Dean Akers's life of an entrepreneur started off as a graduate from the University of Florida in 1974 he went to work as a warehouse runner for Linder Industrial Machinery. By the age of 30 he was the VP Sales / Operating officer of the company in a turnaround situation and took the company from 50 million in sales to over 100 million in sales over two years during the 80's downturn. All in working with the same people.

He then bought Controlling interest in Airdrome Tire. Taking it from a company that was (800,000) in equity and small sales to the most respected commercial tire company in Florida in 8 years with over 13 million in sales. He sold the company to Don Olson Tire and was President of its commercial division until retirement at age 40. Boredom set in and he saw another opportunity, the construction industry.

The construction industry was great. He Started Akers in the last quarter of 1995 and took it to revenues of 24 million in 1999 and was named the fastest growing company in the State of Florida by the University of Florida / Wall Street Journal. He sold the company in 2001 and has taken a 3-year personal time off. While taking this time off he started a landscape company who in 2004 posted revenues of 3.5 million. In September of 2004 he joined the Ideal Image Team as its Chief Executive Officer.

As CEO of Ideal Image he has lead the growth from two locations in 2004 to 63 locations in 2009. Ideal Image continues to perform during the tough times with 15% same store sales growth from 2008. 2008 was a record year for Ideal Image. He continues to keep his focus and that of the team on doing what's within their control...

Terms of Office: Elected in 2001 to lead Florida's 4th largest city, re-elected in November 2005 by over 70% of the vote, winning every precinct in the city. Term expires January 2, 2010. Named 2008 United States Mayor/ Public Official of the year by Governing Magazine.

Appointments: Appointed by Governor Charlie Crist to serve on Transition Team as Group Leader for departments of Transportation, Environmental Protection and Community Affairs, along with the Fish and Wildlife Commission. Appointed Vice Chair of Governor Crist's Action Team on Energy & Climate Change. Appointed by Governor Jeb Bush to Chair Municipal Mentoring Initiative and the Century Commission for a sustainable Florida. Chair, National League of Cities - School Improvement Task Force.

Professional: Practiced corporate and business law for 19 years, serving as president of Fisher and Sauls, P.A., a St. Petersburg law firm since 1936. Author, Mangroves to Major Leagues, a book on the history of St. Petersburg from 23,000 B.C. to 2000 A.D.

Community: Served as president, Children's Dream Fund. Chairman, St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. Chairman, Florida International Museum. Chairman, Leadership St. Pete. Founder, YMCA Neighbor to Neighbor Christmas Program and CONA Neighborhood Leadership Program.

Education & Awards: B.S. in management, M.B.A. and Juris Doctor with honors from Florida State University (senior class president). Studied comparative law at Oxford University. Law intern with Florida Supreme Court Justice Ben Overton.

Named 2008 mayoral Public Official of the Year by Governing magazine.

Personal: Born in Chicago. Married to wife, Joyce, with two children. Members of the Northside Baptist Church.

"The guitar-playing mayor," Rick Baker plays and sings regularly with Sam Stone at the Saturday Morning Market in downtown St. Petersburg. He is also frequently invited to play with local and national acts including three appearances with the Marshall Tucker Band, first at St. Petersburg Vinoy Park, soon after at Tampa's Ford Amphitheater and most recently at the Largo Cultural Center.

Mr. Bell leads the Business Advisory Group for Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund and is the shareholder in charge of the firm's Central Florida practice. Saltmarsh is a regional accounting and consulting firm in business since 1944, with offices throughout the state. Mr. Bell regularly consults with clients regarding mergers and acquisitions, business valuation and litigation support. He also actively serves a variety of accounting and assurance clients of the firm. He is a CPA and is accredited in business valuation (ABV) by the American Institute of CPAs.

Suzie Boland specializes in strategic public relations to drive sales inquiries and build client brands, working with national, regional and local clients. She has more than 20 years experience in marketing, communications and public relations, both as a marketing executive and an agency principal. A graduate of Leadership Tampa, she was founding advisory council chairman of STAR TEC, where she is now a board member and chairman of the marketing committee; and was a founding board member of the Tampa Bay Technology Forum and TechVillage Tampa Bay incubator. She is a board member and marketing vice chairman of the CEO Council of Tampa Bay and a member of the boards of Association for Corporate Growth and Turnaround Management Association. She was named "2007 CEO of the Year for Marketing" by Tampa Bay CEO Magazine and "2004 Tech Leader of the Year" by the Tampa Bay Technology Forum.

Mr. Cardy assists in the origination and execution of investment banking engagements for Hyde Park Capital clients, including mergers and acquisitions; divestitures; private equity and debt placements; and, strategic advisory assignments. Mr. Cardy has 30 years of experience in both the investment banking and public accounting fields. Prior to joining Hyde Park Capital, Mr. Cardy co-founded Beach Capital Advisors, an investment banking and financial advisory firm focused on emerging growth companies. Mr. Cardy served as Executive Vice President and Managing Director - Media and Entertainment Group for Communications Equity Associates ("CEA") from 1991 until 2002. Mr. Cardy originally joined CEA in 1988 as its Chief Financial Officer and served as its Chief Operating Officer during 2000 and 2001. During 1999, Mr. Cardy served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Preview Travel (NASDAQ:PTVL), a leading on-line travel service. Mr. Cardy also spent 11 years with Arthur Andersen & Co. providing audit services and tax advice to public and private companies in the media, communications, real estate and agri-business industries. Mr. Cardy is a Florida-licensed Certified Public Accountant and graduated with high honors from the University of Florida. He is a member of the Association for Corporate Growth, the Tampa Bay Technology Forum, the Tampa Bay chapter of the New World Angels, and the American and Florida Institutes of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Cardy holds his Series 24, 7 and 63 securities licenses.

Michael focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation. He has litigated numerous patent, trademark, and copyright matters in courts throughout the country and has jury trial experience as both first and second chair. Michael is certified as an Intellectual Property Law Specialist by The Florida Bar. Certification is the highest level of recognition by The Florida Bar of the competency and experience of attorneys in an area of law. Michael is also a Registered Patent Attorney with extensive experience in patent application preparation and prosecution. His prosecution experience includes obtaining numerous patents on behalf of clients in technologies such as robotics, thermodynamics, medical devices, and building materials.

Background: Prior to becoming an attorney, Michael worked as a Registered Patent Agent for a Washington, D.C., law firm, where he assisted in patentability, patent infringement and patent validity studies. During law school, he served as a Senior Associate Member of the Stetson Law Review and finished second in his class. Michael is a shareholder in the Tampa office of GrayRobinson.

Education: University of Notre Dame, B.S., Mechanical Engineering
Stetson University College of Law, J.D.

Tony DiBenedetto serves as Chairman and CEO of Tribridge, an IT services and business consulting firm. A co-founder of Tribridge, Tony has overall responsibility for the strategic direction, growth and development of the firm.

With more than 20 years of business and consulting experience, Tony brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership skills to the firm. Under his leadership, Tribridge has grown from a start-up company to a national consultancy with customers, team members and offices throughout the United States. He has directed Tribridge through the successful merger, acquisition and integration of seven companies, resulting in a compound annual growth rate of over 50 percent since being founded in 1998.

Tony also guided Tribridge as it became a national Microsoft partner and winner of numerous industry awards, including the distinguished Microsoft Inner Circle Award, the 2007 Microsoft Dynamics U.S. Partner of the Year and, most recently, the 2008 Worldwide Microsoft Dynamics Partner of the Year.

Before founding Tribridge, Tony served as a partner in a "Big Five" consulting firm.

In addition to serving as Tribridge's Chairman and CEO, Tony co-founded The Tampa Bay Technology Forum and is the executive director of the TBTF Foundation, which helps at-risk kids pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). He is also a member of the United Way Tocqueville Society and former board member of the YMCA.

Tony regularly speaks to groups on topics ranging from corporate growth to the importance of leadership. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management Information Systems from Florida State University.

Mr. Doney’s practice is concentrated in the corporate and securities law areas and principally involves corporate governance, Securities Exchange Act reporting and compliance matters, public and private securities financings, mergers and acquisitions, and other business transactions. He has focused his efforts on providing efficient and sophisticated legal services in the corporate and securities areas to established public companies, emerging growth companies, and sources of capital. He has an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Doney received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance magna cum laude in 1987 from Jacksonville University and his J.D. cum laude in 1991 from Stetson University College of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Stetson Law Review.

Educated by the Indiana Institute of Technology and mentored by the General Electric Company for nearly 20 years, Mr. Failor is a seasoned business professional with more than 40 years of experience in world class engineering and manufacturing for the plastics, lighting, automotive, and defense/aerospace industries. Mr. Failor holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering and earned a graduate Certification in Manufacturing and Technology Development through General Electric's, 3 year – Post Graduate Manufacturing Management Training Program. As the Director of the Florida Manufacturing Technology Centers, Jim provided comprehensive business assessments and growth strategy recommendations to over 100 small manufacturing and technology companies.

Jim's background experience includes: • Broad, comprehensive business management experience developed through successful leadership positions in commercial, industrial, government and international operations; including private and publicly held international corporations. • 20 years of mentored business training and experience through progressive management assignments as a turnaround and new business start up manager in four different divisions of the General Electric Company. • 15 years of experience in establishing, negotiating and managing government contracts through TARDEC, TACOM, Picatinny, U.S. Corps of Engineers, CECOM, USSOCOM and MARCORSYSCOM. • 10 years of direct communications and facilitation of federal programs with the office of the Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Committee, the Honorable C.W. Bill Young, 10th congressional district. • Owner and President, Electromate Corporation, Jacksonville, FL • Owner and President, International Business Development, Jacksonville, FL • Vice President and General Manager, Vector Aeromotive Corporation, Green Cove Springs, FL • Director, Florida Manufacturing Technology Center, Suncoast Region, Largo, FL • Director, Advanced Technologies, Concurrent Technologies Corporation • President, CTC Tampa Bay, Inc

Mr. Failor is the co-founder and Chairman of the Pinellas Area Federal Contractors Association and also serves on several additional boards including the Florida Medical Device Manufacturers Consortium, the Executive and Advisory Boards to the STAR TEC accelerator located at the Young-Rainy Science Technology and Research Center in Largo, FL and the Pinellas County Economic Development Advisory Board.

Currently CEO, President and Founder of SOE Software Corporation as of 2003. Since joining SOE Fratello has grown the organization from two employees and one customer to over thirty "A" players and over two hundred customers while increasing revenues by an order of magnitude and doubling profits year after year. Prior to SOE Fratello founded PowerCerv Corporation in 1992 which he took public in 1996 raising $52,000,000 in an oversubscribed offering. PowerCerv was the first ERP software vendor to integrate front and back office automation applications, and competed with companies such as Baan, Oracle and SAP. Before selling the company in 2003, Fratello received accolades from Inc Magazine for 1996 Entrepreneur of the Year for Florida and from Deloitte and Touche for being the Second Fastest Growing Company on the west coast of Florida over a five year period. PowerCerv is still in business today and profitable (under a different name). Previous to PowerCerv, Fratello was Director of Marketing at Unisys Corporation, a multi billion dollar producer of mainframe computer systems. Fratello spent 10 years with Unisys. Fratello received his BS in Accounting from Franklin and Marshall College in 1978. Later he attended Wharton School University of Pennsylvania where he received his MBA in 1991.

Pete Grotsky has over thirty-nine years of experience working for the Department of Defense (DoD) (Navy) as an engineer, Senior Program Manager, Branch Head, and Division Director for a major Navy Systems Command, and as a Senior Program Manager for a major Defense Contractor. Pete managed major acquisition programs with budgets in excess of $500M. After retiring from DoD, Pete became a Senior Program Manager for a large defense contractor prior to co-founding GCandMServices, LLC. Core competencies include, DoD contracting expertise, Program Management, Engineering, QA.

As publisher of the Maddux Business Report she is involved in all of the Tampa Bay Economic Development Organizations as well as the major ones across the high tech corridor. Nancy has spent the vast majority of her life in Pinellas County and began her publishing career at the St. Petersburg Times while attending USF, majoring in archaeology. She moved on to become the Managing Editor of Art & Design News (an international graphic arts magazine), and then to Maddux Business Report 20 years ago - starting out as circulation director, moving to associate publisher and then publisher for the past 10 years. In 2009, she was named to the Tampa Bay 100 most influential business executives by CEO Magazine.

Shawn R. Hughes has over 25 years of experience in the technology industry and is currently the President & COO of ThermoEnergy, a publicly traded industrial wastewater treatment and clean coal company based in Little Rock, Arkansas. Mr. Hughes was Chief Executive Officer of Fortress Technologies from 2001 through 2006 where he led the turnaround of an insolvent business and repositioned the company as a leader in the wireless communications security market. Shawn holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Slippery Rock University and an MBA from Florida State University. He is active with local charities and resides in Tampa, FL with his wife, Sandy.

Spanning a professional career of more than 20 years, Robin Kovaleski has a diverse and successful career with several prominent firms in finance, investor relations and corporate communications. As the Director of the Florida Venture Forum, she leads Florida's premier support group for venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.

Kovaleski earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Environmental Politics, graduating cum laude, with highest honors, from Appalachian State University and a Masters degree in English from the University of North Carolina. She has also served as the Chair, TEC Florida, President's Forum since 2004 and is a graduate of the Executive Speaker's Institute.

Awilda Lopez-Cepero has been in manufacturing for over thirty years as owner of a large Tool and Die company, with major contracts with the Department of Defense. Proven ability to build a successful government contracting business with sales in excess of 1.1M. Core competencies include procurement, face-to-face marketing, certifications, training and RFP’s. Currently focusing on small to midsize businesses needing expertise in detangling the government maze.

Larry Langebrake is the Director of SRI International’s Marine Technology Program in St. Petersburg, Florida. Larry was an integral part of the team that attracted SRI to St. Petersburg and became the director when SRI opened its doors there in January 2007. Prior to SRI, Larry led the Center for Ocean Technology at the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science. Larry began work at USF in 1994 as a founding member of the Center. His efforts resulted in the creation of an engineering organization that became an internationally recognized leader in environmental sensors research and development.

SRI St. Petersburg supports projects that span homeland defense to environmental research, including application of microsystems and nanotechnology. Larry's career includes 15 years in the aerospace industry working with organizations such as Goodyear, General Electric, AT&T, Lockheed Martin and several national laboratories. Larry holds a BS in Electrical Engineering the University of Kentucky and an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Florida. His education includes Ph.D. studies in marine science. Larry is a registered P.E. (professional engineer) in the State of Florida.

Doug is a senior consulting executive with over 33 years of experience capitalizing on business opportunities and establishing high performance organizations. Prior to founding Business Consulting Group in 2002, Doug was a Managing Director with PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting, where he consulted for over 23 years.

He has managed large projects, designed unique strategic IT applications, been an interim CEO, COO and CIO, and has consulted on many business acquisitions. His experience ranges from small, privately-held to Global 10 manufacturing, distribution, and service corporations; as well as Federal Government Departments and Agencies; and the United Nations.

In addition to serving as the Chairman of the Star Tec Advisory Board and participating on several client boards, Doug is active in the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce's Small Business of the Year Award.

Dr. Len Polizzotto is Draper Laboratory’s senior executive responsible for Strategic Business Development and Marketing. Reporting to the President & CEO, he is leading efforts to raise the Laboratory’s profile to help capture new opportunities for sponsored research and bring the Laboratory’s emerging technologies to market to benefit the public good.

Prior to joining Draper Lab in 2007, Polizzotto served for six years as Corporate Vice President for Business Development and Marketing for SRI International, a world leader in contract R&D services. A 25-year tenure at the Polaroid Corporation preceded this, concluding with the assignment of Corporate Vice President for New Business Development.

Between corporate experiences, Polizzotto directed the Center for the Globalization of Technology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He led the University’s efforts to form partnerships with corporations in applying new technology for business development. He was a Professor of Practice in the Electrical Engineering Department as well, where he established a new course on business and technology and advised more than 50 undergraduate students. In the past eight years, he founded one and led another high tech start-up, both in the biomedical area. Polizzotto received his Ph.D. in visual sciences from Tufts University. He earned M.S. and B.S. degrees in electrical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and he completed The Executive Program at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business. He holds nine patents and is the author of numerous articles on human color perception, digital imaging, and microphotography. He also authored two books on drum set instruction.

Mr. Rice is a Vice President with Ballast Point Ventures, a venture capital firm with $180 million under management focused on Florida, the Southeastern United States and Texas. Ballast Point Ventures provides growth equity capital to rapidly growing companies with outstanding management teams in several industry areas, including health care, communications, business services, technology and consumer/retail. Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures in 2004, Mr. Rice worked in the Health Care Group within the Investment Banking Department of Raymond James. He was also an Associate in the Strategic Alliances group at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. Mr. Rice graduated from the University of Virginia with Bachelor's degree in Commerce and from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration with an MBA.

Chase C. Stockon is President and CEO of Panther International, the technology firm he founded in 1994. He is responsible for leading Panther's dynamic growth, organizational vision, and strategic consulting services. Chase has more than 20 years experience in software application development and has worked with government agencies and corporations from Alaska to Puerto Rico and many locales in between.

He began his career in the aviation industry, and prior to founding Panther he was the Director of the Center for Aviation Research and Education in Washington, D.C. He is heavily involved in the community and was recently awarded the Parke Wright III Leadership Award for his service to the Tampa Bay area.

Chase received his Bachelor's degree in Colorado State University and received his M.B.A. from San Francisco State University.

John is currently the Executive Chairman of Hire Velocity and is highly engaged in the Strategic direction and growth plans for the company. Hire Velocity is a Technology-enabled business service company with a focus on comprehensive recruiting solutions. With its unique blend of technology and services, Hire Velocity is able to "raise the bar" for recruiting top talent.

Previously, John was the founder and CEO of System One, a technology staffing and consulting company he founded in 1987 and sold in April of 2000 to Monster Worldwide (formerly TMP Worldwide).

In April of 2001, John left Monster to form Lion Investments, investing in new ventures.

John earned his BS in Engineering from Penn State and MBA from Bowling Green University.

John is a Trustee at the University of Tampa and a past Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Berkeley Preparatory School.