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Local executives Jaime DiDomenico and Steve Hall come from much different industries, air conditioning and insurance benefits consulting, but they faced one common problem.

They both found it difficult to bond with other executives and decision-makers outside their industry bubble. “CEOs tend to get isolated,” says Hall, who runs the Sarasota office of Palm Harbor-based AllTrust Insurance.

DiDomenico, president of Sarasota-based CoolToday, and Hall joined a dozen other Sarasota-Bradenton executives in early 2010 to help solve the problem. That group, which included Matt Walsh, editor and publisher of the Business Observer and CEO of the Observer Media Group, didn't want an expensive and time-zapping organization. Groups like that, they believed, were counterproductive because time management is usually an issue a CEO seeks to contain, not add to. Costs are also something a top executive monitors closely.

The organizers also didn't want to travel to Tampa for this kind of outlet, which some did to attend CEO Council of Tampa Bay sessions and meetings. Ultimately, after about 18 months of conversations and planning, the group formed the Gulf Coast CEO Forum, which is independent of the CEO Council, but modeled somewhat after it.

The Gulf Coast CEO Forum officially launched in June 2011 and now, two years into it, DiDomenico, who recently took over the presidency from Walsh, says the group has significant momentum. It has about 80 members, up from 60 a year ago, and organizers recently set a short-term goal of 120 members.

“The focus is to connect CEOs so they can learn from each other,” DiDomenico says. “It's like a white collar counseling center.”

There are three rules for membership in the CEO Forum: The member must be the CEO, president or owner of a for-profit company; that company must have at least 10 employees; and the business must have at least $1.5 million in annual revenues. Once an executive joins, there is another must-adhere-to rule: The CEO Forum is a non-solicitation organization, so there are no sales pitches.

Annual dues are currently $1,250, which Hall says might increase to $1,750 within the next few months. In return for the dues, the CEO Forum offers a variety of meetings and sessions, including monthly breakfasts with a keynote speaker; monthly confidential roundtable sessions, limited to 12 participants per group, where executives can openly discuss issues; and golf outings and holiday parties. The CEO Forum also has R-Groups and R-Nights, where members host a group at their company's offices for lunch or an after-work happy hour, to get to know each other better.

The CEO Forum board, which includes Hall and DiDomenico, are volunteers and there is one part-time paid employee, Kim Miele, who is the executive director. “The CEO forum is a great reflection of the business community,” DiDomenico says. “I'm excited about the future potential.”

Key Advice
Recent speakers at Gulf Coast CEO Forum sessions have talked about a wide range of issues, from innovation to how the left side of your brain works to a primer on supply-side economics. Here are some recent examples. For more, and a video of some presentations, visit
www.businessobserverfl.com.