Barney Barnett, vice chairman of Publix Super Markets Inc., announced he will retire from Publix on April 30. He will remain on the board of Publix Super Markets Charities. Barnett has worked for Publix for 50 years and has been vice chairman since 1998. He is married to Carol Jenkins Barnett, the daughter of Publix founder George Jenkins.
Raymond James & Associates was one of more than two dozen brokerages offering shares of newly public Lyft to investors. The ride-sharing company debuted on Nasdaq at $72 a share, raising $2.34 billion. Raymond James, a St. Petersburg-based brokerage, bought 325,000 shares that it said it would sell to the public.
Jamie Egasti, former Catalina CEO, was named an executive entrepreneur-in-residence at Tampa Bay Wave. Egasti is actively mentoring two Wave companies, My Area Network and SavvyCard, both in the adtech sector. He joins Tony DiBenedetto and Steven MacDonald, who were named executive entrepreneurs-in-residence last year
Peerfit, the Tampa digital health company with heavy-hitter financial backing, has found a lucrative niche by targeting sales outside of the major metropolitan areas, according to a new profile in Forbes. “We pride ourselves on being not in five major markets, but in 100 small and medium markets,” founder and CEO Ed Buckley told Forbes.
Bandit Coffee Co. in St. Petersburg is “on a short list of Florida essentials,” according to Food & Wine’s report on the best coffee in every state. King State Coffee in Tampa is cited as tops in Florida in the report.
The Florida Board of Governors voted unanimously to confirm Steve Currall as the University of South Florida’s seventh president. The vote came six days after the USF Board of Trustees selected Currall to succeed Judy Genshaft. Currall will take office on July 1.
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems was awarded a $58.9 million contract to supply new and recapitalized cartridges for 120mm tank training ammunition. The work will be performed at the company’s St. Petersburg facility with an estimated completion date of Oct. 12, 202, the Department of Defense said.
The Tampa Bay Rays sold out the 2019 season opener today against the Houston Astros. It’s the 14th consecutive season have sold out their home opener, a news release said.
Paul Grove will join WEDU as president and CEO, effective June 10. The board of directors of the Tampa-based PBS station selected Grove after conducting a national search to replace Susan Howarth, who died in September. Grove has been president and CEO of WTCI PBS in Chattanooga for 13 years. Before that Grove was vice president of national programming and production at WEDU, a news release said.
David Herbert, the owner of Pirtek Altamonte Springs, has acquired Pirtek Pinellas and Pirtek Tampa. Pirtek is a franchise buisness that specializes in hydraulic and industrial hose services. The Tampa/Pinellas locations currently have eight employees, including Herbert, who expects to double that number in two years, a news release said.
Oragenics Inc. will collaborate with Florida International University to expand its pipeline of lantibiotics, a novel class of antibiotics. The collaboration will help Tampa-based Oragenics (NYSE American: OGEN) understand how its lantibiotics interact with bacteria, Alan Joslyn, president and CEO, said in a news release.
WellCare Health Plans Inc. will be acquired by Centene Corp. in a $17.3 billion cash and stock deal. WellCare (NYSE: WCG) is the third-largest public company headquartered in the Tampa Bay area, with $20.4 billion in 2018 revenue and 12,000 employees. The combined company will be headquartered in St. Louis, where Centene (NYSE: CNC) is based.
