The start of Q4 was one of the biggest months yet for promotions, partnerships and expansions in startups across Tampa Bay. We've got the roundup below.
• Fourth and HotSchedules, the Tampa-based hospitality and restaurant tech providers, connected a new executive leadership team together to tackle trending topics in the industry. The new team will take on issues like rising food allergies, employee turnover and state legislation. The leadership team will be comprised of:
• David Cantu, Chief Customer Officer and co-founder of HotSchedules
• Matt Leone, Chief Operating Officer of HotSchedules
• Ben Hood, Chief Executive Officer of Fourth
• Christian Berthelsen, Chief Technology Officer of Fourth
• Simon Bocca, Chief Growth Officer of Fourth
• MidAmerica Administrative & Retirement Solutions, LLC hired Jon Croft as vice president of IT for the Tampa-based company. Croft will work on maintaining current systems for the retirement solutions, as well as focusing on planning for “the information technology future for the organization.” Croft previously worked as a senior director at Willis Towers Watson.
• Moffitt Cancer Center partnered with ThreatWarrior, which specializes in AI-powered cyberdefense. The duo will work together to further develop ThreatWarrior’s platform, specifically focused on helping healthcare systems mitigate and defend against cyber threats and other security issues. “Cybercrime is the cancer of the digital age and ThreatWarrior is giving organizations a chance to fight back,” Pete Slade, founder and CEO at ThreatWarrior, said in a statement.
• St. Leo University has teamed up with Apogee, a state-of-the-art fiber distribution company that will allow students to access high-speed internet and HD programming. Austin-based Apogee specializes in helping universities and colleges transition to modern campuses. The new system will roll out on St. Leo’s 30 academic buildings and residence halls.
• Slalom, the $1 billion consulting firm with a focus on tech and business transformation, has opened its first Floridian office with eyes on the rest of the Sunshine State in coming years. The Seattle-based company officially opened its Miami office Oct 8. The company stated over the next 24 months, it plans to expand to Tampa and St. Petersburg, along with Orlando and Jacksonville. Those offices, along with Miami’s, will employ roughly 600 people in the state, according to officials.
• NIX United officially opened its new office in the First Central Tower, 360 Central Ave, on the 11th floor. The Ukrainian-based company, which employs 2,000 across the world, will hire an undisclosed number of employees in St. Petersburg. Sales representatives will be among the first to be hired this fall, according to the Greater St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corp. The company is a software development company for a slew of industries including e-commerce, e-learning and health care.
“We considered several communities for the site of our U.S. HQ, but St. Pete ultimately was a standout with its second-to-none regional assets, vibrant downtown, and much to our surprise a booming tech community,” Kevin Woodford, VP of sales and business development for NIX United, said in a statement.
• Eman El-Sheikh, director of the University of West Florida Center for Cybersecurity, was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to serve on the new Florida Cybersecurity Task Force. El-Sheikh is the only higher educational gubernatorial appointed task force member. She is a professor of computer science and heads the UWF Center for Cybersecurity, which serves as the southeastern cybersecurity research hub.
• Vector Solutions, a Tampa-based eLearning solutions provider, welcomed Scott Rosenberg as its new chief financial officer. Rosenberg has been in the industry for 30 years. He previously served as CFO for Kabbage, an Atlanta-based lending platform serving small businesses. Before that, he served as president for Purchasing Power LLC.
• Kathleen Walters, a previous executive at Georgia-Pacific Corp, rejoined Jabil’s board of directors. She previously served on the board from 2005-2011 and was a chair of the compensation committee.
“Kathy’s many years of extensive operating experience, both domestically and internationally, coupled with her proven track record of driving growth through effective business strategies and operational efficiencies, make Kathy a great addition to our Board,” Tim Main, Jabil’s Chairman of the board, said in a statement.
• Jabil teamed up with Magic Leap, an augmented reality South Florida startup worth over $4 billion. The two tech giants announced their partnership Monday, revealing the duo worked together to launch Magic Leap One in August 2018.
“In order to build Magic Leap One, all of the technologies and processes haven’t existed; we’re having to invent things along the way,” Omar Khan, chief product officer at Magic Leap, said in a statement. “And we couldn’t think of a better partner than Jabil to help us solve those problems.”
• A-LIGN, a Tampa-based cybersecurity and compliance company, is expanding to a former Bulgarian chocolate factory that’s getting turned into a 13,000 sq. ft. office.
• The University of South Florida teamed up with Jabil to create the USF Jabil Innovation Institute, thanks in part to a $1 million gift. The institute will work with the USF Muma College of Business and College of Engineering to create innovative research and increase community engagement and talent development within the colleges. The announcement, made Oct. 24, comes after Jabil donated an $800,000 gift and $200,000 in research support.
