Florida Student Summit on Global Business

Dr. Ralph Wilcox
Provost and Executive Vice President
University of South Florida

Ralph Wilcox, Ph.D., was appointed Provost and Executive Vice President for the University of South Florida System, and the University of South Florida Tampa campus, in September 2009, having served as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs since January 2008. He earlier held the position of Professor and Vice Provost at USF from 2003 to 2007, with primary responsibilities in policy analysis, planning and performance.

As Provost, Dr. Wilcox is the chief academic officer of the ninth largest university in the United States, currently serving more than 47,000 students on four campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee, and Lakeland. With an annual budget exceeding $1.6 billion, USF offers upward of 230 degree programs and is classified by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a top tier research institution (Very High Research Activity), a distinction shared by less than three percent of all universities in the country. It also is one of only 41 public research universities nationwide with very high research activity designated by the Carnegie Foundation as community engaged.

Hailed as “an exceptionally talented academic leader, researcher and educator” by USF President Judy Genshaft, Dr. Wilcox served for more than two years as chair of the Council of Academic Vice Presidents of the State University System of Florida and remains USF’s principal liaison to the Florida Board of Governors, providing oversight for institution-wide strategic planning, enrollment planning, and legislative budget matters.

He formerly served the USF System as Interim Vice President and Campus Executive Officer of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, and has held tenured faculty and administrative appointments at the University of Houston, the University of Memphis, and Hofstra University.

His own scholarly expertise is focused on cultural studies and globalization — a fundamental aspect of his long history of community and global engagement, as well as his strong advocacy for interdisciplinary collaboration. He has presented his work extensively, including two books and numerous articles in leading national and international journals. He has received upward of $10 million in research contracts and grants.

Dr. Wilcox holds the Ph.D. degree from the University of Alberta, Canada, the M.Sc. degree from Washington State University, and a baccalaureate degree from the University of Exeter in his native Great Britain. He was selected as a Fellow of the American Council on Education (ACE) in 2001 and two years later was invited to participate in the Oxford Round Table on Higher Education. Among other honors, he also is a recipient of the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Research Fellowship.

Rick Gallegos

“Networking/Motivation” - 10:25 – 11:25 AM in Ballroom A

Rick Gallegos is President and CEO of Rick J. Gallegos & Associates, Inc., presenters of Dale Carnegie Training.  Under his leadership, after being ranked #1 in growth out of 176 Dale Carnegie offices worldwide three of the past eight years, Dale Carnegie Tampa Bay was given the first time "Territory of the Year Award." This was the highest award given at the annual year-end 2007 convention in Acapulco, Mexico. This award represents overall excellence in the areas of growth, market share and training quality. Most recently, Dale Carnegie Tampa Bay was selected by the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce as Small Business of the Year in September of 2008.

Rick is a specialist in developing action plans for a wide range of individuals and organizations committed to growth in a tough, competitive economy. He was educated at Florida State University and is a master trainer in all Dale Carnegie courses.  He currently resides in Tampa, Florida and considers it a privilege to serve the business community in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties, offering world class development for his clients. Testimonials include such prestigious business partners such as Kforce, Marine Max, Hillsborough County School System, Rooms to Go, Bank of America, Checkers, Progressive Insurance and KPMG.

Rick is the developer/writer of the most successful one-day seminar that Dale Carnegie & Associates has released, entitled “How to Cold Call and Build New Customers.”  He also is the author of a sales management program titled, “Sales Leadership Excellence.”  His newest program is called “Building Great Teams” – a team-building program designed to bring individuals together.

Currently Rick serves as a board member of Sales & Marketing Executives International Tampa Bay and is actively involved in the Tampa Chamber of Commerce. He was elected President of the Dale Carnegie International Franchise Association in 2007, and has done work on three continents representing franchises in Asia,  Europe and North America.

Dale Carnegie Tampa Bay's main focus for community development is in the area of youth programs and youth seminars.  This year DCTB has offered pro-bono workshops for Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, The Heart of Tampa, Academy of Finance and donated instructors to work in Hillsborough County Public School System. 

With a 99% worldwide customer satisfaction rating, Dale Carnegie Training® is recognized as the world leader in Training and Development.  Business icons such as Lee Iacocca, Warren Buffett, Thomas Monaghan and thousands of other distinguished alumni regard Dale Carnegie Training® as an integral dimension of their foundation for success.  Some 450 of the Fortune 500 Companies in America utilize Dale Carnegie Training to supplement their internal and technical training initiatives to provide documentable, researchable results from their people.

If you are searching for ways to grow your business and make bottom-line improvements in the areas of customer service, communication skills, time management, goal setting, leadership and selling skills, Dale Carnegie Training® Tampa Bay can help. For more information or to arrange an appointment, please feel free to contact Mr. Gallegos at (813) 288-8778 x111.

Aakash Patel                            Shilen Patel

Founder & President                                                            Chairman

Elevate, Inc.                                                                          HealthAxis Group

"Networking and Challenges of being a Young Entrepreneur" - 11:30-12:15 PM and 12:30-1:15 PM  (MSC 2708)

Aakash M. Patel is the Founder and President of Elevate, Inc.  In addition to his responsibilities in firm management, he helps clients in the areas of community relations, social media, target networking, public relations, and government affairs.

Patel has a diverse work background in journalism, government affairs, business development and public relations.  Prior to starting Elevate, Patel served as the founding Director of Business Development for Chamber.com, an application based networking website for business professionals worldwide.  After launching in 2010 with 5 members, Patel helped Chamber.com grow exponentially to over 1.5 million members and the site is still growing today.

Patel was a recipient of the Tampa Bay Business Journal 2008 Up & Comers award in the Under 30 Category, named one of Tampa Bay’s 100 Most Influential Business leaders by Tampa Bay CEO Magazine, and was featured as a Rising Star by the St. Petersburg Times.  In 2009, the St. Petersburg Times named Aakash M. Patel as one of the 5 People to Watch. In 2011, Patel was a finalist for the Business Buddies Community Leader of the Year Award.

In 2009, Aakash M. Patel helped co-found the Leaders' Friday Luncheon group, a group that to date has held over 25 lunch meetings, three VIP receptions, and reached more than 250 individuals who reside in Tampa Bay.

Patel is also the current membership co-chair and past career services co-chair of the University Of Tampa Board Of Counselors, which strengthens ties between the University and the business community.  He is a board member of the Florida Aquarium Foundation Board of Directors, Seminole Torchbearers and Eckerd College Presidents Associates.  

Shilen Patel is a serial entrepreneur and lifetime Tampa Bay resident. Shilen is the Founder and Principal of Cover2 Ventures, a business incubator and management company focused on launching innovative technologies and services which improve quality of life. Its businesses include several active or developing ventures in fields such as Healthcare Technology, Web & Mobile Application Development, Social Media, Business Process Outsourcing, and Medical Supplies. Mr. Patel is involved in each venture as a founder and\or key executive. Mr. Patel is also active in real estate investment and is a founding Director of Central Bank in Wesley Chapel, FL.

Until recently, Mr. Patel spent over 8 years as a top executive at Visionary HealthWare, a
Healthcare IT company providing software and services to thousands of physicians in medical practices, laboratories, and clinics in all 50 states which has recently been recognized by Healthcare Informatics as one of America's 100 largest Healthcare IT companies and by the Tampa Bay Business Journal as one of Tampa Bay's 5 fastest growing companies. After experiencing 2,500% revenue growth and 1,000% staff growth during his time at the company, Visionary was sold in September 2010 to Compugroup, a publicly traded German company that is the European leader in Healthcare IT.

Travis Bond is a proven leader and entrepreneur, with experience taking companies from idea conception through product development and into lucrative exits. With a diverse educational background in business, finance, and medicine, Bond’s products and services have enhanced the way people do business, and continue to pave the way for subsequent business opportunities.

Travis created Bond Medical to provide comprehensive, affordable business tools and services to physicians and medical practices throughout the United States. In early 2003, having noticed that the healthcare industry lacked a powerful, cost-effective, user-customizable clinical software product, Bond came up with the business plan for Bond Technologies, and their cutting-edge solution, Clinician EHR/PM. Bond Technologies was acquired during the spring of 2008 and later that year sold to Eclipsys, an industry-leading, international, healthcare technology company.

The latest ventures for Bond include Lifedash, Inc. and Continuum Labs, Inc.  Lifedash is a privacy-enabled social platform with an emphasis on data aggregation, collaboration, and productivity.  Continuum Labs enhances the benefits of the Lifedash platform by building useful applications for a productivity and privacy-focused audience.  Additionally, Continuum Labs offers application development and consulting services for 3^rd parties looking to leverage the Lifedash platform.

Bond’s creativity, energy, and ability to excite diverse audiences remain among his strongest attributes. His ability to create buzz-worthy products and services, and attract the best talent for execution, continue to generate interest from prospective investors, clients, employees, and industry thought leaders.

Walter Andrusyszyn
Former Director of Northern and Eastern European Affairs
University of South Florida




"Pathway to International Careers" -11:30 – 12:15 PM  and 12:30 – 1:15 PM (MSC 2707)
 

Walter Andrusyszyn has been an Adjunct Professor of International Business at the College of Business Administration of the University of South Florida, where he began teaching in spring 2007.  From January to May 2009 he was temporarily assigned as Deputy Permanent Representative to the U.S. Mission to NATO.  He joined the Plastipak Packaging Company in January 2004 following a career in the U.S. Government.  He retired from public service at the end of 2003, after serving at the White House as the Director for Northern and Eastern European Affairs in the National Security Council (he became Director in November 2001).  Having entered the Foreign Service in 1980, he served in Stockholm (1980-82) and in East Berlin (1982-84) before returning to Washington to be the Desk Officer for Grenada and the Windward and Leeward Islands of the Caribbean (1985-1987).  In 1987-1988 he was Special Assistant to Assistant Secretary Rozanne Ridgway in the Bureau of European and Canadian Affairs.  He then served in Bonn as the Bonn Group Representative, responsible for Berlin and Four Power rights during Germany's reunification.  In 1990, he headed the Political-Military unit at the American Embassy in Bonn.

Mr. Andrusyszyn became the Desk Officer for Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia in 1992.  In 1994, he returned to Bonn to head the unit reporting on domestic political events in Germany.  In October 1995, he was assigned to the American Embassy in Sarajevo where he served during the Dayton Peace Talks and for the first months of IFOR deployment.  For his efforts to gain the release of an imprisoned American journalist held by Bosnian Serb authorities, Mr. Andrusyszyn received the Secretary's Award for Heroism.  In April 1996, he was assigned to Stockholm as Political Counselor.   In August 1997 he was appointed Charge d’Affaires at the American Embassy in Tallinn, Estonia and in July 1999, be became director of the Office of European Security and Political Affairs, responsible for NATO and the OSCE.  In September 2001 he was named the Director of the Task Force on Terrorism in response to the September 11 attacks. 

Born in Blackburn, England in 1951, Mr. Andrusyszyn emigrated to the U.S. in 1957 and was raised in New York City.  A graduate of New York University (1973), he attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (1973-1975).  He continued his studies in Germany and also worked as a local employee for the Sri Lanka Embassy in Bonn (1977-78). 

He is married to Sandra Andrusyszyn and has five children: Alexander, Lisa, Lawrence, Emelie, and Peter Louis.  

Paul Donato                                                         
Executive Vice President and Chief Research Officer at Nielsen

"Navigating Global Business Environments" - 2:45 – 3:45 PM (Ballroom A)

Paul Donato is Executive Vice President and Chief Research Officer for The Nielsen Company.  Appointed to this position in April 2007, Paul is responsible for integrating research functions within The Nielsen Company, overseeing the development and evaluation of research, and serving as Nielsen's research liaison to clients and industry associations. Partnering with product leaders and client service leaders, Paul is responsible for the development of a global network of Nielsen Measurement Scientists and exploring methods to measure media audiences and consumer behavior in the changing, converging media environment. 



Paul joined the company as Senior Vice President and Chief Research Officer of Nielsen Media Research in 2000. Prior to joining Nielsen, Paul served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Kantar Media Research beginning in 1998. From 1993 to 1998, he was Senior Vice President in charge of media at Audits & Surveys Worldwide. Before that, he served as President of the Syndicated Group of Simmons Market Research Bureau for four years and held positions in research at RD Percy & Co. and Arbitron Ratings Company.

Paul has also served as a consultant to McGraw-Hill and Whittle Communications. His areas of expertise include research development for television, print and the Internet.

Paul has served on the boards of several television ratings services in Latin America and globally. He is a past Chairman of the U.S. Advertising Research Foundation (ARF). He is also the Director for Research, on the North American Board of AfriAfya, a Kenyan-based community health agency.



Paul received a BA in psychology and sociology from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook, and an MA in applied sociology from SUNY.