Newly appointed city manager David Dyess leads the City of Stuart after nearly 30 years in the police department. Raised in Stuart, Dyess, beloved for his approach to community policing, helped the city recover unscathed after hackers attacked its computer system, eased neighborhood tensions by revamping youth athletics, and embraced important environmental initiatives.

Florida Funders, a hybrid venture capital firm & crowd-funding platform, announces the appointment of Candice Rezvanian as their new Director of Founder Success. In this role, Rezvanian will work closely with sponsors and Florida Funders' 1,300+ network of accredited investors, to serve as a direct resource to Florida Funders' portfolio companies.

Florida-based digital consulting company, OZ, promotes Ric Cavieres to President, reflecting a successful year of growth following the company's strategic shift in vision to provide transformative customer experience (CX) services and solutions. OZ, in the center of the travel and hospitality industry, has many of the world's top cruise lines and hotel chains as clients.

Optym, a privately-held world leader in new-generation optimization software solutions, has appointed Vic Keller as Chief Executive Officer. For over 20 years, Keller has established, grown and operationally optimized national and international companies. Keller was appointed to the Optym board of directors in July 2019.

Family Physicians Group (FPG), one of the Central Florida’s largest at-risk providers serving Medicare Advantage and Managed Medicaid HMO patients in Greater Orlando, has named Cheri Greenfield La-Tour as Market President. FPG has served patients in Central Florida with comprehensive, preventative and proactive health care services for more than 30 years.

MTI America announces Matthew Landon has been named Chief Strategy Officer. Landon will advise the President and CEO in developing MTI’s overall market strategy and will oversee corporate operation and business development functions. As CSO, Landon will play a key role in identifying market transitions to support the company in identifying and executing growth opportunities.

MTI America announces that Bea Scott has been named Vice President of National Sales. Ms. Scott joined MTI in May of 2017 and is a distinguished sales executive with three decades of experience in the workers’ compensation, managed care and medical/pharmaceutical industries. Prior to being named VP of National Sales, Scott served MTI as director of sales, western region.

WUSF Public Media named Jose Jimenez as Assistant Program Director. Jimenez will help manage news, entertainment and public affairs programs. Previously, Jimenez managed external affairs for the City of Houston and FEMA during Hurricane Harvey. He also served at KUHF Houston Public Media and KPCC Southern California Public Radio, and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Omnivore, the restaurant industry's leading digital connectivity platform, announces Dan Singer has joined the company as COO. The appointment, along with a new corporate headquarters near Tampa, comes as a result of the company tripling its share of restaurant locations to over 19,000, and will serve as the baseline for ensuring strong customer support, efficiencies and similar growth in 2020.

Shutts & Bowen LLP announced today it has expanded its Private Client Services practice group with the addition of Patrick J. Lannon as a partner in its Miami office. For more than 20 years, Lannon has represented high-net-worth clients in estate, asset protection and charitable planning as a board-certified specialist in wills, trusts and estates.

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP is pleased to announce that Ronald Christaldi, partner in the Tampa office, was appointed to the New College of Florida Board of Trustees. The Florida Board of Governors approved Christaldi for a five year term.

Aakash Patel and his dad, Minesh Patel, have become the first father-son duo to serve on Indo-US Chamber of Commerce Board. Aakash Patel, the founder and President of Elevate, Inc. has accepted a board position on the Indo-US Chamber effective January 1. Minesh Patel has been a board member since 2006. "My father and I agree there's nothing more rewarding than helping to grow our collective business community," Aakash Patel said. The Indo-US Chamber has also named Tampa attorney Dipa Shah as chair of its board. Shah, an attorney and in-house counsel for Coastal Dental, is the first woman in history to serve in that role.

Mediator John B. Marion IV has joined Upchurch Watson White & Max. Marion began his legal career defending personal injury and wrongful death claims on behalf of insurance companies, manufacturers, institutional clients, public utilities and railroads. By 1987, he had become a shareholder in the law firm that hired him right out of law school.

Turning Point of Tampa is proud to announce our CEO/Clinical Director, Robin Piper, LMHC, MCAP, NCC, CCTP, has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers. Piper has been in the Behavioral Health/Addictions field since 1987. She has been the Chief Executive Officer and Clinical Director of Turning Point of Tampa for 23 years.

Suffolk, one of the largest building contractors in Florida, recently hired Alex Smith as Chief Operating Officer and General Manager for Florida's East Coast, which encompasses the tri-county area of South Florida and Treasure Coast. Smith will be based out of Suffolk's Miami office and provide support and guidance to project teams in the region.

VITAS Healthcare, the nation's leading provider of end-of-life care, has named Dr. Shirley Codada, an internal medicine physician who specializes in hospice and palliative care, as regional medical director for its programs serving Northern Florida and Georgia. Born in Haiti and educated in Miami, Dr. Codada brings to VITAS more than 20 years of experience.