Paradise gained: Ad agency thriving under new owners

Replacing a star, especially in an ownership role, isn't for the weak-minded. A globetrotting power couple gives it a go, with strong results so far.

  • By Brian Hartz
  • | 10:57 a.m. April 6, 2018
  • | 0 Free Articles Remaining!
Mark Wemple. Paradise Advertising's new CEO, Barbara Karasek, posing with one of the many awards the St. Petersburg-based advertising agency has won since it was founded in 2002 by Cedar Hames, who died in February.
Mark Wemple. Paradise Advertising's new CEO, Barbara Karasek, posing with one of the many awards the St. Petersburg-based advertising agency has won since it was founded in 2002 by Cedar Hames, who died in February.
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The area's marketing and advertising sector lost a giant Feb. 16 when Cedar Hames, founder of St. Petersburg-based Paradise Advertising, died at 72.

Hames founded the company in 2002 and quickly grew it into a major player in the destination marketing industry, acquiring clients such as JW Marriott, Space Florida and the Dali Museum in St. Pete. 

 

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