Cyber CEO
KnowBe4, based in Clearwater, is home to the world’s largest security-awareness training platform that helps customers detect cyber threats. The company works with more than 70,000 organizations globally, amounting to tens of millions of end users. Stu Sjouwerman has led KnowBe4 since he founded the company in 2010. This May, he transitioned to the role of executive chairman. Cybersecurity veteran Bryan Palma was appointed the new president and CEO. Here’s what Palma brings to the table:
Education: Duke University (MBA), University of Maryland (M.Ed.), University of Richmond (BA)
Most recent job: Palma was previously the CEO of Trellix, a multibillion-dollar Texas-based cybersecurity company created by the 2021 merger of FireEye and McAfee Enterprise.
The plan: In a May interview with the Tampa Bay Business Journal, Palma said his job is to elevate KnowBe4 from a market-defining company into a broader global powerhouse. “I’m the billion-dollar guy,” he said. “How does KnowBe4 become an (even bigger) multibillion-dollar leading security and human risk management player? That’s really the focus.” AI, along with the evolution of KnowBe4’s traditional tools, will be key for its growth.
EDUCATION
- A collaboration between Florida Polytechnic University and the Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine will allow students to earn both Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degrees in just six years.
- The State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota is starting its expansion into Parrish with a $40-million campus projected to open by fall 2027.
- Saint Leo University’s Board of Trustees named Jim Burkee – the former president of Avila University in Kansas City, Mo. – as the school’s 12th president.
HOUSING
- Former tennis pro Tommy Haas is partnering with New Yorkbased Silver Sky Global Capital to turn the former Sarasota Bath & Racquet Club into a racquet sports-themed mixed-use project with 256 luxury condo units and more than 65,000 square feet of fitness and wellness amenities.
- North Carolina-based Crescent Communities purchased 28 acres in Wesley Chapel, planning to create the Harmon Ashton Oaks community with 115 townhouses.
- Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill creating the independent Corkscrew Grove District, paving the way for two Alico villages to bring 9,000 homes to northwest Collier County.
HOTELS
- The only Four Seasons Resort on the Gulf Coast opens this month within the Naples Beach Club golf resort, bringing 220 rooms, five restaurants, a full-service spa and more amenities.
- Las Vegas-based airline Allegiant Travel is selling its underperforming 785-room Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor to New York-based investment firm Blackstone for $200 million.
HEALTH CARE
- Encompass Health plans to build a 50-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital with an expected 2027 opening in the master-planned community Waterset in Apollo Beach.
- AdventHealth broke ground on a five-story, 100,000-sq.-ft. medical office building — which will house a state-of-the-art cancer center — and a sevenstory, 1,100-spot parking garage on its Tampa hospital campus.
- Naples Comprehensive Health broke ground on the $295-million, 200,000-sq.-ft. R.M. Schulze Family Heart and Stroke Critical Care Center on its NCH Baker Hospital campus in downtown Naples.
MANUFACTURING
- Astaras — a supplier of tungsten heavy alloys used across sectors, from medical imaging to aerospace to defense — opened a 14,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing and distribution facility that brings around 20 jobs to Clearwater.
NONPROFITS
- The Grace Place nonprofit received a $210,000 grant from the Women’s Foundation of Collier County to create the Middle School Career Discovery Academy, which will introduce girls to careers in manufacturing, health care, technology and entrepreneurship.
FOOD
- Tampa-based Fresh Kitchen will open its largest location yet — double the size of its typical floorplan — in South Tampa in early 2026. It replaces its original flagship location in South Howard that burned in a fire last July.
- Fort Myers approved $14,500 to launch and promote a culinary district in its downtown.
DEVELOPMENT
- South Carolina-based real estate company Greystar plans to build a 372-unit development with apartments and townhomes on a former Empath Health hospice campus in Clearwater.
- Fort Lauderdale-based development firm Alexander Goshen is planning 125 apartments within a $30-million nine-acre community, Walden Pond, on the site of a former mobile home park in New Port Richey.
TECHNOLOGY
- XTEND Reality, an Israeli provider of AI-powered drone technology, opened its U.S. headquarters in a 5,700-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility in Tampa’s Crossroads Industrial Center.
- Cape Coral’s first food truck park and marina — Slipaway Food Truck Park & Marina — opened with 10 local food trucks, a full-service bar, 30 boat slips and a store overlooking the Caloosahatchee River.
Road Enhancements
- The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority approved its fiscal year 2026-31 work plan, sending $752 million toward infrastructure upgrades and expansions around Tampa Bay. Most of the funds — $692 million — will go toward construction projects that relieve congestion and increase regional mobility. Other plans include replacing toll collection systems, deploying an advanced traffic management system, and expanding wrong-way driving detection.