Great Expectations

Florida Shores Bank in Venice had been open a mere three days in November 2007 when the chief financial officer suddenly quit.

Bank President and CEO Jim Kuhlman was stunned. But instead of panicking, Kuhlman, a onetime U.S. Marine, immediately went into problem-solve mode. “A lot of guys would have flipped out if you lost the guy who counts the money,” says Florida Shores board member John Dowd, a Venice accountant. “But he stayed calm.”

Kuhlman interviewed several candidates for the position within days and a new CFO was in place by Monday. That kind of decisive execution is vintage Kuhlman, say several people who know him in the Venice business community. “He's a steady warrior,” says Venice real estate developer and Florida Shores board member Brad Baldwin.