At the helm: Entrepreneur takes leadership role in diversifying her hobby

Executive: Kris Self, founder and owner of Island Computer Consulting in St. Pete Beach. Billing herself as a “technology concierge,” Self, 62, is a former Apple systems engineer and specializes in setting up high-end home automation and entertainment systems. She also works with small businesses and can set up communication and navigation systems for cars and boats and then train owners how to operate them effectively.

Diversion: Sailing. Self has been sailing since the early 1980s, when she moved to Florida. “My dad became interested in sailing, and then my brothers started sailing, as well,” she says. “Well, me being me, I thought, ‘I can do anything they can do.’ I became the galleymate, but that was fine; I was just happy to be on the boat.”