College appoints new small biz leader

FORT MYERS — Florida Gulf Coast University named Lois Knox director of its Florida Small Business Development Center.

Knox, who has worked with and counseled small businesses for more than 20 years, will assume her role July 1, according to a release. She replaces Dan Regelski, who retired. Regelski, the school says in the statement, “pioneered the development” of the center at FGCU nearly 20 years ago. During his tenure, the school adds, Regelski planned, designed and implemented multiple small business programs for Southwest Florida entrepreneurs.

Knox is currently the assistant director for business and finance for the Florida SBDC Network State Office, where she helps manage and oversee the network's 40 centers statewide. Knox has previously been a grant manager at the University of West Florida, and she's also worked with small businesses in Ohio, Missouri and Georgia. She won the Florida SBDC Network State Office Employee of the Year Award in 2013.

The Florida Small Business Development Center at FGCU provides one-on-one, confidential, no-cost consulting and low-cost workshops for businesses throughout Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties.