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Economic yearbook 2009
Tampa Bay Yearbook 2009
Still seeing strength in manufacturing and life science.
Businesses to Watch
| Who's Hiring |
| » USAA is hiring 400 for a Tampa facility that will replace centers in California and Virginia. |
| » Brimmer, Burek & Keelan in Tampa is hiring managers and senior staff with experience in public accounting. |
| » TECO Energy is hiring electrical engineers and a gas supply operations administrator in Tampa and a supervisor in Apollo Beach. |
| » ATK in Clearwater is hiring design engineers, mechanical engineers, systems engineers, contract managers and others. |
| » Bankers Insurance Group is hiring claims inspectors, customer service representatives, sales representatives and others. |
» Catalina Marketing Corp. is hiring software support personnel, analysts and programmers. |
| » Soft Computer Consultants is hiring product specialists, healthcare support workers, business analysts and others. |
| » The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast is hiring nurses, pharmacy technicians, drivers, accountants and others. |
» Tampa business software and IT service provider Tribridge is dramatically expanding its geographic reach by merging with Rochester, N.Y.-based Navint Consulting. While Tribridge, which specializes in Microsoft business software, has focused on the southeast and central U.S., Navint’s strength is in the northeast and western U.S. The combined company will have 320 employees.
People to Watch
» Len Polizzotto, head of strategic business development for Draper Laboratory, was instrumental in bringing both SRI International — his former employer — and Draper Laboratory to the Tampa Bay area. Although still based in the Boston area, he makes frequent trips to St. Petersburg and Tampa to oversee the BioMEMS research facility at USF and Draper’s soon-to-open 65-employee facility in Pinellas County, where it makes specialized electronic packages called multichip modules. Polizzotto spent 25 years with Polaroid Corp., holds nine patents and is the author of numerous articles on human color perception, digital imaging and microphotography.
 Jane Mason has doubled her staff at eMason in Clearwater over the past year. The company helps financial institutions evaluate residential mortgage workout options. [Photo: Kelly LaDuke] |
» Gregory Celestan, CEO of Celestar Corp., is capitalizing on the expansion of U.S. military and international operations around the world with his Tampa company. Celestan spent 20 years in the Army as a foreign area officer specializing in Russia and Central Asia. Upon his retirement from the Army in 2004, he turned his full focus to Celestar, which he launched in 2001. The company provides intelligence analysis, planning and support and intelligence training. It has two prime contracts with U.S. Central Command and works as a subcontractor to Booz Allen Hamilton, Lockheed Martin and other defense contractors. The company employs 67 and expects to add five to 10 employees this year.
