It has been a big week in the Heart of Florida for Business. A week ripe with expansions, innovations and staff changes.
We heard early in the week about the huge Department of Defense contract awarded to Nanotherapeutics. As part of the contract, Nanotherapeutics announce that they are going to create 150 new jobs with an average way of $90,000 a year. I emphasize the creation part, because this isn’t simply bringing an employee from a local competitor over to the team. These are 90 new positions with a net gain for the individuals and the community.
Our five star accredited Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce is also growing. They have hired three new staff members. Joining the chamber are Susan Davenport, Kamal Latham and Deborah Bowie. Susan is the new VP of Economic Development. After helping the Austin, Tx Chamber grow over hte last 12 years, she has joined our team to help transform our area. Kamal joins as the Vice President of Public Policy. He boasts a very strong political background, having been appointed by both President Clinton and President Bush as a career diplomat with the US State Department. Kamal received his Masters in Public Policy from Harvard. Deborah is our new Vice President of Chamber Development. Before coming to Gainesville, Deborah served as Senior Director of Public Policy with the Albany Chamber and as the Chief of Staff for the Mayor of Birmingham. These three great additions will be valuable contributors to the Gainesville Chamber leadership team.
Our team has grown as well. We are happy to announce the addition of Anna Olcese to our team as the new Managing Editor. Anna comes to us with over 20 years of professional experience in writing, editing, public relations, marketing, consulting and event planning. Her relationships in our community and her leadership skills will be welcome additions to our team as we continue to grow. If you have a story idea you want to share with us, please email Anna at [email protected].
In addition to publishing HOME, BUSINESS and GIVING, we also put on our signature event, Taste of Gainesville. June 2nd will be the 4th annual Taste and tickets are now on sale. This event has sold out every year. If you are interested in attending this event, click here.
Towards the end of the year, we will be celebrating our annual Forty Under 40. There are two other areas where Business has formed strategic partnerships to help grow business in our community. The first we have already mentioned before in these briefs; The Hacker House. This Thursday night at the Start-Up Happy Hour, Augi Lyle will introduce the inaugural eight cadets. The second is a leadership telecast unlike any held in our community. Let by Kristen Hadeed, we are the media partner for reThink Success. July 19th, 12 engaging speakers from across the country will come to Gainesville to network with some of Gainesville’s top innovators and entrepreneurial talent. They will also deliver an amazing event on success. Speakers will include Simon Sinek, author of “Start with Why”, Jason Lucash, cofounder of OrigAudio and Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Entrepreneur of the Year, John Spence, named a three time International Thought Leader and Top 50 speaker in America, Geoff Wilson, owner of 352 Media and one of America’s Top 30 Young Entrepreneurs, Joe Cirulli, Founder of Gainesville Health and Fitness Center and featured on Inc.com, and Sam Tarantino, co-founder of Grooveshark and one of Forbes “30 Under 30”. As you can see, this is truly going to be a Can’t Miss Event! Registration information will be announced very soon.
Finally, we put out a publication you may have heard of. We are currently working on our Innovation issue. If you are interested in participating in this (or any other) issue of Business, please contact me at [email protected] .