Former EDC leader, insurance exec, named CEO of golf nonprofit

Prominent longtime Sarasota-Manatee executive Lisa Krouse, who held leadership posts with Lakewood Ranch insurance firm FCCI and later the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County, has been named CEO of First Tee Sarasota/Manatee. 

First Tee is a nonprofit youth development organization that runs junior golf programs in the region with a mission to provide affordable and accessible golf instruction, often for youth with little or no exposure to the sport.

Krouse succeeds David Perritt in the role, according to a statement. “There’s a perfect alignment with my passion for building talent for our future and FTSM’s golf-based character programs, which naturally build life and leadership skills that empower our future leaders in all areas of life, including school, friendships and eventually careers,” Krouse says in the statement. 

Krouse was with FCCI Insurance Group for more than 15 years, where she was an executive vice president and chief administrative officer. She retired from the company in a full-time role but remains on its board, where she has been since 2016. She was also on the board of the EDC, when she was named interim CEO in June 2021. The interim tag was removed from her title in August 2021, and she remained CEO until June 2023, when she retired. The organization’s COO, Erin Silk, was named CEO.

First Tee Sarasota/Manatee board chair Matthew Arcari says the board conducted a national search for its next CEO. “We were fortunate to have an exceptional candidate who understands our local community and will bring a growth mindset to the organization,” he says in the release. “We feel confident in our decision and look forward to what Lisa’s leadership will bring to FTSM.”

Krouse has a history with golf: As an executive at FCCI she lamented that she missed out on impromptu meetings and chats on the course because she didn’t play the sport, she told the Business Observer in a 2011 story, She took it up in 2010, when she was in her 50s and her kids were grown, and grew to love the sport.