Insurance firm finds a lot to like in new CEO

TAMPA — Bill Taulbee, executive vice president in the Lykes Insurance Winter Park office, has been promoted to CEO of the prominent insurance company.

Taulbee replaces John Brabson, who retired at the end of 2015, according to a statement. Brabson helped lead an aggressive statewide marketing strategy at Tampa-based Lykes Insurance when he was CEO.

“Lykes Insurance has built a great platform that places us in a strong position to grow and assembled a great leadership team,” Taulbee says in the statement. “Our people are our greatest asset, and I look forward to working with them to continue our 90-year tradition of excellence.”

Taulbee joined Lykes Insurance in 1985. When based in Tampa, he was on the board for the Children's Museum of Tampa and the University of Tampa, according to the statement.

Founded in 1925, Lykes Insurance is a commercial insurance firm with offices in Winter Park, Tampa, Fort Myers and Sarasota. The firm is also part of Lykes Bros. Inc., a Tampa-based conglomerate that includes units in ranches and citrus. Its land unit, Lykes Land Investments Inc., is the 12th largest private landowner in the United States.