Linda Olson

President

As the current President and founder of Tampa Bay WaVE, Linda has grown this non-profit to over 100 early-stage technology ventures and over 250 entrepreneurs and techies in under 5 years. In 2012, she led a regional effort that was awarded a $1million federal grant from the US Department of Commerce to launch the FirstWaVE Accelerator program and an open innovation space in downtown Tampa called the FirstWaVE Venture Center. Since its launch in March 2013, companies in FirstWaVE have raised over $8.4 million in early stage investment capital and have created and retained over 200 jobs for the region.

Alex Sink

Chair

Alex Sink served as Florida’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) from 2007 to 2011 as one of four statewide elected officials. She managed over $15 billion in state treasury funds, was responsible for state accounting, and implemented reforms in contracting and transparency for citizens. Before elected office, Alex had a 26-year career with Bank of America. She retired as President of Florida operations in 2000, managing the state’s largest bank with $40 billion in deposits, leading 9000 employees in over 800 branches. From 2011 to 2013, she was Senior Advisor to Hyde Park Capital Advisors, a middle market boutique M&A firm. Alex founded Florida Next Foundation, a non-profit devoted to supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in Florida. She subsequently joined the board of Tampa Wave in 2016 to continue her work in supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Florida. She is a Life Trustee at Wake Forest University, serves on the boards of the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, United Way Worldwide Leadership Council, United Way Suncoast, and Junior Achievement.

David Eason

A results-driven business leader with almost 20 years experience in business development, partner development, strategy, solutions development, project management, sales and market management in the telecom infrastructure market. Successfully managed a telecommunication solutions company for 19 years driving revenue growth with smaller telecom carriers in rural USA and the Caribbean.

An entrepreneurial approach to business has developed the ability to continuously strive for optimal process improvement. Conducted business on every continent and in over 30 countries, and developed the aptitude for operating in a wide array of cultures. Started my career in 1986 at AT&T Bell Laboratories as an Engineer and subsequently worked in Product Management and Market Management. Possess a strong technical knowledge of telecommunication systems and a solid understanding of the business side of telecom. Education background includes a MS in Electrical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology and a MBA from Columbia University. Board member for CEO Council of Tampa, Tampa Bay WaVE, Computer Mentors Group and Caribbean American National Development Organization. Passionate about helping young people to develop the right business skills to enable them to become successful entrepreneurs.

Married to wife Susan Burrell with two children, Damani in college and Maya in high school.

Alfred Goldberg

Immediate Past Chair

Alfred Goldberg is the President of Absolute Marketing Solutions, a multi-award winning agency specializing in digital marketing, responsive website design, and application development. He is a preeminent voice on the topics of entrepreneurship, web design, mobile strategy, and digital marketing. His passion is helping visionary companies effectively develop successful digital strategies to accelerate their growth. Alfred is a dynamic and highly-sought after speaker who has presented at more than 100 industry events, including iSummit, TieCon FL, Gasparilla Interactive Festival, and the International Business Summit. He devotes a great deal of his time giving back to his community and has held leadership roles in a number of organizations that support technology entrepreneurship and the creative industries.

Joe Hodges

Joe Hodges is an entrepreneur who has created, grown and sold companies across the United States. He was Founder and President of Americlaim Solutions and INETICO, Inc. His most recent accomplishment is a new venture called CareValet aimed at solving the consumer healthcare access maze. As an industry pioneer in the healthcare field, Joe is fixed on creating viable consumer and industry solutions, as well as mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders. Among other accomplishments Joe is a graduate of Florida State University, has attended Singularity University and is presently working towards his Doctorate in Business Administration at USF. Joe has served on the Board of Directors at MOSI (the Museum of Science and Industry), as a member on the Moffitt Cancer Center Corporate Partners Steering Committee, and was Knighted into the Order of Salvador. He also proudly serves as a member of the Advisory Council for the Dali Museum.

Lindsey Kimball

Ms. Kimball brings more than 16 years of experience in a diverse range of economic development activities and organizations. Developing new, innovative programs and, more importantly – implementing them – is a strong suite for Ms. Kimball who embraces creativity and a progressive, holistic approach. In her role as Director, she oversees all strategic and operational aspects of the Department of 27 which include Corporate Development, Entrepreneurial Services, Disadvantaged Minority and Small Business Development, Redevelopment, Competitive Sites, Agribusiness Development, Business Intelligence and Tourism Development. Prior to the County, she served as Senior Vice President of Economic Development for Infinity Global Solutions, Business Development Chief for the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission and Business Intelligence Officer for the Tampa Bay Partnership. Ms. Kimball is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) by the IEDC and holds an MBA from the University of South Florida and a B.A. in International Studies, both degrees with highest honors. Her work has been recognized by many organizations including the 2015 TiE "Titan of Entrepreneurship", National Association of Counties, the Northeast Florida Regional Council “Outstanding Regional Economic Development Professional”, “Top 20 under 40 in North America" by the CREW Network and a “40 under 40” by the JBJ.

Kailah Matyas

Kailah Matyas is the Managing Partner of Redwood Partners and has been with Redwood since shortly after the Company was founded. Kailah is responsible for global assignments, specifically covering Redwood’s European, US and Asia Pacific regions. Her years of experience working with international high-growth companies has made her expert at interpreting business goals into human capital needs and realizing the best people to build successful businesses. She has successfully built global executive teams for companies within the mobile, internet and digital media sectors and has particular expertise with cross border searches. Kailah opened Redwood’s London office and has been instrumental in developing the Company’s global Executive Search practice. She has been with Redwood for over twenty years and was previously with a start up where she was responsible for building and launching their web/eCommerce strategy. She has lived in New York City, London and Sydney. Kailah holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from George Washington University.

Chuck Papageorgiou

Chuck is the co-founder and CEO of International Screening Solutions, a global "Know Your Customer" risk management company, and the co-creator of its www.worldwatchplus.com platform. He is also the Managing Partner of www.ideasphere.com, providing executive consulting on strategy, operations, technology deployment, and M&A. He brings his global experience in Technology, Operations, and Sales Operations, both as an entrepreneur, a consultant, and an executive to actively guide management teams of companies he invests in, as well as advise client companies. Chuck has founded, funded, and launched multiple companies, raising over 15M in startup capital. He has directly managed organizations ranging from five person startups to 10,000+ employee global operations. He has lead, or acted as a Sr. Advisor, on completed M&A and restructuring transactions worth over 9 billion dollars. He supports a number of local initiatives focused on the development of entrepreneurs and startup companies and is actively involved with the Tampa Bay entrepreneurship ecosystem. Chuck also serves as an Entrepreneur In Residence (EIR) and is a member of the Operating Committee of the Advisory Board of the Lowth Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Tampa, and an EIR with the Moffitt Cancer Research Center.

Lance Raab

Secretary

Lance Raab is a veteran technology entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience. Lance is the founder of JazzMedia, LLC, a privately held company that owns, develops and invests in domain names and internet web ventures, and he is one of the original investors in Florida Funders. Previously, Lance was the founder and CEO of REPS Software. Under Lance’s leadership, REPS grew over the course of 20 years to become one of the leading publishers of software for the senior living industry, before it was acquired by MDI Achieve. Lance also founded IDEAL Consulting, a provider of ERP, CRM and Business Intelligence solutions, which he later sold to Tribridge. Prior to starting his businesses, Lance earned his Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from the University of South Florida. In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, Lance is a volunteer with Junior Achievement, a mentor and investor in several startup technology companies, a Board Member for Tampa Bay WaVE and a landscape photographer. Lance resides in Tampa, Florida, with his wife and children.

Kostas Stoilas

12 years of real estate experience in Florida. The last 10 years have been focused in Tampa Bay and the I-4 Corridor, with over 10 million SF of transactions closed, and many thousands of acres of land sold in Central and SW Florida. Prior to starting Fortress Commercial Real Estate, Kostas was Senior Associate at CBRE, Associate Director of Industrial Sales and Leasing for Cushman & Wakefield and Sales Associate at Grubb & Ellis in Tampa. MBA from the University of Tampa MS in Management/Technology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute BS in Management Information Systems from The Florida State University Active on committees and boards including the Bay Area Advisors, Tampa Bay Wave, and Professional Philanthropic Network helping raise millions of dollars for local non-profits and charities.

Gerwai Todd