Spotlight On: Kate Saft, Partner, Greenspoon Marder

Spotlight On: Kate Saft, Partner, Greenspoon Marder

By: Max – Crampton Thomas

2 min read March 2020 — As the epicenter of the tourism and hospitality industries, Orlando affords many opportunities for businesses within those sectors and also to the service businesses outside those sectors. During her discussion with Invest:, Kate Saft, a partner with Greenspoon Marder, spoke on the opportunities the Orlando area affords her firm, the benefits of technology and how the COVID-19 crisis is affecting business as usual. 

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your firm? 

 We have seen consistent delays and pauses in our financing and real estate deals as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some clients are anxious to complete as many pending transactions as possible given the uncertainty of what is ahead.  Others are seeing deals in which they can be competitive in light of the interest rate drop. We do anticipate some logistical issues, particularly in-person closings, which is why online notarizations are helpful.

 

How does the Orlando region provide opportunity for the firm? 

Orlando is the epicenter for the tourism and hospitality industries, including, specifically, the timeshare industry. Our Orlando office focuses heavily on representing timeshare clients, hotel operators and real estate developers, and that representation has led to many legal opportunities for Greenspoon Marder. 

Within the hospitality industry there are a plethora of legal issues that arise, including real estate transactional matters, marketing matters, lending and securitization transactions, consumer litigation, employment litigation, commercial litigation, and regulatory matters under various state and federal acts, including but not limited to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Telephone  Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). 

Our firm was founded with a focus on the core practice areas of real estate litigation. We have seen demand for those practices increase, not only throughout Central Florida but across the United States. We are pleased to be able to meet the needs and demands of our clients in these areas. We are consistently looking to expand our real estate, timeshare, corporate and litigation practice areas, not only in Orlando but on a national level, as well.

 

Is there any particular legislation that you are keeping a close eye on in 2020?

We are closely monitoring two Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) petitions pending in the Supreme Court that challenge the constitutionality of the TCPA. In particular, there is a petition pending that questions whether a single call necessarily results in injury that is concrete for the purposes of Article 3 standing and a petition that questions whether the restrictions on using an automated telephone dialing system or an artificial, pre-recorded voice violate the First Amendment. We are very interested in the results of these petitions and how they will affect our hospitality clients.

 

How does new technology benefit your practice and the legal sector overall? 

Technology makes it easier for us to connect with clients and reach potential new ones. All of our employees, from partners down to staff members, have access to virtual connections to safely access our clients’ information anytime and anywhere. We hold regular meetings through video conferences, sharing our expertise, so other attorneys are aware of the practice areas within our firm. In that way, we are able to utilize the specialties of all our attorneys to assist clients who present a diversified set of legal needs.

To learn more about our interviewee, visit: 

https://www.gmlaw.com/

Spotlight On: Larry Thompson, President, Ringling College of Art and Design

Spotlight On: Larry Thompson, President, Ringling College of Art and Design

By: Max Crampton-Thomas

2 min read March 2020 — While all higher education institutions operate with the purpose of preparing students for future lifelong careers, Ringling College of Art and Design is also working to shatter the myth of the starving artist, school President Larry Thompson told Invest:. He also spoke about the increased student interest in offerings from the school, positioning the college for future long-term success and identifying the issues that need to be addressed in higher education. 

 

What was one of the major successes for the college in 2019?

In December 2019, we opened the Sarasota Art Museum, which is a part of Ringling College. It is built on the site of a historic high school from 1926 located right in the middle of Sarasota. We took it over because the school system was trying to find a use for it and we were looking for space for a museum. We were able to turn it into a contemporary art museum and a space for continuing studies and lifelong learning. This project has been a long time in the making, so we are quite pleased to have this as part of our campus.

Where are you seeing the most growth in terms of student interest? 

We have seen growth in our virtual reality major and have launched a new major in entertainment design. We are also seeing a huge increase in the number of students who are interested in the Collaboratory. The idea of the Collaboratory is to help our students get real-world experience working with real-world clients. We invite clients to the institution and put together teams of students who work to help solve some of the problems that clients might be having. It is a wonderful tool for the clients, and it’s great for the students because they are getting to work with real people. The projects they are working on also have true meaning. I like to tell people that one of the great advantages for our students is that it helps with the recent college graduate dilemma: They can’t get a job if they don’t have experience, but they can’t get experience if they don’t have a job. The Collaboratory gives them that experience.

How is the college working to change the perception of art as a career? 

As an art and design college, we are fully committed to shattering the myth of the starving artist. Too many people have this feeling that art and design are more of a hobby than a career and that there are no real careers out there. This has never been true and it is certainly not true in today’s society. We focus on making certain that our students, when they graduate, have great careers. Over 100 national and international companies recruit here. These are corporations like Apple, Google, Pixar and Disney. The world has changed so much, having become a much more visual world. This has created more opportunities than ever before for artists and designers.

How are you positioning the college for future long-term success? 

We have to look at what the future holds, especially in this age of artificial intelligence (AI). AI is just in the early stages but many different jobs are going to be eliminated once it takes off. We also need to be looking at where the economy is headed. Everyone needs to be positioned for the next stage, which we are calling the Creative Age. In history, we have had the Agricultural Age, the Industrial Age and the Technology Age. The Creative Age is next because creativity is going to become one of the most essential skill sets people are going to need for success in the future. I believe this is already starting to be recognized on a global scale.

What do you view as the most significant challenges facing higher education? 

There are numerous challenges facing higher education, especially private nonprofit institutions. The whole basis for the business model needs to be rethought and recreated in some manner because being so tuition-dependent is not sustainable over the long term. Tuition is at such a high level that it is almost out of reach for many people, which leads to a huge issue with students having the ability to attend a school like ours. We are doing many things to mitigate this, such as offering financial aid and scholarships, which are among our greatest fundraising needs. Every college is trying to solve the problem of the business model.

 

To learn more about our interviewee, visit: 

https://www.ringling.edu/

Spotlight On: Joe Devine, Executive Vice President and Chief Experience Officer, Jefferson Health

Spotlight On: Joe Devine, Executive Vice President and Chief Experience Officer, Jefferson Health

By: Max Crampton- Thomas

2 min read March 2020 — The healthcare industry is poised to revolutionize how it cares for its patients through cutting-edge technology, at a time when a transition toward outpatient services is further consolidating. Executive Vice President and Chief Experience Officer at Jefferson Health Joe Devine discusses with Invest: the priorities for the group amid these new trends. 

 

How does Jefferson Health stand out from other healthcare players in the region?

We have a seamless care system in the region. Our location in South Jersey is less than 17 miles from the main Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. We also provide services in South Jersey that have historically only been provided by Jefferson in Philadelphia, such as Magee Rehabilitation, which recently opened a service at our Cherry Hill hospital. Our technological innovations and telehealth are also sizable differentiators. Jefferson is a truly focused clinical academic medical center that combines teaching and medical care. In New Jersey, we are a teaching hospital for the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, as well as a training location for the Jefferson University Physician Assistant program. 

 

In what ways has technology disrupted the healthcare industry?

Technology is so advanced and outstanding that it works extremely well. For example, we have a neural flow program for patients with mental health issues that helps us with their evaluation. We also have implemented home-monitoring care technology that improves access, and we have succeeded in advancing our linear accelerator when it comes to treating cancer patients, an area that is more precision-driven. The cost of such technology is higher, but we do not transfer that cost to our patients. We are working on ways to inject further efficiencies in the process to continue providing benefits to our patients, including our telehealth program (JeffConnect), 3D mammography, 3D ultrasound, and other advancements like ABUS (Advanced Breast Ultrasound System). These have gone through substantial technological improvements, which are critical in the delivery of care. Technology will continue to be at the forefront of what we do, combined with the important humanistic aspect of providing care. We are also bolstering our smartphone app platforms to improve communication and follow-up processes with our patients. JeffConnect enables patients to receive personalized healthcare through their smartphone or computer. 

 

How is Jefferson Health tackling the local community’s health issues?

Every three years, we are required to undertake a community health needs assessment. What is great about this initiative is that all hospitals in Camden County work with the Departments of Health to shed light on the key health categories in which we should invest. In 2017, for example, it was primarily diabetes. We created a medical school and a district program with a comprehensive diabetes management program for Medicaid recipients, powered by telehealth services and coupled with a robust home care component. It helped improve patients’ health while minimizing their hospital visits. We are looking to continue providing innovative services, while at the same time contributing to building an effective population health model, as healthcare transitions more into outpatient services. As shown from the most recent community health needs assessment, the priority continues to be tackling metabolic diseases. We have a robust diabetes education program, as well as a very successful bariatric surgery program to assist with those needs.

 

How does Jefferson Health contribute to local efforts to reduce the disparities in care access?

For years, we have had family health centers, which in yesterday’s terminology were called clinics. We have two robust centers, one in Washington Township, Gloucester County, that offer comprehensive internal medicine, pediatrics and OB/GYN services. The other center is located near our Stratford hospital to service the Camden County community. We see a minimum of 20,000 patients a year in those facilities. The purpose of those centers is to serve the underserved.

We also have a partnership in South Jersey with the Food Bank of South Jersey. Any one of our 5,200 employees in New Jersey can participate in some way with the Food Bank. We encourage donations four times a year. It is tied to the health of people we serve.

 

What are the fastest-growing areas of care and service in the South Jersey region?

End-stage renal disease is more prominent throughout this nation for a lot of different reasons. We started a dialysis program in 1992 to attend to this growing issue with a single, six-bed station. We now have 55 stations. In this market alone, there are more than 200 stations nationwide. It is something we need to address. A close second is the opioid crisis. We do see patients come back multiple times. Unless you have the right post-care model, you cannot treat this illness. Unfortunately, it is growing. Third, is cancer care. This area is becoming increasingly robust with procedures like genetic testing and screening. We are working to put models in place so that when a patient is diagnosed with cancer, we look at the entire family. 

 

What is your outlook for South Jersey’s healthcare sector for 2020?

The sector in New Jersey continues to grow. We have some great hospitals here. Having served as board chair of the New Jersey Hospital Association in 2019, I can attest to these outstanding facilities. By 2025, it is likely we will see the consolidation of close to five healthcare systems across the whole region. We are going to continue to expand and develop a model that provides the ability for patients to have choices and become part of our network. We are working to become the most patient-centric organization in healthcare in the region. 

 

To learn more about our interviewee, visit: 

https://newjersey.jeffersonhealth.org/

 

 

Spotlight On: Mike Allen, President, Barry University

Spotlight On: Mike Allen, President, Barry University

By: Max Crampton-Thomas

2 min read March 2020 — Higher education must consistently and constantly look to innovation and diversification in order to differentiate and remain a top option for incoming students. Mike Allen, the first lay president of Miami’s Barry University, discusses how the school fosters a more diverse environment by attracting students from many different backgrounds, as well as working closely with the private sector to insert its students naturally into the workforce.

 

 What are Barry University’s top near-term priorities?

 If there is one area that’s really driven my time, energy and priorities, it’s our external presence as a university. This is a really impressive university in terms of our faculty, what we teach, how we teach it and the quality of experience that our students have, but not nearly enough people know about us, about how special this place is.

We have 65,000 living alumni, and they are not nearly as connected to the university as we would like them to be. That is unusual, because every time I meet some of these alumni, they are so passionate about their school, they more than like it, they love it. They had a great experience and they are excited and want to be involved, but we just haven’t had that presence out there.

Another aspect of that is our role in South Florida. Barry University is a really important part of the South Florida community. The educational institutions are pivotal to South Florida’s economy and to its families. We are working hard to increase our visibility in the South Florida community. 

 

How does Barry University insert itself into South Florida’s larger higher education environment?

One of the big misperceptions about Barry University and other schools like Barry, particularly in South Florida, is who we serve. People tend to think that, because we are a private institution, our students tend to be very well off financially. Certainly, some of them are, but by and large, we serve some of the most financially disadvantaged students in South Florida.

That does not say anything about their abilities. They are talented and prepared, eager to learn and bright students, but they don’t always have the financial means to fund college for themselves. We’ve become very affordable as an institution. One of the most irrelevant figures out there these days is the sticker price of admission. One hundred percent of our students get some degree of financial aid. In fact, a heavy majority of our students receive a substantial discount on their tuition, and it has become very affordable because of that.

With that, we are also able to serve one of the most diverse populations of college students that you’ll see anywhere in the country. That is a source of great pride for us. As a result, our students learn so much more than just what we teach them in the classroom. They learn from the person to their right and their left, from their roommates, because everyone is coming from such a different place.

 

How is Barry preparing students to enter a more demanding workforce?

One of the things that we really try to emphasize here is experiential learning. Here in Miami, I’ve been really impressed with the intentionality by which the universities and business leaders work together. I give a lot of credit to the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, the Beacon Council, the Executive Roundtable, among others, for a great dialogue between higher ed, industry and nonprofits about universities doing a better job in meeting the needs of employers. That is really critical to what we do.

We have a program called SMIF, the Student Managed Investment Fund, which is a group of students, led by one of our faculty members, that invests a portion of the university’s endowment. They invest almost a million dollars of our endowment every year, working alongside our investment committee and our board of trustees, as well as our professional advisers. Their earnings have mirrored or have been better than our professional advisers and this year we allocated them another $100,000 because it fits our needs in every way possible. 

We also have a really impressive media lab. The field of communications is another example of people in a liberal arts setting who want the foundations of theory but at the same time they want to be broadcasters, they want to be on the radio, on TV, reporting the news. Our media lab has a live studio, and it serves not just the “talent” folks, but also the control-room folks, putting programs on the air.

We also received a $650,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for STEM education. It provides scholarship support for students to major in STEM areas here, with the goal of increasing degree completion for low-income, high-achieving undergraduates.

 

To learn more about our interviewee, visit: 

https://www.barry.edu/

 

 

Spotlight On: Michael Chin, General Manager and Regional Director for Eden Roc Miami Beach/Nobu Hotel Miami

Spotlight On: Michael Chin, General Manager and Regional Director for Eden Roc Miami Beach/Nobu Hotel Miami

By: Max Crampton-Thomas

2 min read March 2020 — The hospitality market in Miami-Dade may have started to feel a level of oversaturation but the market overall is still at an advantage in comparison to other large markets across the nation due to location and a friendly tax environment, Michael Chin, general manager and regional director for Eden Roc Miami Beach/Nobu Hotel Miami Beach, told Invest:. He also discussed embracing the sharing economy as an alternative rather than increased competition in the market and the difference in demographics that options like this attract. 

 

 

With new entries into the region, do you believe the hospitality market in Miami-Dade is nearing a level of oversaturation?  

 

Miami is in a position where some hospitality entities feel a level of oversaturation, but I don’t think we are in that kind of market yet, especially when compared to markets like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles or Las Vegas. We have a mix of boutique and local hotels, and we are starting to see developments for the larger hotels coming into the area. This includes the expansion of some larger properties in the Downtown  and Brickell areas. The demand is still there in regard to new hotels in Miami-Dade.

 

What is the biggest advantage to your location in Miami Beach? 

 

Our biggest advantage in regard to where we are located is right out our back doors: the beach. The number of properties that have direct beach access is what people come to South Beach for. Right now, some of the hotels, like in Downtown Miami, aren’t as attractive to certain visitors coming to Miami because they don’t want to be in an urban area. They do not want to just see the water, they want to be at the water. This is why our location on the beach is probably our biggest attraction for new guests. We also have an advantage thanks to our offerings in comparison to our neighbors. We thrive off of the proximity to the Fontainebleau. We may not have the capability to have a nightclub on our premises like the surrounding hotels, but the people who come in here and visit us prefer us as an alternative place to go to eat and have a different type of experience.

 

How do you view newer entries into the hospitality market like Airbnb and the sharing economy? 

 

My background comes from a corporate hospitality structure and we addressed the issue of the sharing economy on a corporate level years ago. Since then, my stance really has not changed. We cannot view services like Airbnb as competition, they are simply just an alternative. The consumer is going to stay where they want to stay. If their preference is to have longevity and a lot of space, then they are going to choose an option like Airbnb because it is something that they will not get in a hotel. People who stay at hotels, stay based on what they are looking for. Today, the demographics related to age, income and food preferences are going to determine where a person stays more than the price of a hotel or its location. The hospitality industry has corporate executives who sit in a room and  determine how they are going to capture every type of traveler out there and how they are going to define every generation, demographic and region to find a suitable hotel choice for them. At a hotel like ours, travelers are going to stay here because they want the features of convenience in regard to housekeeping, room service, amenities and entertainment. Hotels have the consistency value. You have expectations when you stay in a hotel. There are a lot of factors that go into why a person picks and chooses where they want to stay but it all comes down to preference. 

 

How does the hospitality sector in Miami have an advantage over other large markets across the nation? 

 

People still want to go to places like Orlando, Dallas or Las Vegas, but every city has its issues, whether that’s overtaxation like in California or overpopulation like in New York. We have the opportunity to attract those tourists to a new market like Miami that doesn’t have these issues. It is about us getting out there to advertise Miami as a viable option to host both tourists and business travelers. Events like the Super Bowl help strengthen this idea.

 

To learn more about our interviewee, visit: 

https://www.edenrochotelmiami.com/

 

 

Spotlight On: Lynda Remund, President & CEO, Tampa Downtown Partnership

Spotlight On: Lynda Remund, President & CEO, Tampa Downtown Partnership

By: Max Crampton-Thomas

2 min read March 2020 — A downtown is the city’s core and ultimately the face of any given region, so it is important to ensure that it is as strong as possible, said Lynda Remund, president and CEO of the Tampa Downtown Partnership during a conversation with Invest:. Consistent reinvestment and place-making are major keys in unlocking the full potential of what the Downtown Tampa area can be, she said.

 

How important is a strong downtown to the economic growth of Tampa Bay? 

 

If you go to any city in the United States or around the world, you will see that a strong downtown is their central core and is really the face of that region. I believe it is very important that we have that strong city center. Downtown Tampa is growing by leaps and bounds and we are excited about that. A quick look around Tampa reveals that the Downtown area is not only growing but so are the outskirts and the suburbs. This is apparent when looking at areas like Midtown and projects like those in West Shore. We are proud that Downtown is such a strong center for our city, but happy to see that the region is developing as well.

 

What is the Tampa Downtown Partnership’s role in developing the Downtown area? 

 

We do a lot of place-making in Downtown Tampa, and it is really about creating a space for people to gather and make things happen. For example, our ambassador program, which is like a concierge on the street, helps with things like directions and restaurant suggestions. The participants are feel-good ambassadors who can talk to visitors, residents and workers who are Downtown and make sure they are happy and having a good experience. We also have our litter patrol out on the street to ensure our beautification efforts are being met. We advocate for transportation solutions for the Downtown, like safer streets, pedestrian crosswalks, wayfinding signage and anything else that is going to make a person’s experience better.

 

One of our top priorities is reinvesting into the Downtown area. We are looking at getting involved in some small-scale capital improvement projects. We will be reinvesting in a couple of small projects that will help pedestrian safety in regard to signage, lighting and aesthetics for the Downtown. Downtown is probably the safest place in the whole city and we are working to make it even safer. We are also bringing the International Downtown Association Conference here in October 2020. That is an audience of about 1,000 people from around the world, consisting of planners, elected officials, architects and business leaders. All of these experts will be here to share best practices and we are excited to receive them.

 

How important is smart growth to the development of Downtown Tampa?

 

Smart growth is vitally important to the Downtown region. Having a strong city center is the basis for any successful city. Tampa is now being recognized as a top spot not only in Florida, but in the nation. We have hundreds of new residents moving into this region everyday. Our statistics show that housing in Downtown alone has increased 219% in the last 11 years. I believe the growth that is happening now is sustainable growth, and I do not believe that is going to change. There are more cranes Downtown than ever before and new businesses are continuously moving in here. People are making the investment into Tampa and especially Downtown. 

 

What would you identify as the biggest challenge facing economic development in this region?

 

One of our biggest challenges in this region is obviously transportation, so having a commuter system in place will help to mitigate this issue. We often hear from big companies that are looking to move here or even conventions hoping to come here that they are looking for a place where people are able to move around easily. We are starting to provide more of these options, but we have so much more work to do to become a more viable option for people.

 

To learn more about our interviewee, visit: 

https://www.tampasdowntown.com/

Spotlight On: Michael Hendricks, Office Managing Partner Tampa, Frazier & Deeter

Spotlight On: Michael Hendricks, Office Managing Partner Tampa, Frazier & Deeter

By: Max Crampton-Thomas

2 min read February 2020 — Recent advancements in technology, economic uncertainty and the constantly changing needs of businesses and individuals alike have resulted in the accounting world having to expand its offerings into a multitude of advisory services. Invest: spoke with Michael Hendricks about how Frazier and Deeter, a nationally recognized CPA and advisory firm, is adapting to these changes. He also spoke about the need to attract and retain talent in an increasingly competitive talent market, and how his firm is going the extra step to make sure this young talent feels that they can have an impact on the business regardless of their tenure. 

 

 

Why is an office in Tampa Bay conducive to the overall success of the business? 

 

We have been in the marketplace now for five years. When identifying new opportunities, we look for areas where middle-market companies may be under-served. What attracted us to Tampa Bay was really the growth that the region has been experiencing over the past decade. We love the demographics of the region and the industries this area focuses on. We really look to get involved with the real estate, technology, distribution and manufacturing marketplaces. 

 

How have you seen the accounting industry evolve with recent advancements in technology?

 

I believe our industry is evolving quite a bit, to the point where we are going to see many tax and audit services going the way of artificial intelligence. Everything is going to be a little bit more competitive when it comes to pricing, so new ventures like consulting, back office, cybersecurity, data analytics and other consultative services is where I believe we will see our industry grow. We have been investing a lot of time into this.

 

What efforts have been put forth to help retain young professionals in your business? 

 

We have tried to keep the younger generation engaged in the business by setting up roundtable discussions and giving them a voice to present concerns to management. Every year, we pick out 10-15 individuals from our senior and supervisor levels and give them a chance to voice concerns and present ideas that they think can help resolve these issues. This activity offers an opportunity for them to grow. They are able to come to the board of partners and talk to them as a united voice. This is an ongoing process and every year we have a new group assembled. We think it is a great way to have the younger generations engage with the firm’s leadership group in a comfortable setting. The conversation can sound negative on the surface, but really it’s a great way for people to talk about what we could do better as a company. I find if you give employees at all levels a voice, they feel more invested and more ingrained in the culture, rather than just being another number in an organization.

 

What would you identify as the most daunting issue for your industry? 

 

The one issue that we consistently hear in our industry relates to talent acquisition and retention. I believe this is changing. We see a lot of students from Florida universities deciding to move to the Tampa Bay region after graduation. One of our most successful recruiting tactics has been finding people who want to live in a place like Tampa Bay but who aren’t already here. Of our last 10 hires, four have come from out of market. We offer a lifestyle in this region that is still not on everyone’s radar, and as more people find out about it, they love what it has to offer.

 

How can a firm like yours remain on a sustainable growth path in the case of another economic downturn? 

 

Planning in advance and smart decision-making is the best way to handle another economic downturn. We always look to hire good people and we will never turn down a good person if we think there is a fit. We also know our business. We are able to adapt with the range of services that we offer to our clients. We become engaged with our clients, we know the services we are offering and how they help our clients. We have to convey the value that we offer, and as long as we are doing that we should be able to withstand any downturn.

 

To learn more about our interviewee, visit: 

https://www.frazierdeeter.com/

 

 

Spotlight On: Catherine Stempien, President, Duke Energy Florida

Spotlight On: Catherine Stempien, President, Duke Energy Florida

By: Max Crampton-Thomas

2 min read February 2020 — Duke Energy Florida is not just increasing the amount of renewable power it is offering customers, with several solar plants coming online, it is also looking to harden its grid to protect it from increasingly harsh storms in the southern United States, as well as in cutting-edge “self healing” technology to reduce the impact of outages, according to Catherine Stempien, the company’s president.

 

 

 What advances have been made regarding the company’s clean energy projects in the region?

 

We are still in the process of building 700 megawatts of solar in our system and that will be completed by 2022. We are making significant progress on that. We are either operating or in the construction phase for about half of those megawatts. We brought two new solar plants online in December, at Lake Placid and Trenton, and we have two being completed in the first half of this year in Fort White and DeBary, with two others just announced in North Florida.

 

The other area where we have really made progress is in battery storage. We have said that we are going to build 50 megawatts worth of battery projects, and we have made announcements for three of these projects located in Trenton, Cape San Blas and Jennings. The battery charges when the sun is up and when the sun is down the battery discharges that energy. But batteries can do much more for our system. We have been testing a lot of cases for battery use, and the projects that we are going to be doing will help improve reliability for our customers, giving them more reliable power.

 

How is the company ensuring customers get the energy they need?

 

Our customers want power, and they want that power to stay on 24/7. We are midway through deploying our self-healing grid technology. About 50% of Pinellas County is covered by this technology now. If you think about the electric grid as a highway system, when you have a traffic jam somewhere in that system you want Waze or Google Maps to redirect you around that traffic jam. The grid works the same way: if we have an outage, or a tree falls down on a line, you want to be able to redirect the power around that problem to make sure that people get their energy. This technology does that automatically. We have sensors and communications devices all over our grid that automatically reroute the power and minimizes the problem, reducing the number of customers impacted. People might see a one-minute outage and then it will go back up again. In 2019, 150,000 outages did not happen because our system was able to reroute power, and that prevented 10 million minutes of customer interruptions. 

 

Why is Duke Energy pushing forward with sustainable power solutions?

 

Duke Energy Corp, of which we are a part, decided it was going to push itself and target climate goals that we are going to hold ourselves to. By 2030, we want to reduce our carbon footprint by 50% from 2005, and by 2050 we want to be at net zero. Duke Energy Florida is going to be an important part of the enterprise goal. We have a line of sight on how we are going to meet the 2030 goal, but we don’t have an exact line of sight into how we are going to do it by 2050. We need certain technologies to advance faster, and we need the regulators to come along with us. We believe you have to set yourself aspirational goals.

 

How much should companies involve themselves in sustainability efforts?

 

Over the last number of years, we have seen an increase in the intensity and the characteristics of storms hitting the United States. Florida is at a higher risk of getting hit by those storms. We believe we need to plan for storm events. In 2018, two major storms hit our service territory, one in Florida and one in North Carolina. Hurricane Michael was a Category 5 storm that devastated the areas it hit. We had to completely rebuild the distribution system and 34 miles of transmission lines. But it left pretty quickly. 

 

Another storm, Hurricane Florence, hit the Carolinas. It was a water storm that stalled over the eastern part of North Carolina and dumped rain for days, causing extreme flooding, which makes it difficult to access substations and lines. It is hard to predict these kinds of events, so we are looking to constantly improve our response, making sure we have the right crews, with the right equipment, available to restore power.

 

The Florida legislature recognized these challenges and passed legislation in 2019 to encourage utilities to invest in hardening their grids for storms. It cleared the regulatory path for us to work on storm hardening, from making poles stronger, undergrounding certain parts of the grid, and replacing lattice towers with monopole towers. All of this work is part of a 10-year plan to harden our system so we are prepared.

 

To learn more about our interviewee, visit: 

https://www.duke-energy.com/home

 

 

Spotlight On: Bill Cronin, President & CEO, Pasco EDC

Spotlight On: Bill Cronin, President & CEO, Pasco EDC

By: Max Crampton-Thomas

2 min read February 2020 — Successful economic development is a product of consistent improvement of the current situation of a region and consideration of what the long-term future could hold for that same region. In Florida’s Pasco County, economic developers are thinking about what is to come and how to create a sustainable economic growth environment by helping startups get off the ground while training a competitive workforce, taking advantage of the state’s first-rate education system. In a conversation with Invest:, President and CEO for the Pasco EDC Bill Cronin discussed these initiatives and actions at length. 

 

 

 How is Pasco County working to push forward economic development?

 

We want to make sure we have a good mix of both office and industrial investments in the county since large industry has a different multiplier because it attracts suppliers and others that the office investments do not. We are one of the only Economic Development Organizations to own and operate our own business incubators. These two incubators offer countywide programming, where you don’t necessarily have to be in that co-working space to take advantage of the curriculum that we offer for startups, and even for companies that are going into their second phase.

 

We offer micro loans through that program, and we have a regional license for CO.STARTERS, which is a curriculum that we use for startups and next-generation companies. We also use those incubators as a soft-landing place for our international FDI prospects. While many of our competitors in economic development are going after these large, established companies that have 100-200 employees, we work with them, but also with the company that says, “Hey, I just want to start sales with one or two people,” and we let them use our incubators as a landing place to get them started.

 

All areas, whether it is entrepreneurship, land development and making sure we have enough product, our buildings and sites, workforce development in the county as a whole — all of those are now part of the strategic plan, but also with a sense of innovation and smart growth that is interwoven through those protocols. They are verticals in our strategic plan, such as innovation and technology. When we look at a collision between areas, such as logistics and IT, or life sciences or agriculture and IT, life sciences and distribution, all of these can be tied together through innovation and smart growth.

 

How are you ensuring that your workforce is being trained to survive the changing economic environment?

 

There is a lot of confusion right now with some of these rapid changes in technology and business models. That also applies to the industries we focus on. Probably 80% to 90% of our workforce is being trained for jobs that do not yet exist. How do we make sure we are prepared for that? We started to hear this theme about competitiveness and we are making sure we have fertile conditions for that type of growth in the future. We may not know everything but what we do know is that we’ve got to be ready and have the right conditions for these things to be deployed.

 

How are you looking at sustainability regarding the county’s economic growth?

 

We need to make sure that when it comes to jobs and recruitment, we are creating jobs for everybody. If you put too much emphasis on high-impact jobs alone, they won’t trickle down by themselves. You still need to make sure that every single layer of the economy and socio-economic strata has the right jobs for the right people. That is important because if you don’t do that then people will have to move away, and we will have to import talent to some extent.

 

In the last couple of years, Florida has been among the leading destination states for migration. We are looking at around 180 people a day coming into this region, and the state sees around 1,300 people a day. With that many people moving in, our business community has been able to take their pick of all the people coming in, and in times of low unemployment it is usually hard to find talent. You have to steal it from someone else or grow it internally. But because of interstate migration, we have been at full employment for a long time now and we still have access to talent. That’s because all these people are moving here everyday. The reason they are moving here is because things are not as good somewhere else, or they prefer it here. We have to make sure that our environment continues to be better than that of our competitors, and that we provide a good tax environment, which we have. We are also the fastest-growing region in the United States and the largest consumer market in the Southeast. You see a lot of that migration because of things like that, and because of quality of life and education. Our state university system is now No. 1 in the nation.

 

To learn more about our interviewee, visit: 

http://pascoedc.com/

 

 

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