Tampa Bay Tech has new board chair

The board of directors of Tampa Bay Tech has new leadership. Jason Warnke, managing director at Accenture, was named the interim board chair, succeeding Kimberly Ansett.

Ansett, chief information officer at Nielsen, is taking a new role out of the Tampa Bay market with Iron Mountain, said Jill St. Thomas, CRO and executive director of Tampa Bay Tech.

Warnke has been vice chairman of the board at Tampa Bay Tech, the largest technology council in the region. He’s been active in the organization for 10 years, previously serving as marketing chair with the executive committee.

He serves on the global leadership team at Accenture (NYSE: ACN), an information technology consulting firm with a major presence in the Tampa Bay area.

The Tampa Bay Tech board will vote at its May meeting on his appointment as chair. A new vice chair for the rest of the year has not yet been named. Jeff Alagood, president of AgileThought, will remain a key advisor throughout this transition, St. Thomas said.

“Jason’s strategic vision and collaborative leadership has been driving change within the organization for years,” St. Thomas said. “His passion for this tech community is unmatched and we are honored that he will be stepping into this role.”

The leadership change comes as Tampa Bay Tech gears up for one of its signature events, the poweredUP Tampa Bay Tech Festival, which will be May 23 in St. Petersburg.

The organization last year supported $5.9 million in regional technology workforce grant programs, hundreds of technology workers impacted by layoffs, numerous H1B applications, dozens of academic advisory boards and the newly re-launched Recruiter Networking Group, for the region’s in-house corporate recruiters.

“Tampa Bay is making great strides on the national and global stage. We’re growing, we have a rich, diverse base of talent, and innovative companies in our ecosystem,” said Warnke. “I’m thrilled at the opportunity to lead the Tampa Bay Tech board as we work toward our goal of establishing Tampa as the world’s most radically connected tech hub.”