HCI's Patel rings NASDAQ bell

July was quite the busy month for Clearwater insurance executive Paresh Patel.

First, on July 1, Patel took over CEO duties of Homeowners Choice Inc., a Clearwater-based publicly traded insurance firm he co-founded in 2006. Patel, who had been chairman of the board, replaced Frank McCahill, who resigned in June for personal reasons.

Patel ended the month in New York City, where, on July 29, he led the firm in the opening-bell ceremonies at the Nasdaq stock exchange. It was the second time Patel led Homeowners Choice (symbol: HCII, recent price: $7) in getting Nasdaq's trading day going.