University's succession plan kicks into high gear

The University of South Florida wasted little time gearing up for a search for its next president.

Longtime leader Judy Genshaft recently announced her retirement, effective July 2019, and already USF’s Board of Trustees has formed a 15-member search committee and set a timeline for the process.

Board Chairman Brian Lamb states in a news release that the “tremendous momentum” generated by Genshaft in recent years means “it’s critical for us to find a new president with the leadership abilities to continue our trajectory.”

Former Fiserv Inc. chairman and CEO Les Muma, whose name also happens to grace the USF business school, will lead the presidential search committee. The panel has several prominent Gulf Coast businesspeople, including:

• Stephanie Goforth, a Tampa-based senior vice president at Northern Trust Corp; 
• Rhea Law, head of the Florida offices of Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney; 
• Rick Piccolo, president and CEO of Sarasota Bradenton International Airport;  
• John Ramil, recently retired president and CEO of TECO Energy; and 
• Byron Shinn, a CPA and partner-in-charge at the Bradenton and Sarasota offices of Alabama-based Carr, Riggs & Ingram. 

“Replacing President Genshaft is an enormous responsibility,” Muma says in the release. “This is a pivotal time in the University of South Florida’s history, and our decision will have a significant impact on the future of the Tampa Bay region.”

A firm will be hired to conduct a national search for Genshaft’s successor, with the goal of having a list of candidates recommended to the board in early 2019, and then finalist interviews. The board expects to vote on a new president in the spring.