• Alternate Text
  • Loading

  • Newsletters
  • Podcast
  • Public Notices
  • 40 Under 40 Nomination
  • Mobile App
  • Subscribe
  • Login
  • News
  • Strategies
  • Entrepreneurs
  • M&A
  • Leadership
  • Regions
    • Tampa Bay-Lakeland
    • Manatee-Sarasota
    • Charlotte-Lee-Collier
    • Florida
  • Industries
    • Business Support
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Residential Real Estate
    • Development
    • Finance
    • Food-Beverage
    • Health Care
    • Manufacturing
    • Retail
    • Sports–Entertainment
    • Technology
    • Travel-Tourism
  • Insights
  • More
    • Advice
    • Transactions
    • 40 Under 40
    • Big Book of Business
    • Subscribe
    • Opinion
    • Executive Diversions
    • Change-Makers
    • Reprints
  • News
  • Strategies
  • Entrepreneurs
  • M&A
  • Leadership
  • Regions
    • Regions
    • Tampa Bay-Lakeland
    • Manatee-Sarasota
    • Charlotte-Lee-Collier
    • Florida
  • Industries
    • Industries
    • Business Support
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Residential Real Estate
    • Development
    • Finance
    • Food-Beverage
    • Health Care
    • Manufacturing
    • Retail
    • Sports–Entertainment
    • Technology
    • Travel-Tourism
  • Insights
  • More
    • More
    • Advice
    • Transactions
    • 40 Under 40
    • Big Book of Business
    • Subscribe
    • Opinion
    • Executive Diversions
    • Change-Makers
    • Reprints
  • Newsletters
  • Podcast
  • Public Notices
  • 40 Under 40 Nomination
  • Mobile App
  • Subscribe
  • Login

Results for:

  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • October 3, 2003
Coffee Talk

This week's items: Fruits of First Citrus stock saleConference center to replace Sarasota Quay Van Wezel disputes settled Lee Island coasts largely unknown Media /public workshop not well attended Bill McCollum running for Senate

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Brian Hartz |
  • April 3, 2023
Tampa Bay socioeconomic snapshot: Not bad — but lots of room to get better

For the sixth consecutive year, the Tampa Bay Partnership’s 2023 Regional Competitiveness Report has spelled out, in painstaking detail, the region’s highs and lows.

  • Strategies
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • June 15, 2007
Coffee Talk

Six months ago, Sarasota Coastal Credit Union president and CEO Tom Randle told the Review his institution was like a gnat when compared to the Gulf Coast's community and regional banks.Make that more of a growing swarm of gnats. It turns out PGT, the recently turned public Venice-based manufacturer, makes more than impact-resistant windows and doors.It also produces MBAs. It's latest output was 13 employees, all of whom graduated earlier this month from the MBA program at the Sarasota/Manatee campus of Webster University. Ever improving and expanding our coverage, the Gulf Coast Business Review has hired Dave Szymanksi as Tampa Bay Editor. WCI Communities, the Bonita Springs-based homebuilder, postponed its annual meeting after corporate raider Carl Icahn urged fellow shareholders to stay away.Although CFOs in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area predict a decrease in the hiring of accounting and finance professionals in the third quarter of 2007, hiring in the market is the same as the national average according to survey results released by Robert Half International. Katie Rickert is carving up the old axiom that teenagers and college students are lazy, lackadaisical and longing for direction. And she's doing it one knife at a time. The Sunshine State has topped yet another list of good places to do business.

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Grier Ferguson |
  • April 28, 2021
Boutique matchmakers in region embrace pandemic shifts

Matchmakers are in more demand than ever — somewhat counterintuitive given quarantines and the proliferation of dating apps.

  • Strategies
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • July 6, 2007
More Space on the Way

Despite the real estate slowdown, retail space continues to expand, giving tenants more leverage on rents. The national chains want in.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • August 10, 2007
Coffee Talk

WCI's embarrassing cash trickle: February seems such a long time ago.Here come the '80s, S&L-like?: The softening of the housing market is well known. Get ready for what may come next: Banks foreclosing on land in Florida meant for residential.Looking for overseas business opportunities: Entrepreneurs and small business owners seeking a way to make business and networking contacts in seven international cities can contact Carla Rayman, the new president of the Sarasota Sister Cities Association.Mr. DeBartolo goes to Lakeland: Could this be a sign of a new surge of development in Polk County?Lawyers descend on Health Management Associates: As if on cue following a stock-price decline, legal buzzards are now circling around the Naples-based hospital chain Health Management Associates.It's not D.C., but it's not bad: Westshore's newest office project, the 580,000-square-foot multi-level West View Corporate Center, will feature a reflecting pool fronted by a long rectangular green open space called The Common.

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • February 9, 2007
Coffee Talk

Private Capital Management, the Naples-based money management firm that pushed newspaper chain Knight Ridder to sell itself last year, has reduced its stake in newspaper stocks.As a group, the super rich are optimistic about 2007, for both their own financial well-being and that of the national economy.The Chicago-based investment firm's study is relevant for all investors, says John Skjervem, Northern Trust's chief investment officer for its Personal Financial Services division, adding that the wealthy's spending and investment habits usually trickle down. As corporate raiders such as Carl Icahn push for changes at WCI Communities, the board of directors of the Bonita Springs-based homebuilder adopted a poison pill provision to ward off unwanted takeovers.Any investor who acquires 15% or more of the company without the approval of WCI's board will automatically have their shares diluted. Icahn controls 14.57% of WCI's stock, according to the most recent securities filing.The Review is seeking the best and brightest Gulf Coast entrepreneurs for the newspaper's 10th annual Entrepreneur Award. By most major accounts, Florida continues to be a national leader in population increase. It was second to Texas in the number of new residents in 2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and it's the fourth largest state in the country, with 18.1 million residents. And there's the oft-cited number of 1,000 people moving to Florida a day.

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • March 16, 2007
Coffee Talk

Late last month though, Roper Industries, an international engineering and manufacturing firm specializing in industrial imaging and software products, officially moved its headquarters from Duluth, Ga. to Sarasota. Whitney Holding Corp. of New Orleans completed its acquisition of St. Petersburg-based Signature Financial Holdings Inc., the parent of Signature Bank, in a cash and stock deal worth $61.7 million.Coffee Talk can boast with the best of them, and the latest bragging rights comes courtesy of Andrew Greenwell, the 23-year-old Sarasota based commercial real estate wunderkind. The Review introduced Greenwell to the business and real estate universe first in a Sept. 28 profile on his accomplishments, which include co-founding Sarasota-based Corporate Realty Group, a six-employee, $20 million firm. Top 10 lists, ubiquitous on late night TV and in all sorts of promotion and marketing materials are, at their core, supposed to have some shred of humor. Too bad laughter wasn't what Coffee Talk heard after reading Enterprise Florida's top 10 recommendations to the Florida Legislature for its upcoming 2007 session.Instead, the sound was more like a ca-ching of cash registers: Three of the first five recommendations include some form of the words "continue funding," for a total of $272.5 million in programs. And More...

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • February 22, 2008
Happy Days, Again?

Three Gulf Coast banks raised a combined $55 million in start-up capital in less then three months - all from local investors. Didn't someone say something about a recession?

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • August 11, 2006
'Like a Pitbull'

Alexandra Miller was cut out of running the family business just as the company was nearing $20 million in annual revenues. She didn't sit on the sidelines for long.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Adam Hughes |
  • March 10, 2006
Coffee Talk

Chicos stock takes a hit: As every novice investor learns, past performance is no indication of future returns.Villares leaves GravityFree: GravityFree, Sarasota's oldest web-design company, is undergoing a leadership change.Ringling would like to thank the Academy: It could grow into a nice trend. For the second straight year, Sarasota's Ringling School of Art and Design grads were nominated for Academy Awards.Venice company in award spotlight, too: Speaking of awards, a Venice-based company took home the top prize for its industry at an awards show in Las Vegas last month.A tale of two 'WCI's: Sarasota upscale home builder and developer Westwater Construction Inc. is dropping the "CI" from its revised logo.Shareholder shakes up Source Interlink: California billionaire Ron Burkle appears frustrated with the go-nowhere stock of Bonita Springs-based Source Interlink.

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Adam Hughes |
  • April 7, 2006
'I Love Fear'

Pam Kauten has succeeded selling uniforms, radio ads and cosmetics by balancing the line of aggressive and friendly. Her latest venture is online job ads.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Adam Hughes |
  • April 7, 2006
Coffee Talk

Game on: It looks like Naples-based luxury developer Lutgert Cos. is going to enter the Sarasota real estate market with a big hitter.Times change: At least one Sarasota-area developer has gone past the condo market slump phase and headed straight for the total bust phase.Miva top executives leaving, but not empty-handed: Craig Pisaris-Henderson, 36, resigned from his post as chairman and chief executive officer of Fort Myers-based Internet company Miva April 4.Watching the construction pump: It seems builders have been watching material suppliers as much as most drivers watch the gas pump.Goodbye retirement: After more than 35 years in the Tampa Bay area real estate market, Jim Shapiro was ready to retire, or at least that's what he thought.Loan funds to get tighter?: Pinellas Park bank analyst Richard X. Bove is reading behind the headlines again.

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Adam Hughes |
  • April 28, 2006
Corporate Report

Look at briefs from Gulf Coast businesses for free.

  • Industries
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • June 19, 2008
Corporate Report

Arthrex found guilty in patent-infringing caseBrown & Brown buys assets of Alpha Benefits, HBANCircle signs three new children's animation dealsUtek buying Innovaro Ltd., fosters European growthEvos aims to increase presence

  • Industries
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • May 2, 2008
A Sales Culture

Be aware, independent insurance firms: Brown & Brown Insurance plans to continue to acquire other insurance brokerages which fit its culture.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Matt Walsh |
  • May 8, 2009
Review & Comment

Kudos to a do-nothing Legislature

  • Opinion
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • April 16, 2004
Broken Trusts?

Tampa entrepreneur John Kelly alleges a trusted legal adviser undermined a proposed $45 million initial public stock offering.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • October 17, 2003
Real Estate Briefs (Sara/Mana Edition)

This week's items: Kauffman partnership buys Simple Sam PlazaNew York family buys 6400 Gulf of MexicoBradenton doctors to build Manatee medical officeBradenton psychologist relocating practice to East Glen

  • Manatee-Sarasota
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • August 29, 2008
Retail is Alive (Really!)

Reports of the death of Florida retail aregreatly exaggerated. For now, an objective look at commercial real estate vacancies and rents doesn't show widespread distress.

  • Entrepreneurs
« 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 »
The best of Business Observer, delivered directly to your inbox

Get the latest business and commercial real estate news from Tampa Bay to Naples.

Sign Up

Contact

  • 1970 Main St.
  • Third Floor
  • Sarasota, FL 34236
  • Phone: 941-362-4848

Extra, Extra!

  • Newsletters
  • App
  • Podcast
  • Big Book of Business

more

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Distribution Points
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Subscribe
  • Accessibility Options

sister sites

  • Your Observer
  • Jax Daily Record
  • Orange Observer
  • Accessibility Options
  • Copyright © 2026 Observer Media Group Inc., All Rights Reserved
×
3 Articles Remaining!
Not a Subscriber?

Click here to Subscribe

Already a Subscriber?

Click here to Login

Sign Up for Daily Brief

Start your day with the top Gulf Coast business news you need to succeed.

Sign Up for CRE Central

Stay updated with a weekly roundup of big deals, market shifts and the people shaping commercial real estate from Tampa Bay to Naples.


Smart People Subscribe.

Turn headlines into game plans. The playbook’s right here.
Subscribe to the Business Observer today.

Subscribe Now