Telese L. Zuberer has succeeded Robert G. Lyons as president of the Icard Merrill law firm, based in Sarasota. The change in leadership is the first in 23 years, and Zuberer is the first woman to hold the position.
Lyons, who joined Icard Merrill in 1986, has been at the helm of the firm since 1999. He will continue his mediation and arbitration practice at the firm’s Sarasota headquarters.
Zuberer co-founded and operated McKay Law Firm, P.A., for 13 years before joining Icard Merrill as a shareholder in 2017. The move to Icard Merrill, with a larger firm infrastructure and framework, allowed tremendous growth for her community association law practice.
Zuberer’s practice focuses on representing not-for-profit community associations, including condominium associations, homeowners’ associations, voluntary community associations, and commercial and business associations.
She was named to the list of 2021 Florida Super Lawyers and holds the AV Preeminent Peer Review rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
She served as president of the West Florida Chapter of the Community Association Institute in 2009 and served on the board of directors for six years before being reelected for another three-year term commencing in 2018.
She received her J.D. from University of Miami School of Law in 1999, and her LL.M. in real property development in 2000.
…
The Shumaker law firm has appointed Partner and Litigation and Disputes Regional Service Line Leader Michael S. Taaffe to serve as chair of its Financial Services Business Sector, where he will lead the nationwide practice, servicing national clients.
Board certified in business litigation, Taaffe has obtained numerous million-dollar recoveries in state and federal courts and FINRA arbitrations, tried a landmark case in the securities industry resulting in an award in excess of $10 million and led the charge in the Robinhood class-action lawsuit filed by Shumaker.
His practice focuses on the representation of public and private corporations and their officers, directors and key employees in a variety of matters, including: restraints of trade, garden leave provisions, unfair competition, employment contracts, partnership separation and torts, as well as securities-related litigation.
…
FourThought Private Wealth (previously Pinkerton Private Wealth), a wealth management firm headquartered in Venice, has expanded by hiring Alex Wolfe as an associate planner and Erin Guzzo as director of marketing.
Wolfe comes to FourThought with five years of experience in the financial services field. He has held positions such as a relationship manager, planning consultant and private client group representative.
At FourThought, Wolfe will be responsible for partnering with other private wealth planners to ensure clients’ financial plans are aligned with their goals. He holds a bachelor’s in economics from Texas A&M University.
Guzzo will manage communication and branding for all the FourThought brands. She has 20 years of experience in project management, communications, events, media relations, community outreach and client engagement.
She moved to Sarasota in 2005 as a marketing project manager. Before joining FourThought, Guzzo was the marketing manager at Van Wezel for six years and the Florida regional marketing coordinator at BMO-Harris Private Bank for over five years.
She holds a bachelor’s in business administration management from Merrimack College and a master certification in paralegal studies from Northeastern University.
FourThought Private Wealth focuses on customized and comprehensive wealth planning and advice for individuals, families, foundations and businesses under three separate brands: FourThought Private Wealth, FourThought Signature and FourThought Institutions.
…
Jason Leary has joined Envoi, Inc., as a business partner and chief revenue officer. Envoi, a Sarasota-based company, is known in the housing industry for offering an entire platform operated and managed by artificial intelligence.
With over 20 years of experience in sales and business development in the housing industry, Leary brings a wealth of knowledge about the technology needed by multifamily, commercial and residential housing customers. His specialties include establishing strategic relationships, directing marketing campaigns and cultivating new accounts.
As an outside sales representative for Envoi, he will be based in Clearwater and serve customers worldwide.
…
Mariah Miller has joined Berlin Patten Ebling, PLLC’s team of lawyers. She is a real estate attorney who primarily practices in the areas of residential real property transactions.
Miller was born and raised in Venice. She was introduced to the development and real estate world through her family’s business.
After graduating from Venice High School, Miller graduated from Florida State University with bachelor’s degrees in criminology and in political science. Shen then graduated cum laude from Stetson University College of Law.
At Stetson Law, she was a member of Child Advocates of Stetson Law, a clinic student in the Veterans Advocacy Clinic and a volunteer child advocate in the Guardian Ad Litem Program for Pinellas County.
Miller was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2021.
Berlin Patten Ebling’s practice focuses on real estate legal and settlement services, specifically including residential and commercial real estate transactions/closings, developer representation, lender representation, landlord/tenant matters, site plan and construction permitting, real property related litigation, and loss mitigation, including foreclosure representation.
…
Vicki Klavins has been promoted from financial controller to chief financial officer at Berlin Patten Ebling, PLLC.
Klavins has been instrumental in managing the firm’s financial growth, helping it place in Inc. Magazine’s list of the country’s fastest growing companies for the last two years.
Klavins is a graduate of the University of Wyoming, where she received a bachelor’s in accounting. After graduating, she worked in the Wyoming Department of Revenue, the U.S. Department of Interior and the Colorado Department of Revenue, as a royalty auditor.
After moving to Chicago in 1999, she became a certified public accountant and spent most of her career as vice president and controller of Baird & Warner Real Estate, Inc.
Klavins began at Berlin Patten Ebling in 2015. She has been the firm’s financial controller for the past six years.
…
CAN Community Health, in Sarasota, recently appointed Rishi Patel as president and CEO.
Patel joined the health care nonprofit as chief pharmacy officer in 2015 and has served as its interim president and CEO since July 2021.
He holds a Doctor of Pharmacy from Nova Southeastern University, an MBA from Florida Gulf Coast University and a bachelor’s in microbiology from the University of Florida.
CAN is a not-for-profit, community-based organization that provides medical, pharmacy, dental, case management, mental health and comprehensive prevention and services such as nPEP, PrEP and education. CAN also provides screening and treatment for Hepatitis C and sexually transmitted diseases, as well as transgender health services.
…
PGT Innovations, Inc., of Venice, has appointed John E. Kunz as senior vice president and chief financial officer.
PGT manufactures and supplies premium windows and doors.
Kunz has over 25 years of experience in accounting, treasury, international finance and business operations.
In his new role, he will lead the company’s finance strategy, budgeting and planning, accounting, financial reporting and investor relations functions, as well as provide strategic direction relating to the company’s information technology efforts.
Most recently, Kunz served as the senior vice president and chief financial officer at U.S. Concrete, Inc.
He has a master’s in finance from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s in accounting from the University of Notre Dame. He also serves on the board of directors for the Wabash National Corp.
Brad West, who has been serving as interim CFO for PGT Innovations, has resumed his role as senior vice president of corporate development and treasurer.
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/business/2022/01/31/new-leader-takes-over-at-sarasota-law-firm-fourthought-expands/6629944001/
