Corporate Report: May 10

Fowler White Boggs CEO receives regional leadership award
The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council has awarded Rhea Law, chairwoman and CEO of Tampa-based Fowler White Boggs, with the 2012 Herman W. Goldner Award for Regional Leadership.

The award is presented to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of regional cooperation in the Tampa Bay area, while showing dedication to the community and having notable achievements in encouraging a regional vision. The award is named in honor of Herman W. Goldner, a former St. Petersburg mayor and a founder of the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. Past recipients of the award include Lee Arnold Jr., Karen Seels, Jan Kaminis Platt and Dr. Judy Genshaft.

“Rhea Law has been an impactful member of our community and has been a catalyst for a great number of positive changes in our region,” Genshaft, 2008 Herman W. Goldner Award Winner, says in a press release. “She is, without a doubt, an outstanding business and community leader and a woman of impeccable integrity.”

In addition to leading Fowler White Boggs, Law has been tapped for many state and national positions such as gubernatorial appointments to lead the University of South Florida Board of Trustees, and serving as vice chairwoman of the Florida Council of 100, an advisory counsel to the governor of Florida. She also chairs the Command Advisory Council for the Sixth Air Mobility Wing at MacDill AFB and is past chairwoman of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. She has more than 30 years of experience in government, environmental, administrative and land use representation.

Roper Industries signs deal to buy Managed Health Care Associates
Sarasota-based Roper Industries Inc. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Managed Health Care Associates Inc. (MHA) for $1 billion in cash.

Florham Park, N.J.-based MHA provides services and technologies to health care providers who deliver services outside of an acute-care hospital setting. MHA is the top provider in several niche markets, including long-term care pharmacies, assisted-living facilities, long-term care facilities, infusion and specialty pharmacies and other alternate site providers. Its services, software and analytics allow its customers to manage reimbursement, increase market access, reduce business complexity and purchase more efficiently.

Roper expects the acquisition of MHA to generate $95 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization over the first 12 months of ownership, excluding the impact of acquisition-related fair value accounting.

“MHA has a compelling business model and we have been impressed by the management team's passion and commitment,” Brian Jellison, Roper's chairman, president and CEO, says in a press release. “The company has attractive cash return characteristics and generates substantial recurring revenue through long-term customer relationships and very high retention rates.”

The deal is expected to close within the next 30 days.

Former Best Buy executive joins Lazydays as CEO
Seffner-based Lazydays has hired Tim Sheehan as its CEO, replacing John Horton, who left the company in October. Sheehan joins Lazydays after a more than 25-year career with Best Buy, where he held posts in sales management, operations, services, real estate, supply chain and store systems, leading him to be named executive vice president, chief administrative officer in 2009.

The company says changing consumer shopping habits, along with the ever-shifting retail landscape that Sheehan experienced with Best Buy over the past decade make him uniquely qualified to help steer Lazydays through similar shifts in the RV industry.

During his tenure with Best Buy, Sheehan headed U.S. operations, led the company's services business, and drove a number of initiatives to position Best Buy as the largest multi-national consumer electronics retailer. During his tenure the company expanded from $50 million in annual sales to more than $50 billion.

“Tim's operational experience, leadership skills and enthusiasm for the dynamic landscape of retail make him the ideal choice,” William Murnane, chairman of the board of directors for Lazydays, says in a press release.

Randy Lay will return to his role as CFO of Lazydays after serving as interim CEO during the CEO search.

Pasco EDC announces name, logo for Dade City new business incubator
The Pasco Economic Development Council has named the new business incubator in Dade City SMARTstart and unveiled a new logo.

“Choosing the incubator's name was no small task,” John Hagen, president and CEO of Pasco Economic Development Council Inc., says in a press release. “We started with a list of 95 names, narrowed the list down to our top 10 and unanimously agreed on SMARTstart.”

Pasco EDC is looking for companies from a variety of industries that might be looking to start in the Tampa Bay area. SMARTstart will be located in the Dade City Business Center at 1500 Citrus Country Drive, Suite 103, Dade City and will have office, light manufacturing and warehouse space. Companies interested in applying to be in the SMARTstart Dade City Incubator should contact John Walsh at [email protected] or call (813) 926-0827, Ext. 223.