Past Speakers
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November 14, 2022
Paul Tash, Former chairman of Tampa Bay Times/Times Publishing Company
Paul Tash started with the Times as a local news reporter in 1978 and worked his way through various news jobs before becoming the chief executive and chairman of the company. He retired in June. While Tash was chairman, Times journalists won eight Pulitzer Prizes; only seven news organizations won more. Tash is chairman of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, a school for journalists and media leaders, which owns Times Publishing. The Times is the only major news organization in Florida that is independent and locally owned. Tash has served on the boards of America’s leading journalism organizations, including the Associated Press, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the Pulitzer Prizes, where he was the chairman. Tash is a member of the Journalism Hall of Fame in both Florida and Indiana, his native state. In 2012, Tash received the Distinguished Alumni Service Award from Indiana University, and he was the university’s commencement speaker in 2018. Tash is married to the former Karyn Krayer, who was a legendary teacher at St. Petersburg High School. They met on a blind date arranged by the Times’ social columnist. They have two daughters, a physician and a lawyer, and twin grandchildren. Their older daughter was delivered by the same obstetrician who delivered her mother.
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October 31, 2022
John (“Jack”) M. Barrett, President and Chief Executive Officer, First Citrus Bancorporation
At the age of 34, Jack started Tampa-based First Citrus Bank with his colleagues on the board. He continues to serve as president and chief executive officer. A native of Tampa, he brings over 30 years of Tampa Bay banking, financial and strategic perspective to business owners and executives throughout the region. In high school, his blue-collar roots led to the start-up of a lawn maintenance business he owned and managed for several years into undergraduate school. While night classes at Hillsborough Community College and The University of Tampa, he also worked full-time at a prominent downtown Tampa law firm. Prior to organizing First Citrus Bank in 1998, he held senior positions with The Merchant Bank of Florida and Southern Exchange Bank.
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October 24, 2022
Craig Fulton, Chief Customer Officer (CCO) for ConnectWise
Craig Fulton is Chief Customer Officer (CCO) for ConnectWise. He is responsible for the Education and IT Nation teams as a unified function to empower ConnectWise partners to success in growing their businesses and engage in the partner community. He credits his 25+ years in the technology sector, including time spent as a support desk and field engineer, for helping him understand what partners want and need for business management software.
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October 17, 2022
Jessica Muroff, CEO, United Way Suncoast
Jessica Muroff, one of the area’s most recognized and successful nonprofit and civic leaders, serves as United Way Suncoast’s chief executive officer.
Muroff joined United Way Suncoast in November 2019 after establishing a record of transformative change as the CEO of Girl Scouts of West Central Florida (2015-2019) and the CEO of Frameworks of Tampa Bay (2013-2015). She has extended her list of professional achievements since assuming the top role at UWS, an organization committed to creating lasting community change in its five-county region: Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, and DeSoto. -
September 19, 2022
Stephen Morgan, Senior Vice President and Investment Director, Hancock Whitney
Stephen Morgan is the investment director at Hancock Whitney, where he facilitates a team of investment professionals focused on
delivering superior investment strategies and client outcomes. Stephen has been in the investment industry for over 25 years. He
joined Hancock Whitney as part of the acquisition of Capital One Asset Management LLC. -
September 12, 2022
Richard Nicholas, SVP, Corporate Development and Strategy
Rick leads the conception and execution of Hivelocity’s strategy for growth via M+A and organic paths and has been with Hivelocity for over five years. Prior to Hivelocity, Rick spent 5+ years leading E Solutions, an interconnection-focused data center business in Downtown Tampa through a period of rapid growth to a sale in 2012 followed by 3+ years at Cable Company Knology/WOW as the head of their data center and cloud practice. Rick moved to Tampa in 1998 and attended Plant High School.
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August 29, 2022
Deanna Obregon, Chief Executive Officer, Cove Behavioral Health
With 20 years progressive leadership experience as a healthcare executive, Deanna demonstrates success in targeting and planning operational performance aligned with strategic initiatives and growth objectives. Deanna has successfully held Cove’s Chief Administrative Officer position for the past five years before being selected as Chief Executive Officer for Cove. She has earned a Master of Health Administration from USF as well as a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke College, and is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality. Her focus is to engage her team, while creating a positive and productive culture, so that future innovations can flourish in this ever-changing healthcare landscape.
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August 22, 2022
Dana Young, President and CEO, VISIT FLORIDA
As VISIT FLORIDA’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Dana Young leads Florida’s official destination marketing organization in partnership with its Board of Directors and the statewide tourism industry.