New title agency network recruits COO

TAMPA -- Mike LaRosa has joined Florida Agency Network as the independent title agency network's new chief operating officer.

“Having the caliber of person and operator like Mike LaRosa join us was never something we could have imagined years ago,” says Aaron Davis, CEO of Florida Agency Network, in a release. “Mike brings 16 years of industry experience, and the operational expertise of running of the largest title insurance underwriters to the Florida Agency Network.”

LaRosa has been with First American Title since 1999, starting as an associate counsel in Tallahassee, and moving to Tampa a year later as a vice president and counsel. There, according to a release, he spent six years in the company's partnership division, establishing affiliated business arrangement title agencies with mortgage, builder/developer, and real estate professionals in the region.

LaRosa became First American's Tampa Bay agency manager in 2007, with his territory eventually expanding to the entire state.

Florida Agency Network describes itself as the largest network of independent title agencies in Florida, operating under multiple brands locally that include Hillsborough Title, Trident Title, Paramount Title, Tampa Bay Title, Cornerstone Title, and HomePlus Title, among others.

Davis told the Business Observer last October the creation of the Florida Agency Network is in response to federal regulatory changes that affected the finance industry beginning in 2010. It is a partnership between Davis, title attorney Paul Krasker, and Jon Weber of Title Management LLC of West Palm Beach.

“The only way anyone can survive and grow in this market is to join forces,” Davis said at the time. “I'm excited that all three partners for the Florida Agency Network share this vision.”