Key Executives is pleased to announce The Top 25 C-Suite Executives of Tampa for 2023. Tampa is the industrial, commercial, and financial hub of Florida's west coast. The city has a diversified economic base and is driven by tourism, healthcare, finance, insurance, technology, construction, and the maritime industry. This year’s awardees are an equally diverse group of entrepreneurs and executives who work in a wide array of companies, from innovative dropshipping and healthcare platforms to family-owned businesses and American corporations.
Among this year’s awardees is Kye Mitchell, Chief Operations Officer of Kforce, who oversees $1.3 billion in annual revenue. Awardee Raghu Kutty, Chief Information Officer of Power Design, leads the company to be more tech-forward, resulting in multiple awards and major growth in its employee base, going from 300 to 2000 people. Also awarded is Michael Dennis Murphy, the Owner, and CEO of Murphy Auto Group. Murphy honors his late father's legacy by growing and modernizing the company he founded, even bringing MAG into the metaverse.
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of The Top 25 C-Suite Executives of Tampa for 2023.
1. Kenny Wilson
Executive Vice President & CEO, Jabil
Kenny Wilson is the EVP and Chief Executive Officer of Jabil. Jabil is a manufacturing solutions provider in 30 countries. Wilson was appointed the role of CEO in 2022 and will officially assume the role in 2023. He joined the company in 2000 and has delivered for Jabil on assignments in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In his role as EVP, Wilson successfully led the Jabil Greenpoint Team and oversaw consumer packaging and corporate procurement. Prior to that, Wilson was Senior Vice President of the Telecommunications Infrastructure Sector within Jabil’s Enterprise and Infrastructure group. He first joined Jabil in 2000 as a business unit manager. He has held various leadership roles, including VP of Global Business Units, running consumer electronics and telecommunications businesses.
Prior to Jabil, Wilson spent eight years at Motorola, where he served as Operations Director in their Handset Division. He has an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering from Edinburgh Business School.
2. Heyward Donigan
CEO, Rite Aid
Heyward Donigan is the CEO of Rite Aid. Since her appointment in 2019, she’s been tasked with expanding traditional pharmacy services and Rite Aid’s reach into provider services, whether that’s through digital platforms, walk-in clinics, or urgent care centers. Before joining Rite Aid, Donigan was a President and CEO at Sapphire Digital. Prior to that, she was President and CEO of ValueOptions and EVP and Chief Marketing Officer at Premera Blue Cross. Earlier in her career, Donigan served as Senior Vice President of all operations at Cigna Healthcare. She also held executive roles at General Electric, Empire BCBS, and US Healthcare and previously served on the boards of several public companies, including Kindred Healthcare.
Donigan graduated from New York University with an MPA in health finance and an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Virginia.
3. Tony Disilvestro
COO of Tampa Shared Service Center, Parallon
Tony Disilvestro is the COO of Tampa Shared Service Center at Parallon. Parallon provides full-service revenue cycle management and total patient account resolution for HCA Healthcare. Disilvestro first joined the company in 2013 as CFO of the Cincinnati Shared Service Center. Previously, Disilvestro was the Corporate Director of Revenue Cycle at Catholic Healthcare Partners. Before that, he was a Corporate Director of Revenue Integrity at Hospital Partners of America. Earlier in his career, he worked with The Ohio State University Medical Center as a Manager of Revenue Management.
Disilvestro earned an MBA in finance from The Ohio State University and an undergraduate degree in health services administration from Ohio University.
4. Kye Mitchell
Chief Operations Officer, Kforce
Kye Mitchell is Kforce’s Chief Operations Officer. In her role, she’s responsible for $1.3 billion in annual revenue. Mitchell takes a proactive role and engages employees at every level to ensure successful results. This year, the company won Clearly Rated’s Best of Staffing in both the client and talent satisfaction categories. Under her leadership, and with the firm’s strategic focus on its technology, finance, and accounting sectors, Kforce remained a top company hiring the most remote workers during COVID-19. Mitchell assumed a change-agent role when the company shifted strategy in 2017, and Kforce continues to gain traction through managed teams and solutions. Outside of work, This year, Mitchell was Chairwoman of the 2020 Tampa Bay Heart Walk for the American Heart Association. Her team raised over $300,000 in donations for the cause.
Before joining Kforce in 2005, Mitchell was the Co-Founder and President of VistaRMS. She began her career as an Account Manager for Trecom Business Systems. Mitchell earned a finance and accounting degree from The Wharton School and a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Penn State University.
5. Rick Dreiling
VP & CIO, Bealls
Rick Dreiling is the VP and Chief Information Officer of Bealls, an American retail corporation. In this role, he creates strong teams of IT professionals and provides them with the necessary tools to work on all projects from conception to completion. As a result, he established a data security office, which drastically increased the ability to protect customer and company assets. Dreiling joined Bealls over 21 years ago and has since held several roles of increasing responsibility. He started at the company as the Director of Merchandise Systems Development. Dreiling first got his start in 1989 as a Programmer at Maison Blanche. From there, he went on to Younkers before eventually rising to Manager of the Corporate Reporting Center at Saks Incorporated, his most recent position before joining Bealls.
Dreiling graduated from the University of Louisiana Monroe with an undergraduate degree in pharmacy.
6. Ken Deitz
Chief Security Officer & Chief Information Security Officer, SecureWorks
Ken Deitz is the Chief Security Officer and Chief Information Security Officer of SecureWorks. SecureWorks is a global cybersecurity leader. In this role, Deitz ensures the company’s products and employees are as safe as possible, all while delivering cybersecurity services to its customers. Deitz joined the company in 2011 as Director of the Corporate Incident Response Team before going on to become Director of Corporate Threat Intelligence. Before joining SecureWorks, Deitz was a Branch Chief of Fusion Cell at the United States Cyber Command. Prior to that, he was a Senior Information Security Analyst at Advanced Concepts. Earlier in his career, he worked as an SI Comms Supervisor with the US Navy.
7. Raghu Kutty
Chief Information Officer, Power Design
Raghu Kutty is the Chief Information Officer of Power Design, a St. Petersburg-based electrical contractor and systems integrator. Since joining the company, Kutty has steered Power Design to be more tech-forward. He has also led the firm’s IT team to build interactive products that have won multiple awards, including the Digital Edge 50 award, CIO 100 award, and Tampa Bay Tech award. Under Kutty’s leadership, Power Design has also gone through a massive amount of growth, going from $90 million to more than $700 million and from 300 employees to over 2000. Kutty first got his start in 2003 as a Programmer at New Generation Consultant. From there, he went on to ACCO Brands before eventually rising to Managing Director Of Consulting Services at Aurie, his most recent position before joining Power Design.
Kutty graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with an undergraduate degree in computer engineering.
8. Stephen Saft
Chief Financial Officer & Chief Administrative Officer, WellDyneRx
Stephen Saft is the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer of WellDyneRx, a pharmacy benefit manager. Saft is responsible for accounting, finances, and the company’s shared service areas, including revenue cycle, legal, human resources, and procurement. He has more than 15 years of experience in Pharmacy, Healthcare Services, and Payor IT Services, with broad general management, strategic planning, operations, and financial management expertise. Before joining WellDyne, Saft served as CFO for HealthPlan Holdings, CCS Medical, and Priority Healthcare Corporation, a Fortune 1000 company that distributed and managed biopharmaceutical therapies. Saft completed his Bachelor of Science and Master of Accounting at the University of Florida.
9. Ben Porch
Chief Technology Officer, e-TeleQuote Insurance
Ben Porch is the Chief Technology Officer at e-TeleQuote Insurance. Porch is focused on advancing e-TeleQuote’s use of technology and business intelligence to meet evolving customer support needs and simplify business partner integrations. He’s a seasoned technology professional with prior call center technology operations experience with LeadingResponse and Wyndham Vacations. Porch also has experience implementing technology solutions for AVIS/Budget Group, Century21, Cheaptickets, and Orbitz online travel. Outside of work, he supports several Tampa charitable organizations and has served on the board of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and The Jack-and-Jill Foundation of Fort Lauderdale.
Porch earned a Master of Science in Advanced Technologies from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from American University.
10. Wayne Liburd
Chief Information Officer, Kane's Furniture
Wayne Liburd is the Chief Information Officer of Kane's Furniture. At Kane’s, he’s responsible for maximizing the use of existing technology and evaluating new technologies to ensure the company continually improves its efficiency and effectiveness. He was previously the Director of MIS. Liburd has worked in the industry for more than 16 years, previously as Director of MIS and Chief Information Officer at Leath Furniture in Atlanta. During his time with Leath, Liburd was responsible for updating the network infrastructure while reducing cost efficiency, implementing operational and system changes, and automating corporate and store functions. Liburd graduated from Florida International University with a degree in computer science.
11. Laura LaBelle
Chief Operating Officer, Barbizon USA
Laura LaBelle is the Chief Operating Officer of Barbizon USA. Barbizon’s modeling training has been around for more than 80 years, once sporting the memorable tagline: “Be a model, or just look like one.” The company’s more than 60 employees are predominantly women — and women comprise the managing executive team. Labelle has been with the company since 1996. Recently, she’s overseen Barbazon’s pivot to a digital platform. While Barbizon still has a small presence in some larger markets and works events, 80 percent of new client inquiries are now coming from a digital space.
12. Kevin Farley
Chief Operating Officer, GSP Companies
Kevin Farley is the Chief Operating Officer of GSP Companies. He’s responsible for the overall day-to-day operations, including the company's retail client success and production divisions. Farley joined GSP 13 years ago as a Regional Manager based in Arizona. He later moved to GSP’s corporate headquarters in Clearwater, Florida, after being appointed Vice President Of Marketing and Technology. He led GSP’s software and marketing campaign development efforts. Before this, he was at Schneider Electric Industrial Services, Metso, and Valmet. Farley has an MBA in marketing and a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering.
13. Elaine C. Myrback
President & CEO, EMS Consulting
Elaine Myrback founded EMS Consulting (EMS) in 1998 in Tampa, Florida. As President and CEO, she oversees all aspects of the company's business operations and corporate direction, cultivating strategic alliances and other external relationships, as well as managing corporate financial affairs. She has more than twenty-five years of diverse executive leadership in sales, marketing, management consulting and enterprise applications deployment.
Under Elaine's leadership, EMS has won numerous awards for its Enterprise System Integration practice including achieving Top 5 Salesforce Financial Services Partners, Oracle Excellence Awards for Top Integration Solutions Provider, and Entrepreneur of the Year 2000 from the University of South Florida - College of Business
Prior to her successful launch of EMS, Elaine was SVP of Kodak/Danka Imaging, overseeing 2,200 employees and a $1.5 billion product revenue and service portfolio. Earlier in her career, she served as Division VP of National Data Corporation, running the top 200 banks globally for back-office automation, global sales, operations and marketing. She was previously with ADP for eleven years where she marketed outsourced payroll, human resource and benefit solutions. She ran National Accounts Strategic Alliances in addition to her sales management capacity. Elaine holds a BS in Information Systems and Business Administration from the University of South Florida.
14. Scott McPhail
Chief Financial Officer, Synergy Equipment
Scott McPhail is the Chief Financial Officer of Synergy Equipment. Synergy Equipment provides a comprehensive spectrum of equipment rentals. McPhail first joined the company in 2015. His skill set spans financial forecasting, variance, financial analysis, financial modeling, and manufacturing. He previously worked at Lippert Components for over 15 years. Here, he held several positions of increasing responsibility, including roles as Senior Controller, Staff Accountant, and VP of Finance. McPhail earned an MBA from Michigan State University-Eli Broad College of Business and an undergraduate degree in Finance from Michigan State University.
15. Stephen Samson
CEO, accuhealth
Stephen Samson is the Founder and CEO of the healthcare technology company accuhealth. Accuhealth was created by medical and cybersecurity professionals with the goal of making the most trusted, simple, and secure remote patient monitoring platform on the market. Samson has extensive experience in the development and implementation of enterprise-level IT solutions. He also has experience managing large teams and has a strong understanding of technical and business operations. Previously, he was the Director of Cybersecurity Healthcare at PwC. Before this, he held various positions at CenterPoint Energy, Wordsworth and Associates, Adobe, Accenture, and Best Buy. Samson began his career as a Systems Engineer for the Canadian Armed Forces.
16. Victoria Kuklina
Chief Financial Officer, Pinnacle Home Care
Victoria Kuklina is the Chief Financial Officer of Pinnacle Home Care. Pinnacle Home Care is a Medicare Certified, Florida-licensed full-service healthcare company with 12 locations throughout Florida. Since Kuklina joined the company in 2017, Pinnacle has opened a new home office, centralized servers, and improved tech systems. In 2021, Kuklina was recognized as a CFO of the Year honoree by Tampa Bay Business Journal.
Prior to Pinnacle, Kuklina served as an executive-level consultant for 10 years leading and supporting teams through strategic and tactical processes and directing companies through financial transformations. Previously, she was a CFO Consultant at CFO Alliance and a CFO Consultant at CFO Support before that. Earlier in her career, she worked with Atlas Cold Storage as a Staff Accountant. Kuklina earned an undergraduate degree in business commerce from Laurentian University.
17. Michael Dennis Murphy
Owner & CEO, Murphy Auto Group
Mike Murphy is a modern-day business leader, entrepreneur, and social influencer. Throughout his 24-year career in the auto industry, Mike has accumulated many accolades as owner and CEO of Murphy Auto Group (MAG), home of the Miracle dealerships. He inherited his entrepreneurial skills and discipline from his father and founder of MAG, Dennis Murphy, growing from two to five top performing dealerships in three states: Miracle Toyota Haines City, Florida; Miracle Toyota of North Augusta, South Carolina; Miracle Nissan of North Augusta, South Caroline; Miracle Nissan of Augusta, Georgia; and Miracle CDJR of Aiken, South Carolina.
As a mentor and sports enthusiast, Mike provides internships for student athletes who have excelled in their college athletic programs and are transitioning into the business world and would like to make a positive impact as young professionals. Additionally, he launched his first book, Dennisisms – Leadership Lessons I Learned From My Father. This book was written to memorialize Dennis Murphy, who lost his 14-year battle against multiple myeloma in 2020. The book summarizes lessons that made Dennis successful, from in the baseball field playing for the LA Dodgers to the auto industry.
A philanthropist at heart, Mike has implemented a “social commitment” culture through all of the Miracle dealerships. The “C3 Commitment – Give back to customers, community, and charity” is Mike’s way to connect with and impact communities. He has donated over $1M dollars in Central Florida and over $1M in the Central Savannah River Area. At all the MAG dealerships, $25 of every car sold is allocated to charity and donated at the end of the month to organizations supporting the monthly initiative.
18. Lonny Ostrander
Chief Executive Officer, PuzzleHR
Lonny Ostrander is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PuzzleHR. PuzzleHR is a management consulting firm based in Tampa, Florida. Before moving to Paychex, he began his career as the owner of a boutique consulting firm in Palm Beach, Florida. During his 28-year tenure, Lonny served Paychex in multiple capacities. His accomplishments include leading the successful integration of the National Business Solutions PEO. Eventually, Lonny was named an Officer of Paychex and Executive Vice President of the Human Resource Services division. He later co-founded Pygmalion Consulting Group, a leading HCM Sales Consulting Firm. Lonny graduated from the University of South Florida with a degree in psychology.
19. Aaron Bloom
CEO, DocMJ
Aaron Bloom is the CEO of the medical marijuana doctor group, DocMJ. As Florida’s largest and most recognized medical cannabis physician’s practice, DocMJ currently operates 25 clinics across the state. Bloom comes from a background in healthcare law, long-term care facilities, and business leadership. Since he took over the reins, DocMJ has achieved month-over-month growth for the past year and a half. Bloom is currently the Chairman and Founder of Floridians for Safe Medical Cannabis Care. Previously, he was General Counsel at Traditions Senior Management, Partner at Fudge & McArthur, and Vice President of Legal and Risk Management at Horizon Bay Retirement Living. He’s also held various positions at Affinity Home Health, Buckley & Fudge, Milcowitz & Lyons, Wicker, Smith, and Nassau County District Attorney's Office.
Bloom graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law with a JD and the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Arts.
20. Robert Nikic
CEO, Why Unified
Robert Nikic is the Founder and CEO of the dropshipping platform, Why Unified. He leads an expert team of more than 30 designers, developers, marketing professionals, and e-commerce specialists. Nikic founded Why Unified in 2011. Today, it holds the title of the first all-inclusive dropshipping platform that gives entrepreneurs the ability to take a hands-off approach with their online stores backed by selling brand-name products and offering 2-day shipping. In 2021, the growing platform served more than 15,000 drop shippers and helped them generate a combined $300 million in revenue. Today, Why Unified serves more than 20,000 drop shippers worldwide.
Nikic immigrated to the US from former Yugoslavia in 1996 as a result of the Balkan war. He got his start as a self-taught entrepreneur.
21. Nikolas Stephens
Chief Technology Officer, DonorDrive
Nikolas Stephens is the Chief Technology Officer of DonorDrive. DonorDrive helps nonprofits raise money to tackle the world’s biggest challenges. These challenges include providing access to clean water, funding medical care for children, helping the homeless, saving stray animals, and much more. Stephens oversaw the launch of Live Fundraising, enabling DonorDrive’s clients to help fundraisers reach their networks through streaming. Stephens has been with the company for over 22 years. His skill set spans agile methodologies, T-SQL, web services, AJAX, web applications, database design, JavaScript, web development, MySQL, and CSS. Stephens graduated from Miami University with an undergraduate degree in computer science and system analysis.
22. Gregg Calvert
Chief Operating Officer, Premier Senior Living Group
Gregg Calvert is the Chief Operating Officer of Premier Senior Living Group, a senior housing owner and operator. He manages overall supervision of the company’s operations and employees, including the corporate office staff in New York. Calvert has over 25 years of experience in the senior living industry, including multi-site and multi-state oversight of post-acute, long-term care, assisted living, memory care, and independent living retirement communities. Before Premier Senior Living Group, he was the COO of Platinum Health Care in Chicago. Here, he oversaw the operations of 32 post-acute skilled nursing facilities, 23 assisted living communities, and two independent living communities.
Calvert graduated from Eastern Washington University with an undergraduate degree in health service administration and healthcare management.
23. Michael Kallish
CEO, Encoda
Michael Kallish is the CEO of the medical billing platform provider, Encoda. Kallish leads Encoda’s corporate strategy and growth. Kallish has more than 25 years of experience in leading health IT companies through rapid growth, product innovation, and industry-leading customer satisfaction. Prior to Encoda, Kallish led business development for RemitDATA, a venture-funded healthcare IT company focused on comparative revenue cycle management analytics. Prior to RemitDATA, Kallish led corporate development at Medical Present Value, a healthcare IT company focused on developing SaaS-based RCM and patient access solutions. Prior to MPV, Kallish held senior management positions at leading physician practice management and billing software companies, including WebMD Practice Services and Medical Manager Corp. Kallish graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Science.
24. Bob Brikas
Chief Operating Officer, ABI Companies
Bob Brikas is the Chief Operating Officer of ABI. ABI specializes in commercial interior improvements, renovation of existing facilities, new construction and technology facilities, corporate interiors, medical facilities, retail, and hospitality. The company was established in Tampa in 1985. Brikas has been with the company since 1999. Before joining ABI Companies, Brikas was an owner at LAMRON Corp, where he oversaw real estate investments and improvement projects. Before that, he was a Principal at Solutions Inc. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with an undergraduate degree in architectural engineering.
25. Prakash Nair
President & CEO, Education Design International
Prakash Nair is the Founding President and CEO of Education Design International (EDI). Nair established EDI as an umbrella organization that brings together the best school architecture with research-driven innovations across industries like education, environmental science, neurology, psychology, and child development. Prior to starting EDI, Nair served for 16 years as the Founding President and CEO of Fielding Nair International. He’s the recipient of many international awards, including the A4LE MacConnell Award, the highest honor worldwide for school design. Not only is he a renowned speaker and consultant, but Nair has written extensively in leading international journals about school design and is the author of three books, including Learning by Design: Live Play Engage Create, which is in its third edition.
He graduated from The City University of New York with a master's in urban and regional planning and received a master's in architecture from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.