Nonprofit adds trio to business hall of fame

Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida has announced that Ingrid Aielli and Chef Fabrizio Aielli of Aielli Restaurant Group, Larry Lipman of Lipman Family Farms and Brian Rist of the Rist Family Foundation will be inducted into the 2022 Business Hall of Fame.

The honorees will be a part of a prominent group of leaders inducted into the Business Hall of Fame since it was founded in 1999, according to a statement. They will be celebrated the organization’s annual Business Hall of Fame event scheduled for April 19 at the Ritz Carlton Golf Resort in Naples. The award, the statement adds, recognizes influential, visionary leaders from the business community who have made a significant impact, created new opportunities and elevated the educational landscape for youth in their communities regarding financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work readiness.”

The Aiellis, according to the Aielli Restaurant Group website, moved to Naples in 2007 after owning and operating several high-end restaurants in Washington, D. C. for more than a decade. They opened Sea Salt in Naples in 2008, followed by Barbatella in 2012, Italian steakhouse Dorona in 2018 and Grappino in 2019. Also, In 2015, they opened Sea Salt St. Pete, in downtown St. Petersburg.

Larry Lipman helped grow Lipman Family Farms into one of the largest tomato growers and packers in North America. Now based in Immokalee, Lipman’s grandfather, Max Lipman, founded the company in the 1930s in New York City. Larry Lipman worked at the company for some 50 years. When he retired as CEO in 2010, it had 16,000 acres of production in 10 states and Mexico, in addition to seven packing facilities and a research and development greenhouse.

Brian Rist founded hurricane, storm and home protection products firm Storm Smart in 1996. It has since worked with more than 80,000 homeowners. Rist sold a controlling interest in the 250-employee company to a private equity firm in spring 2021, after it reached record sales of $73 million in 2020. The Rist Family Foundation has supported numerous causes, including the Daveler & Kauanui School of Entrepreneurship at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers.

Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida partnered with classroom business volunteers during the 2020-2021 school year to provide nearly 126,000 hours of instruction to nearly 13,900 students in 576 classes throughout Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties.