simple to say, harder to execute: If it’s time to change, do it. Invest in yourself. After working in event marketing, for example, Warren realized she wanted to make a big career change. She was also interested in a better work-life balance and wanted to get into technology. So she invested in an MBA at the University of Tampa. Today, as president of Suncoast Developers Gu i ld, a three-month immersive computer coding school in St. Petersburg, Warren encourages others to invest in education and make a career shift. The school, which Warren says is the state’s first nonprofit coding school, opened its first class this summer, once it received licensing from the Florida Department of Education. Backers of the guild and others in the community encouraged Warren to take the position after her former employer, the Iron Yard, a national for-

profit coding school, closed all 15 of its locations last year. As campus director, Warren says the company’s Tampa location had the highest enrolled campus at the time of its closure. Now, Warren’s top priority is bootstrapping a grassroots marketing campaign to spread the word about Suncoast Developers Guild. She wants to let people know it’s possible to make a career shift — and have access to a starting salary of $40,000 to $60,000 a year after completing the three-month program. She also wants to publicize the benefits of the school being focused on the Tampa Bay market, rather than offering a canned national curriculum. “I never saw myself running a code school,” Warren admits. “But the opportunity arose, and I believed in our results, believed in the mission, and the community asked me to step up, so I’m embracing my role as a social entrepreneur.” — Traci Beach

I never saw myself running a code school, but the opportunity arose, and I believed in our results, believed in the mission, and the community asked me to step up, so I’m embracing my role as a social entrepreneur.

SURVEY SAYS Best business lesson ever learned: “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”- Henry Ford Your favorite class/ subject in school: Women’s and Gender Studies Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Delivering phone books Favorite off-hours activity: Walking my Chihuahua on Bayshore What you would be doing if you could pick another career: Teaching! I have the privilege of being able to do that part time in my current role but I would be doing it full time if not the president at Suncoast Developers Guild. Top item on your bucket list: Hot air balloon ride Your happy place is: Dancing to my favorite band Who would play you in a movie about your life: Sarah Jessica Parker. I often get told I look like her. Describe yourself in three words: passionate, dedicated, ambitious

OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

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ST. PETERSBURG | ANDREW WATSON, 33 | FOUNDER AND CEO, BUILT

SURVEY SAYS

ANDREW WATSON

Birthplace: Elmendorf, Alaska Best place to network: Coffee shops

Your favorite class/ subject in school: Philosophy

uch like fellow Tampa entrepreneur and 40 Under 40 winner Dan Bavaro, college dropout Andrew Watson hasn’t gone by the book in carving out — literally — a career that suits his unique vision and abilities. The founder a nd CEO of Bu i lt, a custom f u r n it u re manufacturing company in Tampa, Watson says it’s “a daily struggle to delineate between being an artist who builds furniture as a conceptual, artistic endeavor, and someone who’s operating a business.” But Watson also has a keen feel for the pulse of the market. Built, for one, got a big break when prominent Tampa restaurateur Richard Gonzmart selected the company to furnish Ulele, his popular new waterfront eatery. Now, the company is on the verge of launching its first line of branded production furni-

Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Martial arts instructor Community group you’re most involved with: IIDA Favorite off-hours activity: Surfing Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: Ernest Hemingway and Steve Jobs What you would be doing if you could pick another career: Photographer Favorite Podcast: Revisionist History Who would play you in a movie about your life: The Rock

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ture, and Watson — who paradoxically describes himself as both creative and pragmatic — faces a challenge common to many startups. “A business is a collection of systems, and being a business owner means you’re managing those systems,” he says. “Whereas being self-employed means you’re working inside of your business. I’ve been working as an account manager, a sales manager, a production designer … sometimes the concept designer. But as we get to the most pure edition of what the company is, I will just be managing the systems, not working inside the company, and we’re at a point now where we have all the pieces in place so that I can work on the business, not in the business.” OK, so Watson has read some books. — Brian Hartz

[It’s] a daily struggle to delineate between being an artist who builds furniture as a conceptual, artistic endeavor, and someone who’s operating a business. FEATURED PROPERTY

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BUSINESS OBSERVER | OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018

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SARASOTA-MANATEE

PHOTOS BY KAYLEIGH OMANG

THE CLASSICAL ACADEMY OF SARASOTA | 8751 FRUITVILLE ROAD, SARASOTA The school opened in August 2014 with 187 students from Pre-K through 10th

grade. The private school currently has some 300 students, in Pre-K through 12th grade. Working initially with Hillsdale College, the school follows a classical school curriculum. “Classically educated students are coherent, thoughtful and eloquent writers and speakers who are grounded in virtue,” the school states on its website. “Classical education focuses on a rigorous and content-rich core in which academic marks are given for mastery, not for effort, in every subject.” The principal and founder of the school is Josh Longenecker.

OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

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| JASON BARTZ, 38 | VP OF DEVELOPMENT, RIVERSIDE REAL ESTATE CO. AND NDC ASSET MANAGEMENT

JASON BARTZ

ason Bartz’s dream was to become a professional baseball player. He never thought about doing anything else. That was, until he accomplished that dream and it was cut short due to an injury. After a life focused on baseball, Bartz needed to find a new career. So in 2003, he returned to his hometown, Bradenton. After a short stint in insurance sales, Bartz turned to Ron Allen, a family friend who had given him his first job at 9 years old, picking up the yard after the dog. Allen offered Bartz a position working for his construction and real estate development firm. Today, Bartz still reports to Allen, now as vice president of development for The Riverside Real Estate Co. and NDC Asset Management. The company recently acquired Pittsburghbased NDC Asset Management, which manages properties across seven states. Bartz says his biggest challenge now is growing the company. He hopes to break into

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You can’t be all things to all people. You have to decide what’s the most important thing today, next month and next year. SURVEY SAYS Your least favorite job interview question: “Has anyone ever called you ‘white chocolate’?” Favorite off-hours activity: Working in the yard, fertilizing, trying to grow plants around the yard, constantly breaking the irrigation system Who would play you in a movie about your life: Jason Bateman

You can have a Harvard degree, but if you don’t know how to interact with people, you won’t be successful.

the Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia multifamily markets, connecting t he company’s Southeast territories of Florida and Louisiana. Bartz gives a lot of credit for his success to lessons he learned from his late father, Bob Bartz, who was president of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce for 35 years. Bartz says the chamber holds a special place in his heart, and it’s been an emotional but rewarding experience to be part of the chamber’s board while they’ve transitioned to new leadership. Jason Bartz says his father taught him the importance of being a people person. “You can have a Harvard degree, but if you don’t know how to interact with people, you won’t be successful,” Bartz says. Especially in construction and real estate management, where you’re selling services and not a physical product, Bartz says, people “want to work with you because of who you are.”

SURVEY SAYS Top item on your bucket list: There are several golf courses around the world that I would love to play, the top being Pebble Beach. Favorite podcast: ESPN’s “Golic and Wingo” show. I listen to it most weekday mornings while driving to the office.

— Traci McMillan

LAKEWOOD RANCH | WYATT CHOCKLETT, 33 | COO, DOCTORS HOSPITAL OF SARASOTA

WYATT CHOCKLETT

rior to his current role as chief operating officer of Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, Wyatt Chocklett worked in electronic medical records. As he visited more hospitals, he realized that’s where he wanted to be. The emotionfilled hospitals gave him an opportunity to interact with patients. About five years ago, he approached an executive at his company — Hospital Corporation of America — and asked for a shot at being an administrator. He got his first chance at a hospital in Dickson, Tenn. “I don’t think you can always wait for someone to come tap you on the shoulder,” he says. “You have to be invested in your own career.” At TriStar Horizon Medical Center in Dickson, he worked his way up to COO. In July 2017, he was presented with a new opportunity: COO of Doctors Hospital. At the Sarasota hospita l, he ensures compliance and smooth operations on a day-today basis. That includes key aspects of hospital life, such as the lights being on, air conditioning functioning at the right temperature and repairing anything that needs to be fixed. “I don’t wait for something to break to replace it,” he says. “I look

ahead.” He also supports the hospital’s nursing teams, making sure they have what they need to take care of patients. Chocklett’s role includes overseeing the hospital’s growth projects as well. This spring, Doctors Hospital opened a $12 million emergency room in Lakewood Ranch. Also ahead are a new $1.7 million catheterization and vascular lab, along with a $2.3 million operating room for robotic surgery. With all the job’s demands, the biggest hurdle is prioritizing, he says. “In health care and in hospital administration, you’ve got new and different challenges every day,” Chocklett says. “You can’t be all things to all people. You have to decide what’s the most important thing today, next month and next year.” Amid all the juggling, Chocklett carves out time for what he feels is most important, including talking to doctors and patients. “I think administrators can do three things really well to be successful,” he says. “They can and should speak to every guest they see. They can escort people if they’re lost. They can rub off scuff marks on the floor. I make sure I do those three things every day.” — Grier Ferguson

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BRADENTON | SHANNON KIRSTEN COUCH, 33 | OWNER AND ARTIST, SHANNON KIRSTEN STUDIO

SURVEY SAYS

SHANNON COUCH

Years on the Gulf Coast: I was born and raised on the Gulf Coast minus my time away at college.

Marital status/children: Engaged (to be married in January) Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Probably this one! Best place to network: Social media/Instagram Messy desk or clean workspace: A combination. I’m very organized but it gets messy where I paint. Best business lesson ever learned: Learning how to say “no” to certain projects but also saying “yes” to the opportunities that seem the most difficult or intimidating at first. Both lessons have shown to be very rewarding. Who would play you in a movie about your life: Amy Poehler Top item on your bucket list: To visit all seven continents, I have two left!

When you get offered these bigger things, I didn’t necessarily feel prepared for all of them, but I knew I just needed to say ‘yes.’

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he doesn’t limit herself to one medium. Shannon Kirsten Couch, instead, works in gouache, watercolor and acrylics. Couch’s illustrations have been featured on items such as greeting cards, notepads and wrapping paper. Her client list includes a host of household names — Hallmark, Trader Joe’s, Urban Outfitters, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, to name a few. Soon more of her designs will hit the shelves of Anthropologie stores. She’s collaborated with the national chain on designs for two dish towels and two dessert plates. Customers also purchase Couch’s designs online at Etsy and on her website, as well as in 80 to 90 boutiques across the country. Couch can often be found at work in her Bradenton studio, illustrating new greeting cards and designing custom wedding invitations. She’s also envisioning ideas for new products and planning to expand more into the stationary and office supply realm. To get the word out about her designs and gain more clients,

— Grier Ferguson

BRADENTON | ELIZABETH P. DIAZ, 33 | PARTNER, WILLIAMS PARKER HARRISON DIETZ & GETZEN

LIZ DIAZ

Couch regularly attends trade shows. She also has a sales representative working for her in the Pacific Northwest. The biggest growth in the past year for her company has been in wholesale orders, with companies including Anthropologie ordering her greeting card designs along with other designs. One key to her business, Couch has found, is to know when to decline opportunities and when to seize them. “I think in the beginning, when you’re just starting out, at least for what I do with custom projects, you just want to say ‘yes’ to everything,” she says. The chance to build a portfolio and make money presents a strong pull. “But some of those little things really drain your time,” Couch warns. On the other end of the spectrum, she says, are projects that are a bit of a stretch. “When you get offered these bigger things, I didn’t necessarily feel prepared for all of them, but I knew I just needed to say ‘yes,’” Couch says. “It would be good for my business, and I just needed to figure it out.”

lizabeth Diaz has always been hard working. How hard? The trusts and estates attorney at Williams Parker Harrison Dietz & Getzen has five degrees: a bachelor’s and master’s in accounting from Florida State University; a JD and MBA from Stetson University; and a Master of Laws in Taxation from the University of Florida College of Law. “I kept getting scholarships to go to school, so I kept going,” Diaz says. That’s the same mentality that got her into Florida State in the first place — even though she missed the school’s application deadline. She instead found the president of the school’s phone number and gave him a call. She remembers her dad saying, “What do you have to lose?” After being accepted, Diaz walked onto the school’s track team her freshman year. She later became captain of the cheerleading team. Diaz made the shift from accounting to law when a business

law professor saw she excelled at numbers and encouraged her to explore how numbers interact with the law. It’s been a good differentiator for Diaz, hired by Williams Parker Harrison Dietz & Getzen following an on-campus interview in 2012. In July, Diaz was named a partner at the 50-attorney law firm. She also runs the firm’s summer associate program, which aims to mimic life as a first year associate, encouraging applicants to meet clients, get out in the community and learn to juggle home life and work life. In addition to her work life, Diaz has led both finance and development initiatives at Forty Carrots Family Center as a member of its board. Growing up in a family of five kids with her youngest sibling 15 years younger than her, and now with two children of her own, Diaz says charities that focus on kids have captured her heart. — Traci Beach

I kept getting scholarships to go to school, so I kept going.

SURVEY SAYS Years on the Gulf Coast: 6 Marital status/children: Married with two sons, ages 3 and 2 Alma mater/degree: Florida State University Best place to network: Anywhere. I don’t think there is a best. Messy desk or clean workspace: Organized chaos Best business lesson ever learned: You can’t please everyone. Your least favorite job interview question: If you could be any color, what color would you be, and why? Your favorite class/ subject in school: Any math class Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Pet sitting the neighbors’ snakes Your biggest fear: Snakes What you would be doing if you could pick another career: Own a bakery.

OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

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SARASOTA | CHRIS FILS, 31 | COMPLEX MANAGER, RAYMOND JAMES

SURVEY SAYS

CHRIS FILS

Years on the Gulf Coast: 27 Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Stock clerk for a shoe store in Fort Myers

very day, Chris Fils follows a plan for success. It starts with him getting up at 4:30 a.m. He goes to the gym, eats breakfast and drives to the office. In the car, he listens to audio books and podcasts, not wanting to waste a single moment when some inspiration can sink in. His work day is planned out, too: time for checking in with his team, meeting people for lunch, going to meetings and working on projects. After work, there’s networking time. It’s a schedule designed to help Fils accomplish the most each day. Fils is the complex manager for the Raymond James & Associates Suncoast Complex, which includes the Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch and Venice branches. The job is a homecoming of sorts for Fils, who grew up in Fort Myers. “It’s very entrepreneurial,” he says. “It’s exciting.” He’s returned to Florida after serving as one of the youngest branch managers at Morgan

Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: Napoleon Hill and Nelson Mandela Eat lunch out or at your desk: Eat lunch out (Never eat alone) Best business lesson ever learned: “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar Your happy place is: In the gym Your biggest fear: Not fulfilling my full potential What you would be doing if you could pick another career: Venture capital Who would play you in a movie about your life: Will Smith

Stanley, where he ran the San Francisco Bay Area-Los Gatos branch. He achieved the role at a young age, he says, by doing it the hard way. He networked, put his clients and team ahead of himself and just plain outworked everyone else. “I was determined to do it,” Fils says. Another key to his success, he says, was getting help from mentors. “They wouldn’t sugarcoat,” he says. “They would give me feedback whether it was positive or negative.” They offered important specifics: Here’s what you have to do to get better. The experience working in California and New York helped prepare Fils for his current role. “The mix of Silicon Valley and Wall Street really helped me gain more experience, and I can relate to more people and more advisers,” he says. “To do what I love and be in my backyard, it’s a priceless opportunity.” — Grier Ferguson

To do what I love and be in my backyard, it’s a priceless opportunity.

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SARASOTA | JO ANN KOONTZ, 39 | FOUNDER, KOONTZ & ASSOCIATES, PL/ KOONTZ & PARKIN, CPAS PLLC

SURVEY SAYS

JO ANN KOONTZ

Years on the Gulf Coast: 12 Marital status/children: Married / 1 daughter, Giovanna, 2 years old

fter working at a larger Sarasota law practice, Jo Ann Koontz wanted to start her own firm, where the client experience was the focus. “We have designed our business processes specifica lly around what will make for a pleasant client experience, even if it’s more costly or more difficult for the staff or me,” she says. “If it’s better for the client, that’s what we do.” She has found that concentrating on service is also the best avenue for success. “You’ll have plenty of clients, plenty of money, and plenty of everything else if you worry about the right things,” she says. To deliver the best experience, listening to what clients don’t say, she says, is just as important as addressing their specific requests. “They’ll tell me what they want rather than why they want it,” says Koontz. “They tell me what they think w ill accomplish their goa l, but often that’s not the most efficient way to do it. It’s important to know what their ob-

Eat lunch out or at your desk: Out – I won’t meet anyone new at my desk! Your favorite class/ subject in school: Spanish Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Nurse aide in a nursing home in high school Community group you’re most involved with: Family Network on Disabilities Favorite off-hours activity: Boating, basketball, cooking and yoga Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: My Dad and Ricky Martin What you would be doing if you could pick another career: Travel blog writer Top item on your bucket list: Become a dual Italian-U.S. citizen

— Beth Luberecki

If it’s better for the client, that’s what we do.

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SARASOTA | BRITTANY LAMONT, 30 | VP, GREATER SARASOTA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

BRITTANY LAMONT

jective is to make sure that if I do what they ask me to do, I’m really and truly going to serve their goal.” Because she’s also a CPA, Koontz can offer her real estate, business and tax clients something of a one-stop shop when it comes to issues where the law and money matters meet. She started her firm with a strong staff and client base already in place from her past work in the area. “That was really the foundation we were able to build on,” she says. “People knew what they were going to get.” When it comes to networking for new business, Koontz likes to do something a little different — hit the gym. “It’s not expected,” says the former college basketball player. “People’s guard isn’t up. When people see you g ross a nd sweaty, it seems more authentic. And that builds trust and builds that first level of a relationship better than some orchestrated networking thing.”

rittany Lamont knew she wanted to do something in business from a young age, going back to watching her mom, a successful saleswoman, outwork and outhustle the competition. What she didn’t expect was to find her passion for one workplace so quickly: the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. From an internship in 2012 to a pair of promotions, Lamont is now vice president of the chamber, second-incommand to the CEO. “I basically grew up in the chamber,” she says. That means a combination of internal and external work. On the external, Lamont is one of the public faces of the chamber, shuttling between events and constantly networking. On the inside, she was a key player on a team that recently

overhauled the chamber’s model to a tiered system of dues, a complicated project she calls one of her proudest work moments at the chamber. “We single-handedly changed the way we operate,” she says. “This touches so many things we do.” Lamont says one of her biggest challenges in her career has been to slow down, enjoy more moments and not put so much pressure on herself. Having a baby two years ago with her husband, David Lamont, added a new element of that challenge. Like many other young working parents, Lamont has adjusted and, like many, getting it down is a work in progress. “I struggle with work-life balance,” she says. “Sometimes my passion gets in my way.” — Mark Gordon

We single-handedly changed the way we operate. This touches so many things we do.

SURVEY SAYS Years on the Gulf Coast: 28 years Your least favorite job interview question: What is your biggest weakness? Lets be honest no one is going to tell you their BIGGEST weakness, just a little one so they don’t look as bad. Plus most people aren’t even aware of their weaknesses. Best place to network: Without a doubt, The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce Favorite Podcast: Is it bad I don’t listen to podcasts? Eat lunch out or at your desk: Eat out, we have so many great options downtown! Best business lesson ever learned: If you are going to go to your boss with a problem, have two solutions to back it up. Your happy place is: My family. My daughter Payton and my two nieces Ava and Mila

OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

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CONGRATULATIONS to our very own

for her well-deserved recognition as one of The Business Observer’s 40 Under 40. HEATHER WILLIAMS, CPA/CFP® Shareholder

Securing a solid financial legacy for our families is important. Kerkering Barberio shareholder Heather Williams works with families and their advisors to offer guidance with individual, trust and estate taxation, so they can feel confident about their family’s financial future. 1990 Main Street, Suite 801 | Sarasota, FL 34236 (941) 365-4617 | KBGRP.com

Heather also provides mediation and litigation consulting services and works with entrepreneurs and high net worth individuals to navigate complex tax reporting requirements.

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Thanks for doing it all—professional, coach, philanthropist, wife, mother, friend.

BUSINESS OBSERVER | OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018

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SARASOTA | BREANCA NISKI, 29 | PRIVATE CLIENT ADVISER, BROWN & BROWN OF FLORIDA INC.

BREANCA NISKI

If your dreams do not exceed your capacity, they’re not big enough.

s a private client adviser for Brown & Brown of Florida, Breanca Niski says what she likes most about her job is it gives her the opportunity to help people. “With insurance, a lot of people don’t understand what their policy does for them,” she says. Niski focuses on insuring people’s tangible personal assets, including homeowners’ insurance and auto insurance. She sees her role as providing education about the industry to her clients, from breaking down policies to explaining what it is exactly they’re paying for. Being young and female in the male-dominated insurance industry has had its challenges, Niski admits. What’s helped her overcome it, she says, is the opportunity to sit down with prospects and show them she knows what she’s talking about. Her career goal is a big one: to hold one of the largest books in personal lines for Brown & Brown. “Slowly but surely,” she says, she’s on her way there. “The thing that I’m a big believer in is if your dreams do not exceed your capacity, they’re

SURVEY SAYS Best place to network Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Working at a tanning salon. I never realized how much one person can sweat. Best business lesson ever learned: Never stop being who you are. Others may not understand you, but as long as you show class, have pride and display character, winning takes care of itself. Favorite off-hours activity: Kayaking Favorite Podcast: Anything with Simon Sinek

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not big enough,” Niski adds. Outside of work, she takes an active role in the community, serving on 13 committees. One organization that holds particular importance to her is BeyondMe, a newly launched young philanthropist society in Sarasota led by JFCS of the Suncoast. Niski and another young professional had a founding role in BeyondMe. Niski says some people she encounters think they can’t get involved in philanthropic efforts because their pocketbooks aren’t big enough. She wants to dispel that notion. With all of Niski’s work and communit y commit ments, time management is crucial. In the office, the first half of her day is spent going through what she calls her “priority checklist” and accomplishing what needs to be done. The second half of the day involves marketing efforts prior to committee involvement starting in the late afternoon and evening. Niski says, “I’m a huge advocate of knowing what is worth your time and trying to plan your day.”

SARASOTA | NICK ODONNELL, 25 | FOUNDER AND HEAD DESIGNER, TERRAFORM DESIGN

NICK ODONNELL

— Grier Ferguson

uring his entrepreneurship program at Florida State Universit y, Nick ODonnell started looking into 3D printing. His first 3D printing business idea? Have people record a message and make bracelets out of the resulting sound waves. Then, at a symposium, he saw furniture made from a printer. “I thought it was the coolest thing,” he says. “I thought, ‘I need to learn how to do it.’” So he did. Up next? In his senior year of college, ODonnell taught himself how to make furniture using 3D printing technology, designing a chair as a conceptual piece just to see if he could do it. “The way I like to look at it is I was the first customer,” he says. “I made it because it was the design I myself would like to have.” He had his design made and two weeks later, it was featured in the newspaper in Tallahassee. Then USA Today picked up the story. That’s when ODonnell thought, “This would be a cool business.” He founded that business, Terraform Design, in 2015, when he was still in school. Now he makes lamps, benches and

other pieces of furniture for individual buyers as well as commercial clients. In 2016, he won the Governor’s Young Entrepreneur Award from Florida Gov. Rick Scott. The award generated a lot of media coverage and helped raise Terraform Design’s profile. ODonnell makes the majority of his sales through online platform Etsy and says his solid Pinterest presence helps drive those sales. Now he’s transitioning to Amazon and starting advertising campaigns on Facebook to increase sales. Big clients have started to take notice. Retailer Abercrombie & Fitch bought ODonnell’s lamps for its Hollister stores across the country, for example. He says his designs are big in high design areas, especially the Middle East. Within the next year, ODonnell expects to have at least two full-time employees working with him at Terraform Design. “I’m really starting to get more into a growth phase,” he says. “I’m starting to generate more sales and a lot more interest.” — Grier Ferguson

SURVEY SAYS Best place to network: At conferences, especially after giving a speech, so that people are motivated to seek you out specifically. Messy desk or clean workspace: Messy! Covered in sticky notes and ongoing projects Eat lunch out or at your desk: Desk Best business lesson ever learned: Don’t try to do everything yourself. When running a business, you can’t check all the boxes on your own. There will be people who can make you and your company better.

The way I like to look at it is I was the first customer. I made it because it was the design I myself would like to have.

Your least favorite job interview question: “Do you have at least _____ years of experience doing this?” — a question usually asked, in my experience, in regards to things excessively easy to do/learn, asked by uncreative people. Your favorite class/ subject in school: Psychology and TV production

OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

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SARASOTA | PETE PETERSEN, 39 | CEO AND MANAGING PARTNER, DEALERS UNITED

PETE PETERSEN

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ocus is crucial for Pete Petersen. “I run my life off my calendar,” he says. It’s important, Petersen says, for people to guard their calendars like their homes. “You lock your home every night, you take care of it, you wash your dishes, you have to clean it all the time.” He says people should do the same for their schedules, asking, “Are t hese t he most i mpor ta nt meetings I could be having?” Petersen has to maintain focus. He’s at the helm of Sarasota-based Dealers United, a company that specializes in digital marketing for the automotive industry. “I always say the best and worst part of my job is people,” Petersen says. He finds joy in seeing employees succeed and watching them experience life events, like buying their first house. But, he says, “People are also the most unreliable.” As a leader, he believes in investing in himself through training, education and by building a mentor network.

He a lso believes in fa iling forward. “Looking back, I’ve failed many times, probably more than I’ve succeeded,” he says. It’s about recognizing when you’re on a sinking ship faster, Petersen says, and that kind of self-awareness comes w it h ex per ience. “Fa i lu re turns into that reward when you can push through it in the right way.” In his last career, he says, he learned a good lesson when he was handed the reins on a big project for the first time. Petersen outsourced the project, later realizing the product wasn’t built the way it was supposed to be built. “I thought for sure I was getting fired,” he says. “But the CEO looked at me and said, ‘I would be dumb to fire you. Make sure you don’t fail twice in the same spot like this.’” It was a great example, Petersen says, of a leader looking at failure as an investment. “It really resonated with me my whole life.”

Failure turns into that reward when you can push through it in the right way. SURVEY SAYS Your favorite class/ subject in school: Gym Best business lesson ever learned: Just like baseball, you will fail more than you will win. Fail fast, fail often, fail forward — don’t be scared to fail and don’t fail twice from the same mistake. Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Scare/ fright actor on haunted hayride

— Grier Ferguson

Your biggest fear: Failing my family.

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SARASOTA | STEFANI SCHUETZ, 30 | CEO, TRI SIRENA

STEFANI SCHUETZ

hen Stefani Schuetz was diagnosed with melanoma, she didn’t know it could kill people. “I don’t want anyone else to be as blindsided as me,” she says. That’s why Schuetz started Tri Sirena in 2015, to educate people and protect them from the sun. It’s a company that designs and sells sun-protective performance apparel for people to wear during triathlons, swimming, cycling and running. As a melanoma sur v ivor, Schuetz wants to continue to introduce new products, expanding her line so she can accommodate everyone who does activities in the sun. “It is always awesome to be able to give people more sun protective options,” she says. Her products are sold online, as well as at triathlons, 5Ks and half marathons. She’s also starting to sell more at waterbased events, including swimming, crew and sailing competitions. Compared to last year, Schuetz says, the company has been at least 100% higher in sales every month. “For the company, I’m the

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SURVEY SAYS Best business lesson ever learned: Working as a team, empowering team members and learning to grow from feedback (not taking it personal). Your least favorite job interview question: “What is your greatest weakness?” Who wants to spend time on negative or unfavorable traits? Your favorite class/ subject in school: Anatomy, I loved dissecting a frog, a fish and a pig. I thought I was going to be a vet when I grew up, but then I had to take chemistry. Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Tracking down used cop cars: Impalas and Chevy Caprice for a car reseller. Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: My Grandma - I miss her, her guidance and love, we lost her to cancer in my early 20s. Sheryl Sandberg COO of Facebook - I’m sure there is more beyond what she offers in “Lean In” that I would enjoy hearing.

Make baby steps forward every day — that’s how it works.

socia l media manager, I’m the model, I’m the customer service person, I do the packing and the shipping — I’m all of the jobs,” she says. “Slowly but surely, I’m able to delegate some things, but I feel like the core of the brand and the voice of the brand — I’ve tried and failed delegating something like that. That voice has to be me. No one else can connect with your audience the same way you can.” When Schuetz finishes the necessary tasks for each day, she focuses on the future. “I try to spend time thinking about how can we make this better, what are the trends for next year and how can we accomplish all that?” she says. “Make baby steps forward every day — that’s how it works. It’s just like if you were to say you were going to train for a marathon, train for an Ironman or lose 50 pounds. It’s just like everything else in life. You want to make it grow? You want to make it better? You have to put the time in every single day.”

SURVEY SAYS Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: David Bowie and Iman What you would be doing if you could pick another career: I would be in dental school. Top item on your bucket list: Swimming with whale sharks Your happy place is: With my family preferably on vacation Your biggest fear: Small spaces Who would play you in a movie about your life: Emma Stone

— Grier Ferguson

BRADENTON | HEATHER WILLIAMS, 39 | TAX SHAREHOLDER, KERKERING BARBERIO & CO.

HEATHER WILLIAMS

very day is different. That’s what Heat her Williams says she likes the most about being a certified public accountant and tax shareholder at Sarasota-based Kerkering Barberio & Co. “Every client is different and every project is different,” she says. “I like that my day is never the same. What I do today is going to be totally different tomorrow.” W i l l ia ms joi ned Kerkering Barberio in 2010 and was named a shareholder in 2016. At 39 years old, she’s one of the firm’s youngest shareholders. Achieving the rank of shareholder has been one of her longterm career goals. “I’ve been determined,” she says. She’s been working toward it her entire career. She also credits her colleagues for helping her grow and attain that goal. Now Williams has her sights set on some new goals. For one, she wants to help the staff at her firm grow in their careers and achieve their goals, too.

She also wants to maintain her focus on business development for the firm and the individual, estate and trust area in which she specializes. Plus, she wants to continue to lead by example at Kerkering Barberio. In her profession, Williams says it’s all about relationships. When she goes to networking events, she makes an effort to talk with a few new people each time, for longer than a cursory, 30-second conversation. “I try to get to know them a little better,” she says. The people she talks with may not turn into new clients immediately, but a relationship has been established that can be built on. The other part of the relationship equation that’s important to Williams is the people she works with on a day-to-day basis at the office. She says, “I like getting to work alongside the professionals I work with.” — Grier Ferguson

Every client is different and every project is different. I like that my day is never the same.

OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

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LAKEWOOD RANCH | BEN WILSON, 33 | VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS, SUFFOLK

SURVEY SAYS

BEN WILSON

en Wilson graduated from the University of Florida in 2007 with a degree in building construction — during one of the most difficult times the industry has faced. But Wilson wasn’t deterred by the recession. He set to work learning the ropes of his field. “I think the simplest way to put it is to learn from absolutely everybody who you encounter — whether it’s learning the right way or the way things should be done better,” he says. Today, Wilson has moved up the ranks to vice president of operations for Florida’s Gulf Coast for national building contractor Suffolk. He works on projects across a wide swath of the west coast, from Tampa to Naples. As one of Suffolk’s youngest vice presidents, Wilson says, “The challenge is becoming an astute and accurate deci-

Years on the Gulf Coast: 6 Who would play you in a movie about your life: Bobby Flay, but nothing to do with cooking.

sion maker while continuously learning every step of the way.” Ty pica lly, he v isits a ll of Suffolk’s projects in his territory each week. A key focus for Wilson? Helping teams make the right decisions and work efficiently. “Virtually all of my time is spent face to face with stakeholders involved in the construction process,” he says, including meetings with developers and onsite staff. “When you have a collection of designers, engineers, subcontractors, developers — the entire spectrum — the key to a successful project is aligning everyone’s agendas more closely.” At the end of a construction project, Wilson wants everyone involved to consider the result a mutual success. He says, “Happier people are the ingredients to a better overall project.”

Best place to network: On a boat. Messy desk or clean workspace: Very clean. Eat lunch out or at your desk: Lunches are best enjoyed with others. Best business lesson ever learned: Once you find your instincts are correct, follow them. Your least favorite job interview question: “Tell me a little about yourself.” Your favorite class/ subject in school: The ones where the teacher sincerely cared.

— Grier Ferguson

Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Beekeeper’s assistant

Happier people are the ingredients to a better overall project.

Congratulations

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For being selected as one of the Business Observer’s 40 UNDER 40 for 2018!

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BONITA SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL | 25592 IMPERIAL PARKWAY, BONITA SPRINGSâ&#x20AC;&#x192;The school opened in August, the newest high school in Lee County. An

$80 million project, the school includes four state-of-the-art academy classrooms, including one for flight controls for pilot training and one with simulated humans for health care education. The principal of the school is Jeff Estes.

OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

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SURVEY SAYS Years on the Gulf Coast: 25 Your least favorite job interview question: Where do you see yourself in five years? Eat lunch out or at your desk: Don’t eat lunch unless it is a meeting. Your favorite class/ subject in school: Strategic management Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Radio DJ Community group you’re most involved with: Boys & Girls Club Best business lesson ever learned: Focus on what is right, and ignore the competition Your biggest fear: The Great Recession version 2.0 Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: Sean Hannity and Bobby Bones Who would play you in a movie about your life: Seth Meyers

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FORT MYERS | RYAN BENSON, 37 | PRIVATE CLIENT ADVISER, CO-OWNER, A. VERNON ALLEN BUILDER

RYAN BENSON

yan Benson goes about ach iev i ng h is goa ls quickly. Joi n i ng A . Ver non A l len Builder in 2008, he acquired the Naples custom homebuilder, established in 1951, along with partner Andy Bringardner four years ago. And only five years after becoming involved with the Collier Building Industry Association he became the organization’s president — six months earlier than scheduled following the midterm resignation of his predecessor. The 37-year-old is also the father of two sets of twins, ages 3 years and 6 months. “I always wanted four children in the shortest span possible,” Benson says. Mission accomplished. His company builds exclusively in Naples’ tony 34102 ZIP code, and within that ZIP code it is the largest homebuilder in Port Royal, where homes are priced not only in the millions, but the tens of millions. When Benson and Bringardner ac-

quired the company, Benson says it was an $11 million business. It’s roughly a $25 million company today, with its best year, $32 million in sales, in 2017. “We have 40% of the market there and Port Royal represents 90% of our business,” says Benson. “We have nine homes under construction in Port Royal now in various stages.” Beyond his company and his duties with the CBIA, which includes chairing its Government Affairs Committee, Benson is a delegate on the boards of the Florida Home Builders Association and the National Association of Home Builders for 2018; is past president of the Naples Gulfshore Sunset Rotary; vice chairman of the Boys and Girls Club of Collier County; and is a trustee for the Canterbury School. He was a 2017 finalist for the National Association of Home Builders Young Professionals’ Award. — Andrew Warfield

I always wanted four children in the shortest span possible.

Congratulations!

BR A N D O N B OX

287606

2018 40 UNDER 40 HONOREE!

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FORT MYERS | REEMA BHATIA, 37 | MANAGING PARTNER, STICKBOY CREATIVE

REEMA BHATIA

here were a lot of things that could have intimidated Reema Bhatia when she started Stickboy Creative in 2007. For one, Fort Myers, her launching post, is a far cry from Silicon Valley. Also, the technology industry was and remains a male-dominated field. But Bhatia’s naturally positive outlook and resilient spirit — plus the support of her husband, mother and other mentors — gave her the confidence and drive to succeed. “A differentiator is always good, and I’ve just held on to that,” says Bhatia, who originally hails from India. “Frankly, that’s what I love about this community and this country: Everybody’s given a chance. It doesn’t matter where you come from. Once you have a seat at the table, if you have the mental chops to prove that you’re worth the time, everybody gives you a chance.” She also acknowledges the importance of the team she’s put together to assist clients with custom software and apps,

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SURVEY SAYS Years on the Gulf Coast: 8.5 years Marital status/children: Married, three children Best place to network: LinkedIn, but only as a means to get a personal meeting … it’s not just for millennials anymore! Messy desk or clean workspace: Depends on the day Eat lunch out or at your desk: Out, even if only a smoothie! Best business lesson ever learned: There are two types of employees, problem solvers and problem creators. Build a team of problem solvers. What you would be doing if you could pick another career: College professor Top item on your bucket list: Is it strange to not have a bucket list? I just try to do my best and enjoy every day Your happy place is: Eating Ben & Jerry’s ice cream Your biggest fear: Letting my family down.

My mom used to always say don’t cry over spilled milk; just move on onward and upward.

digital marketing and other technology-based services. She trusts them enough to let them grow and develop their skills — even if that means an occasional failure along the way. “I’m not afraid to let them make mistakes,” says Bhatia. “Coddling people or admonishing them at every step doesn’t allow for the empowerment of people. My mom used to always say don’t cry over spilled milk; just move on onward and upward.” Bhatia has relied on advice and guidance from people who are further along on their entrepreneurial journeys than she. And she believes approaching business highs and lows with the right attitude helps her tackle whatever comes her way. “It’s always two steps forward, one step back,” she says. “That’s the rhythm of things. You can’t be down on yourself. You just have to move on, and if something didn’t work out, that’s fine. You’ve got to brush it off. There are tons of other opportunities.”

SURVEY SAYS What you would be doing if you could pick another career: Adventure travel Top item on your bucket list: Visit Antarctica Favorite Podcast: Joe Rogan What best describes you from high school? Rule breaker

— Beth Luberecki

FORT MYERS | BRANDON BOX, 34 | EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/MARKET PRESIDENT, IBERIABANK

BRANDON BOX

randon Box doesn’t give himself all the credit for being a youthful top regional executive at Iberiabank. The 34-year-old executive vice president and market president for Lee, Sarasota and Manatee counties says much of his rapid rise through the Lafayette, La.-based bank is attributed to timing. “I happened to get plugged in to the right organization at the right time, so a lot of it is luck,” says Box, who started with the bank as an intern out of Southeastern Louisiana University. “I made the jump to credit underwriter in a year and then had the opportunity to move to Florida when Iberia bought Orion Bank, which was based in Naples. I had the opportunity to move from the defensive side of the bank to the offensive side.” Prior to his promotion to market president, Box managed one of the five largest commercial banking portfolios for all of Iberiabank. With his market including Lee and Collier counties, his $200 million portfolio outpaced other commercial bankers in major cities within

the bank’s footprint such as Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Tampa and Orlando. This despite being with the bank only seven years in an area where the typical loan value is less than $10 million. Box served as chairman of the board for the United Way of Collier County, joining the board in 2011, and chaired or co-chaired annual campaigns in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016. He also served on the board for Junior Achievement from 2013 to 2015. He currently serves on the University of Florida Real Estate Advisory Board, a statewide real estate professional organization. Box says success in part comes with a willingness to relocate. “I think that’s one way you can move up faster,” says Box. “You have to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. Southwest Florida was the right (call) for me, and I was lucky enough to be plugged into a company that went strong into the downturn.” — Andrew Warfield

I happened to get plugged in to the right organization at the right time, so a lot of it is luck.

OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

I joke with my wife that when I retire, we’re going to get a place in, if not move back to, Nashville. It’s a big passion of mine. SURVEY SAYS Best place to network: Golf course Your happy place is: At home Your biggest fear: Death Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Worked for a floating art gallery

NAPLES | JOHN CONROY, 31 | PRINCIPAL, SOUTH REAL ESTATE GROUP

JOHN CONROY

f he hadn’t grown up in Naples under a heavy family influence of the real estate industry, John Conroy might be singing a different tune today. Literally. In Nashville. Conroy, 31, is principal of Southeast Real Estate Group of Naples, where he leverages his experience as well as established family connections in his boutique, tenant-driven real estate development company that focuses on small t o m e d i u m bu i ld-t o -s u it projects. Between earning his graduate degree at Arizona State University in Scottsdale, Ariz., and his return to Naples, Conroy lived in Nashville, trying to make it as a singer-songwriter. He says he didn’t record anything people would recognize because, “If I had, I’d still be doing it.” “I had an opportunit y to write for publishing companies like Sony and Warner Brothers and Universal, and it was a great four years there,” he says. “I still have great relationships with people there, but my wife

and I had our first child and I decided I wanted it to be a little more realistic.” After moving back to Naples in 2015 and founding his business, he now leverages relationships he has built with companies such as Starbucks and Herc Rentals, building out multiple Starbucks locations in Southwest Florida and Herc Rentals locations nationwide. The company consummated its first full-cycle investment in March 2017, delivered its first ground-up, build-to-suit project in March of this year — a Herc Rentals location in Fort Worth, Texas — and currently has nearly $30 million in active development projects underway. Nashville and music, though, are never far from his mind. “I joke with my wife that when I retire, we’re going to get a place in, if not move back to, Nashville,” says Conroy. “It’s a big passion of mine.” — Andrew Warfield

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FORT MYERS | KYLE DECICCO, 33 | VP/COMMERCIAL LOAN OFFICER, SANIBEL CAPTIVA COMMUNITY BANK

KYLE DECICCO

If someone is pushing you a little too hard, normally something’s not right.

tarting out his banking career as a credit analyst has helped Kyle DeCicco better serve his customers today. That’s because he understands what goes into underwriting a loan — and the bad situations that can arise from poor financial decisions. “Knowing how these things can go south has made me a better salesperson,” he says. “And it makes me extremely conservative; I turn down way more loans than I approve.” In working with clients, DeCicco is old-school. He would rather pick up the phone than type out an email or text. “To me, it’s the personal touch,” he says. “Taking the time to take somebody to lunch and ask them how their day is — that’s what gets you a repeat client. It’s not just taking care of somebody one time. Every one of my clients has my cellphone number.” Grabbing lunch with a current or potentia l borrower a lso gets DeCicco out into the community, another important factor in building his

SURVEY SAYS Messy desk or clean workspace: Controlled chaos Who would play you in a movie about your life: Owen Wilson Best business lesson ever learned: Slow down Your favorite class/ subject in school: International finance Where do you see yourself in five years? Because I have never been right yet.

40UNDER40 | NAPLES

— Beth Luberecki

| KEITH GELDER, 37 | PRESIDENT, STOCK LUXURY APARTMENT LIVING; VP OF LAND, STOCK DEVELOPMENT

KEITH GELDER

business. So he may take a new customer to a restaurant owned by an existing client. “And then you run into an attorney in town, and that’s how business gets done,” he says. “It would be easy to just sit and order lunch in. But people will recognize you when you’re out in the community.” During his years in banking, DeCicco has also learned the importance of slowing down. “I’ve made mista kes when I’ve gone too fast,” he says. “If someone is pushing you a little too hard, normally something’s not right.” He also takes time to mull things over rather than reacting quickly. “It’s so easy to fire off an email you could regret two seconds later,” he says. “Sometimes the hard thing to do is ignore an email or voicemail, think about it overnight, and then come back with a proper response the next day.”

ince joining Naples-based Stock Development in 2006, Keith Gelder has developed infrastructure for 20 communities comprising more than 3,500 residential units. The list includes Lely Resort — one of Collier County’s largest developments. With that as a backdrop, two years ago Gelder founded and was named president of the company’s Stock Luxury Apartment Living division. The company sought to tap into the expertise Gelder gained in his prior career with Raymond James Tax Credit Funds, where he specialized in the acquisition and syndication of tax credit equity for apartment properties. With little new apartment development in Fort Myers, Gelder led the development of Spectra, a luxury apartment complex off Tamiami Trail just south of Alico Road. “What people forget is there really weren’t any apartments built in Fort Myers for 10 years,” says the 37-year-old Gelder. “If you go back and look in the boom years, many of those apartments that were built were (turned) into condos, so they were wiped off the apartment supply immediately.”

Gelder says Stock had been considering entering the apartment development market for some time. He called Spectra, which Stock later sold, a “resounding success.” Spectra has since spurred four additional multifamily projects in various stages, including Fruitville Commons in Sarasota. Construction is nearing completion on Inspira at Lely Resort in Naples. “Our strategy is we sell lifestyle,” says Gelder. “We build highly amenitized communities at a high spec level, somewhere people are proud to call home.” Gelder’s responsibilities extend beyond leading the multifamily housing division. As vice president of Stock Development, he also leads day-today operations, including site acquisitions, feasibility, underwriting, financing, construction administration, lease-up and asset disposition. With his additional responsibilities, Gelder’s non-work goal of visiting every Major League Baseball stadium is on hold. “I’ve moved that to my retirement bucket list,” he says. — Andrew Warfield

Our strategy is we sell lifestyle. SURVEY SAYS What you would be doing if you could pick another career: Working on Wall Street Top item on your bucket list: Visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums Best business lesson ever learned: Never stop learning. Your least favorite job interview question: What is your weakness? Your favorite class/ subject in school: Economics, finance Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Football equipment manager at University of Florida Community group you’re most involved with: Amber’s Antibodies (ambersantibodies. com)

OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

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FORT MYERS | MEIGHAN HARRIS, 36 | CEO, BONITA SPRINGS-ESTERO REALTORS

SURVEY SAYS

MEIGHAN HARRIS

ith a newly retired Navy husband and a job in a local dental practice secured via a Skype interview, Meig ha n Ha r r is moved to Southwest Florida eight years ago with no idea she would undergo a career change that would take her to the top position of Bonita Springs-Estero Realtors. The then-28-year-old had been working for two years here as a dental assistant, managing the office and selling treatment plans to patients when she knew she had make a change. “I was working for a practice in Bonita Springs and the book keeper there was also part-time here with the board of Realtors,” Harris says. “She asked me what I thought about being the education coordinator with the board. I didn’t have any idea what that was, but I needed a new challenge and a

Favorite off-hours activity: Camping, anything with water – boating, pool, beach. Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: My mom and my mentor, Christine Bauder.

career change.” She proved to be a quick study. Taking a leap of faith in 2014, she accepted the position with Bonita Springs-Estero Realtors. Three years later, she was promoted to COO before being groomed by then-CEO Christine Bauder to assume her position upon retirement. “It’s funny how life takes you on different paths,” says Harris. “My mother died 90 days after I started working here, and I poured a lot of my heart and soul into work to change my focus. I put a lot into educating myself, and when Christine said she was going to retire and what did I think about taking on the position, I was ready.” The organization has about 1,000 real estate agents and 200 affiliate members.

What you would be doing if you could pick another career: Professional organizer/ event planner. Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Embroiderer. Top item on your bucket list: Traveling the U.S. in our RV and then overseas. Your happy place is: With my family. Your biggest fear: Failure. Favorite Podcast: Dave Ramsey, and soon-to-be Bonita Business.

— Andrew Warfield

I put a lot into educating myself, and when Christine said she was going to retire and what did I think about taking on the position, I was ready.

Who would play you in a movie about your life: Mila Kunis.

EXTRAORDINARY

CONGRATULATIONS TO NICKY LUTGERT ON BEING A 40 UNDER 40 RECIPIENT. As our vice president of marketing, your leadership drives us to aspire to LIVE our best lives. It is your motivation and support that helped us surpass $4.1 billion in residential real estate sales in 2017 throughout our Florida and North Carolina offices. Sotheby’s International Realty® has been named the most trusted in the Lifestory Research 2018 America’s Most Trusted® Residential Real Estate Brokerage Study.

Nicola Lutgert Vice President, Marketing

OVER 1,100 ASSOCIATES AND EMPLOYEES OVER 40 LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT FLORIDA AND NORTH CAROLINA MORE THAN $4.1 BILLION IN SALES VOLUME FOR 2017

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CAPE CORAL | SAMANTHA LILLARD, 31 | SENIOR GENERAL MANAGER, BELL TOWER SHOPS

SURVEY SAYS

SAMANTHA LILLARD

amantha Lillard arrived in Fort Myers from her native California two years ago with a twofold task: manage the venerable Bell Tower Shops shopping center and guide the center through a highly disruptive, lengthy renovation process. As the senior general manager of Bell Tower Shops, she works for Madison Marquette, which is turning Bell Tower from a traditional shopping plaza into a contemporary shopping and dining experience. Lillard, in the meantime, has maintained Bell Tower’s reputation for community involvement. An animal-lover, Lillard has helped Bell Tower Shops’ monthly Yappy Hours continue to grow into a primary social event for dog owners, also serving as a fundraiser and pet adoption night for Gulf Coast Humane Society. She led a team from Bell Tower Shops on a Habitat for Humanity build in Cape

Years on the Gulf Coast: Two Your happy place is: Either the beach or the mountains in my home town in Northern California.

Coral and agreed to host Habitat’s 2017 Women Build Thank You Party at Bell Tower Shops. More giving back: Shortly after Hurricane Irma devastated the region, Bell Tower’s Thursday Night Live Concert was transformed into a benefit concert for the Harry Chapin Food Bank, American Red Cross and Gulf Coast Humane Society. “As a community leader, Bell Tower Shops recognizes there are obligations that transcend the bottom line, and that’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly,” says Lillard. Lillard, in addition to Bell Tower and her communit y work, is a licensed real estate agent and has earned designations as a LEED Green Associate from the Green Building Certification Institute and Certified Shopping Center Manager from International Council of Shopping Centers.

Your biggest fear: Public speaking — and those giant palmetto bugs. Favorite podcast: Ted Talks. Who would play you in a movie about your life: Perhaps Jennifer Aniston? What best describes you from high school? Social butterfly, life of the party. Describe yourself in three words: Outgoing, ambitious, approachable. Weirdest job you’ve ever had: Celebrity gift basket maker for major events such as the Oscars, the Emmys, movie premieres, etc.

— Andrew Warfield

As a community leader, Bell Tower Shops recognizes there are obligations that transcend the bottom line, and that’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly. 40UNDER40 |

SURVEY SAYS Marital status/children: Married Alma mater/degree: University of Central Florida, bachelor’s of science in restaurant management. Best place to network: Any charity event Messy desk or clean workspace: Clean workspace Eat lunch out or at your desk: At my desk, always Best business lesson ever learned: Respect is something you must show to others if you expect to receive it. Top item on your bucket list: Visit Petra Your happy place is: Chicago Your biggest fear: Letting down someone I love Favorite Podcast: E-Commerce Fuel Who would play you in a movie about your life: Daniel Radcliffe

Community group you’re most involved with: Gulf Coast Humane Society

FORT MYERS | RYAN LOVE, 29 | DIRECTOR OF RETAIL OPERATIONS, NORMAN LOVE CONFECTIONS

RYAN LOVE

ust like you can’t pick your parents, you usually can’t pick the business your father starts. On both fronts, Ryan Love made out well. His dad is Norman Love Confections founder Norman Love, one of the leading chocolatiers statewide and one the more prominent entrepreneurs in Southwest Florida. The business, founded in 2001, has some 110 employees and four retail locations. And Ryan Love got to learn by his dad’s side. “As early as I can remember, I was putting chocolate in boxes,” says Love, who adds that sometimes his high school hockey and wrestling teammates came by the business to help out. After college, the younger Love started to work for the company. His first role was on the ganache station, working on f lavors that go inside the

company’s famous chocolates. He has since worked his way up to director of retail operations, which includes hiring, training and, Love says, “anything that has to do with the retail stores.” Love says his biggest challenge in his current role is finding and hiring top employees — something common in retail. A subchallenge, says Love, is the cost of living in Southwest Florida has forced some people to move, shrinking the labor pool. On the flip side of the challenges, Love relishes what he gets to do for a living, particularly when he works on the retail f loor, directly with customers. “Seeing a smile on someone’s face is one of the best parts of my job,” Love says. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to be in this business.” — Mark Gordon

Seeing a smile on someone’s face is one of the best parts of my job.

OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

SURVEY SAYS Years on the Gulf Coast: 28 years Marital status/children: Married with 8-month-old twins and an 18-year-old stepdaughter Best business lesson ever learned: Be the best at listening and be aware of how you land with others. Your favorite class/ subject in school: Conceptual World Religion. I found it fascinating. What you would be doing if you could pick another career: I would have a food and tour guides blog about restaurants and best food finds throughout the world. Top item on your bucket list: Travel to Ireland and England to revisit the birthplace and towns my parents grew up in. Your happy place is: Beach, boat or pool … with my family.

NAPLES | NICOLA LUTGERT, 39 | VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING PREMIER SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

NICOLA LUTGERT

s vice president of marketing for Naples-based Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Nicola Lutgert, better known as Nicky, leads a staff of 25 marketing professionals providing direct marketing and advertising initiatives for more than 1,100 sales associates in more than 40 offices in Florida and North Carolina. She begins her development of marketing plans by collaborating with senior leadership at the firm. She’s then able to set tasks and clear expectations for her marketing leadership team. Implementing an uncommon creative flair with a knack for numbers, Lutgert takes a statistical approach to research and interacts with the marketing directors of affiliates in the brand to share information, strategies and best practices. “I’d like to think that the marketing our company produces is what our competitors are rushing to duplicate,” she says in an email. “Finding a way to successfully connect the dots between selling the luxury lifestyle in a beautiful and impactful way is a learned art form.”

Since taking the helm as marketing director, Lutgert has also been busy on the acquisition side. The list she’s helped oversee at Premier includes branches in Blowing Rock, N.C., Asheville, N.C., and several in Orlando. In the past year, she’s also overseen an expansion into Winter Park, marking the fifth office in Central Florida. And a second acquisition in southeast Naples expanded the firm’s footprint in one of the nation’s top luxury living destinations. On behalf of her company, Lutgert also coordinates events and sponsorships benefiting organizations such as Golisano Children’s Hospital, Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples, Guadalupe Center; Humane Society, Susan G. Komen Foundation, American Cancer Society and more. The secret to her success? It stems partially from the worklife balance she strives to maintain in all aspects of her life, which includes 5 a.m. workouts at the gym or running on one of Naples’ beaches. — Andrew Warfield

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BUSINESS OBSERVER | OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018

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40UNDER40 |

BONITA SPRINGS | ABDIEL MARIN, 38 | CEO, EYEMD EMR HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS

SURVEY SAYS

ABDIEL MARIN

Messy desk or clean workspace: About once a month I purge it, but it grows back like a Brazilian peppertree.

What you would be doing if you could pick another career: DisciplesforCuba.org full time and be involved with Aviation Ministries.

ou could never say Abdiel Marin lacks hustle. Like the time he started his ow n computer-support company, when he was a teenager in Miami. He was working at a big-box store, and a customer offered to pay him to install a modem. “I saw a million opportunities after that,” he says. He came to Southwest Florida for college, but stepped away from that to manage IT for a medical billing company. When that company ran into some trouble, Marin started his own medical billing firm. That led him to his current endeavor: creating electronic medical record software for ophthalmology practices. He went down that road because no one else was doing it. “There was a need, and no one was fulfilling it,” he says. It wasn’t always easy. It took a long time to convince local ophthalmologists to give his software a try. Faith in himself and something bigger kept him going. “My No. 1 core value is the golden rule,” says Marin, who’s

Top item on your bucket list: Break the sound barrier in a fighter jet. Your happy place is: 60 feet under water Your biggest fear: My kids turning out bad. Your least favorite job interview question: The more questions the better. I would much rather find out early on if it is not going to work out for either one of us. Favorite Podcast: Tony Evans Who would play you in a movie about your life: I’m sure many would recommend John Travolta Best place to network: Church

not afraid to ask experienced businesspeople at his church for advice. “I want to treat everybody fairly, and when you do things with that mentality, it changes how people see you. You develop meaningful relationships with everyone you come in contact with, because they know that they can trust you.” Over his many years in the computer business, Marin has seen how lucrative it can be. And while he wants to make a living, of course, growing his bank account isn’t his primary focus. “T he ha rder you pu rsue money, the more it runs away from you,” he says. “The No. 1 reason I’m successful today is we treat all our customers the same, whether they’re the largest clinic in the U.S. or a one-doc practice doing everything by themselves. When you do things for the right reasons and realize there’s more to this world than just making a quick buck, it changes how you interact with people.” — Beth Luberecki

The harder you pursue money, the more it runs away from you. 40UNDER40 |

NAPLES | ‘LIBBY’ MCHUGH, 39 | SENIOR VP, DIRECTOR OF CLIENT SERVICES, WASMER, SCHROEDER & CO.

ELIZABETH MCHUGH

ibby McHugh can thank her grandfather for her favor ite inspirat iona l acronym: D.W.Y.S.Y.W.D. “He drilled it into all of his children and grandchildren,” she says. “We have it on mugs and T-shirts and hats.” It stands for “do what you say you will do,” and McHugh has lived by that motto. “If anything, I would rather underpromise and overdeliver,” she says. “People can enjoy your personality and can make exceptions if something happens because they like you as a person. But if you’re telling them you’re going to do something, do it. If you don’t, it speaks to your integrity as a person.” McHugh started at Wasmer, Schroeder & Co. as a portfolio administrator in 2004 and climbed to her role as director of client services. In that position she oversees the firm’s client service managers and account administrators. She takes seriously the fact that she’s helping shape the company’s future leaders — and pushed for the manageria l

training she needed to effectively do that. “It’s learning how to be somewhat of a coach, so you can develop your team,” she says. “You need to let them talk and help lead them to things and ask questions, so that they understand that thought process. And it’s absolutely amazing once you have that trusting relationship and they know you have their best interests at heart. The ideas that they bring forth are just incredible.” McHugh has learned from missteps along the way. Like thinking she had to be stonefaced to succeed as a woman in her field. “I’m also very tall, so being tall and serious can be intimidating to people,” she says. “Hearing one of my mentors here say a few years ago that he didn’t mind being vulnerable in front of other people, I took that to heart. I can show people I’m human and I make mistakes. I know that I can still be successful without having to be serious all the time.” — Beth Luberecki

I know that I can still be successful without having to be serious all the time. SURVEY SAYS Your least favorite job interview question: “Tell me about yourself.” Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: Mother Teresa and Richard Pryor What you would be doing if you could pick another career: Real estate development Top item on your bucket list: Visit Machu Picchu with my husband.

OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

40UNDER40 |

NAPLES | ELIZABETH MUNIZ, 35 CO-FOUNDER, THRIVE THERAPY

ELIZABETH MUNIZ

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Congratulations 40 Under 40 Award Winners!

SURVEY SAYS Marital status/children: Husband, John Muniz, two stepdaughters Scarlett, 9, and Victoria, 6 Alma mater/degree: Nova Southeastern University/Psychology Best place to network: Anywhere! You’d be surprised how much people want to hear how a therapist can help their child. Messy desk or clean workspace: Working with kids is messy, but at the end of the day it is all clean and organized.

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Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: Sigmund Freud and Freddie Mercury

I took an internship working with children and that interested me because they are very resilient and it is so rewarding to help change a child’s life. sor. From starting her company with that one client six years ago, Thrive Therapy now serves hundreds of clients and families with the aid of a team of therapists. The Miami native emerged f rom her fa m i ly ’s hu mble means to earn a degree in psychology from Nova Southeastern University of Fort Lauderdale. Her f luency in English and Spanish provide her the ability to serve a wide range of clients. Muniz is recognized for her expertise in the field, having presented at numerous conferences on various topics of play therapy throughout Florida. She also serves on the board of the Florida Association for Play Therapy. The hours are long, she says, and the financial rewards modest, “but most important, it’s personally rewarding.” — Andrew Warfield

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lizabeth Muniz k new she wanted a career in helping people, but the young daughter of Cuban immigrants didn’t expect to be healing the mind rather than the body. Yet after becoming the first in her family to earn a college degree, in 2012 she teamed with partner Rachel Stewart to open Thrive Therapy, one of the leading providers of children and adolescent mental health therapy in Lee and Collier counties. They had only one client. “My interest was one where I was going to go into nursing, but then I realized that was not the route I wanted to take,” says Muniz, 35. “Instead I started taking some psychology classes and became intrigued in the different ways people act and behave, and why.” Muniz is a licensed mental health counselor and a registered play therapist supervi-

BUSINESS OBSERVER | OCTOBER 26, 2018 - NOVEMBER 1, 2018

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