Key Executives is pleased to announce The Top 25 CEOs of Miami for 2024. These leaders navigate their companies through the fourth-largest economy in the U.S. and 16th-largest in the world, a business mecca that attracts employers with its favorable tax policies and supportive regulatory environment. As the list of awardees reflects, Miami’s business talent comes from all over the world — from Greece and Germany to Venezuela and Israel — representing all manner of technology enterprises that have joined legacy industries such as retail, hospitality, and aviation who call the area home.
Among this year’s awardees are Tom Kingsbury, who since taking over the hot spot as CEO of Kohl’s has been advancing innovative partnerships with companies such as Amazon and Sephora. There’s also BurgerFi International CEO Carl Bachmann, who knows fast-casual dining like the back of his hand, having previously held top executive roles at Smashburger and Ruby Tuesday. Spicing up the list is Alejandro Chaban, a former actor and TV host who was inspired by his personal health challenges to create the Yes You Can! weight management program which focuses on helping Latinos manage their emotional and nutritional health.
The awardees were chosen from a pool of highly competitive nominations coordinated by Key Executives. Winners were selected based on exceptional leadership qualities and career accomplishments. Please join us in recognizing the accomplishments of The Top 25 CEOs of Miami for 2024.
1. Bill Zarkalis
President & Chief Executive Officer, Titan America
Bill Zarkalis joined Titan America as Chief Executive Officer in 2014 and is a member of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of the parent company Titan Cement SA. He served for four years as the Group's CFO and before that as the executive director of business development and strategic planning. Titan America is a heavy building materials company located in the eastern United States that has been in operation since 1902 and remains a family-led business.
Prior to joining Titan in 2008, Zarkalis served in several global business leadership roles with the Dow Chemical Company. During his 18-year career in Chemicals and Plastics, Zarkalis was located primarily in the US and Switzerland, holding positions such as global vice president, Dow automotive; global business director, Dow specialty plastics and elastomers; and global business director, Dow synthetic latex. Zarkalis has represented Titan at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the European Round Table and the Cement Sustainability Initiative. Zarkalis holds an MSc. in chemical engineering from The National Technical University of Athens, Greece, and an MSc. in chemical engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
2. Lothar Geilen
Chief Executive Officer, Opus
Lothar Geilen has served as Chief Executive Officer of Opus Group AB since 2017. Opus, which is based in Gothenburg, Sweden, is a technology-driven company in the vehicle inspection and intelligent vehicle support markets. Twenty-four of its 34 regional offices are in the US.
Before he was appointed CEO, Geilen served as the head of Opus’ Environmental Systems Products subsidiary and its vehicle inspection division. He joined Opus in 2008 after it acquired Systech International, a U.S. company where he had served as co-founder and CEO since 2000. Earlier in his career, he worked for Sensors Inc. Geilen earned an MBA from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany, and an undergraduate degree in Economics from RWTH Aachen University in Germany.
3. Scott Drake
Chief Executive Officer, Cordis
Scott Drake was named Chief Executive Officer of Cordis in November 2023 after previously serving on the company’s board of directors. Cordis is a Miami Lakes, Florida-based developer and manufacturer of interventional vascular technology used to treat cardiovascular conditions.
Prior to Cordis, Drake had worked in the medical device industry for nearly 30 years, most recently serving as president and CEO of ViewRay Inc. and, before that, president and CEO of The Spectranetics Corporation. He started his career at Covidien and has also held executive roles at ValleyLab and DaVita Inc. He has served on the boards of Zayo Group Holdings, Paragon 28 Inc., ViewRay, Bolder Surgical, the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, and Atricure. Drake earned an undergraduate degree in business administration, management and operations from Miami University of Ohio.
4. Charlie Gottdiener
Chief Executive Officer, Anaplan
Charlie Gottdiener joined Anaplan as chief executive officer in December 2022. Anaplan is a business planning software company based in San Francisco. Before joining Anaplan, Gottdiener had worked for three decades in the information services and technology industries, most recently serving for four years as president and CEO of Neustar Inc. He also held leadership roles at Providence Equity Partners and Dun & Bradstreet and leadership positions in consulting with Boston Consulting Group, CSC Index, Ernst & Young Consulting, and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young.
Gottdiener has served as a board member at companies including Narrativ, TransUnion, Vercara, smartShift, Blackboard, and Altegrity. He graduated from The Wharton School with an MBA in marketing and finance and from Grinnell College with an undergraduate degree in psychology.
5. Tom Krause
Chief Executive Officer, Cloud Software Group
Tom Krause took over in September 2022 as Chief Executive Officer of Cloud Software Group (CSG) after it was formed from the merger of Citrix, a cloud computing and virtualization company, and TIBCO, a business intelligence technology vendor. CSG’s brands also include NetScaler, Spotfire, Jaspersoft, ibi, ShareFile, and XenServer.
Krause came to Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based CSG with more than 20 years of experience leading and building software and technology companies. Most recently he served as an executive at Broadcom Inc., where he was Chief Financial Officer and led the Broadcom Software Group as President. Krause started his career as an investment banking analyst at Robertson Stephens, moving on from there to venture capital firm TCV and then holding executive positions at semiconductor companies Techwell and Avago Technologies. He graduated from Princeton University with an undergraduate degree in economics.
6. Lisa Bauer
President and Chief Executive Officer, Starboard Cruise Services
Lisa Bauer has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Starboard Cruise Services since June 2019. The Doral, Florida-based company provides retail services on cruise ships. Bauer also oversees all operations of Starboard’s sister company, Onboard Media, which offers media solutions in the travel and hospitality sector.
Prior to Starboard, Bauer was Vice President of Onboard Experience at Delta Airlines, where she created the strategy to enhance the carrier’s onboard customer experience and improve its competitive advantage on the global stage. She has also served as Chief Operating Officer for International Cruise & Excursions Inc., a global travel and leisure company, and held executive roles from October 2002 to September 2013 at Royal Caribbean International, playing a key role in the cruise operator’s Asia growth strategy and regional team development. She recently joined the board of directors of the International Association of Airport and Duty Free Stores. Bauer graduated from Allegheny College with an undergraduate degree in political science.
7. William Donlan
Chief Executive Officer, Astound Commerce
Bill Donlan was named Global Chief Executive Officer of Astound Commerce in January 2024. The San Bruno, California-based company provides digital commerce solutions that enhance brands’ online relationships with consumers, specializing in Salesforce’s Customer 360 platform. Donlan has more than 30 years of experience helping businesses address their digital transformation and business strategy needs.
Before joining Astound, he led the Salesforce practice at IT firm Capgemini, overseeing more than 1200 employees, and, most recently, led the Global Salesforce Markets practice at KPMG. He also held executive roles at Cloud Sherpas and Kanbay, was the co-founder of Adjoined Consulting's CRM practice and served as a director of Cambridge Technology Partners. He has experience with more than 300 CRM implementation projects involving sales, customer service, field service, marketing, and channel management. Donlan graduated with a master's degree in systems accounting and an undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Florida.
8. Joseph Garcia
Chief Executive Officer, Gastro Health
Joseph Garcia joined Gastro Health as Chief Executive Officer in February 2018. The Miami-based medical group specializes in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, nutrition, and digestive health, serving patients in seven states with a team of board-certified physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nutritionists, and technicians.
Previously, Garcia was the CEO at Sage Dental where he oversaw the rapid expansion of the group from 20 to more than 60 practices in Florida and Georgia. His experience in health care also includes serving as Chief Operating Officer at 21st Century Oncology, a provider of radiation oncology, and as an executive at DaVita Inc., Sterling Healthcare, iHealth Technologies, and Vivra Specialty Partners. Garcia graduated from Creighton University with an MBA and an undergraduate degree in business administration.
9. Carl Bachmann
Chief Executive Officer, Burgerfi
Carl Bachmann is Chief Executive Officer of BurgerFi International Inc., the Fort Lauderdale-based owner of fast-casual burger brand BurgerFi and casual dining pizza brand Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza & Wings. Bachmann, a restaurant industry veteran, has extensive experience in both the burger and pizza spaces. Prior to joining BurgerFi in July 2023, he served for six years as President of Smashburger, helping the company to achieve four years of double-digit systemwide same-store sales growth and relaunching the brand with a new marketing team and direction. He initially joined Smashburger in 2017 as Chief Operating Officer.
Bachmann’s executive roles also include Senior Vice President of Operations for Bertucci’s, the Boston-based brick oven Italian concept, and Director of Operations for casual dining chain Ruby Tuesday. As a Ruby Tuesday franchisee, he built a portfolio of 10 locations and more than $26 million in annual revenue. He was recognized as Franchisee of the Year twice. Brachmann studied Public Relations at Kent State University.
10. Gil Adani
Chief Executive Officer, ThriveDX
Gil Adani is the Chief Executive Officer of ThriveDX, a provider of cybersecurity training and digital skills training that he co-founded in Israel in 2006. The company extended its business operations to the US in 2018 and is now based in Miami. Adani began training software engineers in 1996 when he co-founded an educational training institute that later became HackerU and eventually ThriveDX.
Earlier in his career, he also served as CEO of Capm from 2005 to 2012. Adani started learning coding at the age of 15 and later served in the Israel Defense Forces as a captain in the technological intelligence division. He studied accounting and law at Tel Aviv University and is a certified CPA.
11. John Calcagno
President and Chief Executive Officer, Piper
John Calcagno was named as President and Chief Executive Officer of Piper Aircraft in April 2021. He previously served the Vero Beach-based general aviation manufacturer as Chief Financial Officer for 11 years, overseeing all financial reporting, treasury, and cash management functions, as well as information technology and enterprise resource planning. Though his background is in accounting, he also has extensive experience in operations, distribution, and sales as well as finance.
Previously, Calcagno was a consulting partner with The Acerra Consortium and, before that, vice president, director and controller with Alltel (Supply) Communications Products. He also has held roles of increasing responsibility with Coca-Cola, C.R. Bard, and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, where he started his career in the audit practice. He obtained an undergraduate degree in accounting, with a minor in political science, from Southern Illinois University and served in the US Air Force before joining PwC.
12. Denis Walsh
President and Chief Executive Officer, Money Concepts
Denis Walsh was named as Chief Executive Officer of Money Concepts in 2006. He has spent his entire career at the Palm Beach Gardens-based company, which his father, John P. Walsh, founded in 1979 to deliver wealth management services through a network of financial planning professionals. Walsh joined Money Concepts in 1981 after graduating from Florida State University with a degree in Risk Management. He was named as President in 1997. As CEO, his responsibilities include the long-term development of Money Concepts and its daily operations.
Walsh is a Certified Financial Planner, Certified Fund Specialist, Registered Financial Consultant, and Certified Estate Planner. In 2022, he was honored as one of Inc. Magazine’s 10 Most Inspiring CEOs to Look Out For.
13. Ronald Bizick
President and Chief Executive Officer, Vertical Bridge
Ronald G. Bizick, II has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Vertical Bridge since May 2023. The Boca Raton-based company is an owner and operator of communications infrastructure, specializing in colocation services and build-to-suit towers. Bizick, who has more than 30 years of telecom industry experience, joined Vertical Bridge as President and Chief Operating Officer in March 2022. As CEO, he oversees the company’s day-to-day operations, as well as overall strategy and growth initiatives.
Prior to Vertical Bridge, he co-founded and served as CEO of Tarpon Towers LLC, which develops, acquires and manages wireless communication sites throughout the US. Bizick’s experience also includes serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Global Signal Inc., which went public during his tenure, and as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of SBA Communications, helping it grow from a startup to a public company. He received his BA in Business and Communication from the University of Pittsburgh and completed executive education programs at The Wharton School and Harvard Business School.
14. Randy Carr
President and Chief Executive Officer, World Emblem
Randy Carr is the President and Chief Executive Officer of World Emblem, a Hollywood, Florida-based apparel decoration business that his father Jerold Carr founded in 1987. He and his brother, who serves as Operating Shareholder and Sales Director, took over World Emblem after Jerold died in 2000.
Carr started his career alongside his brother as an apprentice at World Emblem. Working at the family business, they did everything from operating embroidery machines to customer service. The company now claims to be the largest patch producer in the world, occupies more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing space, and produces more than 1 million emblems a day.
Carr graduated from the University of Hartford with a Bachelor’s degree in international business.
15. Rafael Cardozo
Chief Executive Officer, Tambourine
Rafael Cardozo is the Chief Executive Officer of Tambourine, a Fort Lauderdale-based digital marketing agency that provides custom-integrated marketing solutions to hotels, resorts, and destinations worldwide. He joined the company as president in 2005 and was named as CEO in January 2021. Prior to Tambourine, he was a partner at Gideon-Cardozo Communications.
Cardozo started his career as a graphic designer at Power Images in Fort Lauderdale, From there, he worked for about nine years in publishing and advertising. His positions included Creative Director at Spring Publishing, Art Director for the Latin American edition of Disney’s Discover Magazine, Senior Art Director at William Harris Advertising, and Creative Director at CPS Communications. Cardozo earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida. In 2021, he was elected to the board of trustees of Florida Atlantic University.
16. Steven Tchira
Chief Executive Officer, Decowraps
Steven Tchira is the Chief Executive Officer of Decowraps, which he founded in 1999. The company supplies the floral industry, focusing primarily on larger retail organizations and their suppliers worldwide, with packaging solutions for all types of fresh cut flowers and potted plants.
Headquartered in Doral, Florida, it has additional design, production, and distribution facilities in Colombia, the Netherlands, Ecuador, Kenya, and China.
Tchira started Decowraps after graduating from Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing. The company partnered with private equity firm Palladin Consumer Retail Partners in August 2020 and acquired Flopak USA, a provider of pre-formed pot covers and floral delivery systems, in April 2022. Decowraps introduced EvolveFlex, a sustainable film made with 90% post-consumer recycled plastic, in June 2023.
17. Garry Vermaas
Chief Executive Officer, Base4
Garry Vermaas is the Chief Executive Officer of architecture and engineering firm Base4. The company, which Vermaas founded in 2010, works with developers and general contractors, focusing primarily on the hotel space, to optimize their design processes with automation, virtual reality design, and continual improvement of their collaborative systems. It has offices across the US and in the Dominican Republic, the Republic of Georgia, and India.
Vermaas has more than 25 years of experience in structural, architectural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering design and construction. He graduated from Columbia Engineering with a PhD in engineering and from Lehigh University with an MS in engineering. In 2019, he founded Stonepile, a university offering associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees in construction leadership, prefab modular, and offsite construction.
18. Tom Kingsbury
Chief Executive Officer, Kohl’s
Tom Kingsbury is a retail industry veteran who now serves as Chief Executive Officer of Kohl’s, overseeing the company’s more than 1,100 stores in 49 states, its e-commerce business, and 100,000 associates across the country. He joined the Kohl’s board of directors in 2021 and, after being named as interim CEO in December 2022, became CEO in February 2023. As Kohl’s CEO, he has been involved in elevating its brand portfolio, continuing to grow its loyalty program, and advancing innovative partnerships with companies such as Amazon and Sephora.
Prior to Kohl’s, Kingsbury served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Burlington Stores from 2008 to 2019. He started his retail career more than 40 years ago at Famous Barr, a division of the May Company Department Stores, eventually serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of May’s Filene’s division. From there, he became a Senior Executive Vice President at Kohl’s, running Stores, Marketing, IT, E-Commerce and Business Development from 2006 to 2008. Kingsbury holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
19. Neil Moses
Chief Executive Officer, Wynshop
Neil Moses is the Chief Executive Officer of Wynshop, a digital e-commerce platform that specializes in solutions for grocery and other local store-based retailers. Enterprise software firm Mi9 Retail launched Wynshop, formerly known as ThryveAI, in 2020. Moses served as CEO of Mi9 Retail from January 2014 to January 2024 and has served as CEO of Wynshop since July 2020.
Prior to Mi9 Retail, Moses spent about 13 years in the software industry, including roles as Vice President of Operations at Perceptive Software, Chief Operating Officer at Brainware, and Director of New Revenue Products at AOL. He started his career as an attorney at the law firm of Fulbright and Jaworski. Moses earned a J.D. from New York University School of Law and an undergraduate degree in political science and economics from Emory University.
20. Trey Cook
President and Chief Executive Officer, Starlims
Trey Cook has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Starlims since August 2021. The Hollywood, Florida-based enterprise informatics company is a developer of laboratory
information management systems (LIMS) that was founded in Israel in 1986 and recently acquired Labstep, an R&D electronic laboratory notebook. More than 2,000 labs around the world use its products.
Prior to Starlims, Cook was President and CEO of Quantros, a provider of healthcare data analytics for hospitals and health systems. His healthcare technology experience also includes executive roles at Hill-Rom from 2011 to 2018 and at McKesson Health from 2007 to 2011. He started his career at GE Healthcare where he worked as an area sales manager and national channel manager. Cook graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor’s degree in science business.
21. Alejandro Chaban
Chief Executive Officer, Yes You Can!
Alejandro Chaban is the Chief Executive Officer of Yes You Can! Chaban Wellness LLC, a health, nutrition and wellness company that he founded in 2012. The Yes You Can! weight management program was inspired by Chaban’s own experience. While battling morbid obesity, he weighed as much as 314 pounds. Later, while he was suffering from bulimia and anorexia, his weight fell to 115 pounds. Yes You Can! Is centered around four core pillars: emotional health, nutrition, nutritional supplements, and movement. Chaban claims that it is the only diet plan made by Latinos for Latinos.
Prior to Yes You Can!, Chaban, a native of Venezuela, worked as an actor and television host, appearing in such Latin American shows as “A Calzón Guitao,” “El Rostro de Analia,” and “Eva Luna.” He was also a host of “¡Despierta América!,” a morning TV show that aired on Univision.
22. Daniel Lee
Chief Executive Officer, Aquila Software
Daniel Lee has served as Chief Executive Officer of Toronto-based investment firm Aquila Software since January 2021. Aquila, which is part of the Vela Software operating group of Constellation Software Inc. (CSI), acquires and invests in software companies.
Prior to Aquila, Lee worked in finance positions at various divisions of CSI for about 15 years, most recently as Chief Financial Officer of Vela Software. Before that, he was CFO of the FOG Software Group, Vice President of Finance for the Trapeze Group, Director of Finance at the Trapeze Group, and a financial analyst at CSI. He started his career as an associate in the audit and advisory practices at PwC. Lee is a CPA, CA, and earned Honors BA and Master of Accounting degrees from the University of Waterloo, Ontario.
23. Carina Edwards
Chief Executive Officer, Kipu Health
Carina Edwards was named as Chief Executive Officer of Kipu Health in August 2023. The Coral Gables-based company provides the behavioral health industry with enterprise software solutions for Electronic Medical Records (EMR), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Revenue Cycle Management (RCM). KipuEMR is widely used in the addiction treatment industry.
Edwards brought nearly 30 years of experience in healthcare technology to Kipu, most recently serving as CEO of Quil Health, a digital health joint venture between Comcast NBCUniversal and Independence Blue Cross. Prior to that, she held executive roles at Imprivata, Nuance, Zynx Health, and Philips Healthcare. She started her career as a consultant at Impact Innovations Group and CentreTEK Solutions. Edwards graduated from Boston College with an MBA and from George Mason University with a Bachelor of Science degree.
24. Matt Cotter
Chief Executive Officer, PairSoft
Matt Cotter is a software industry veteran who has served as Chief Executive Officer of PairSoft since April 2021. The Orlando, Florida-based company provides financial automation solutions, including requisition, procurement, and document management for mid-market and enterprise organizations.
Prior to joining PairSoft, Cotter was an Executive Vice President at Altus Group, a software, data, and services business; President and CEO at ExactBid, a real estate appraisal management SaaS platform, until 2018; and Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at D+H, a loan origination software, until 2014. Earlier in his career, he held executive roles at HCL-Axon, SAP, Legato Systems, and i2 Technologies. Cotter graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor’s degree in English. He has also served on the boards of directors of Class Valuation and Verafin.
25. Rafael Carvajal
Chief Executive Officer, CIMA Group
Rafael Carvajal joined telecommunication and digital solutions provider CIMA Group as Chief Executive Officer in June 2022. The company’s services include retail long distance, wholesale international and domestic long-distance, and value-added platform service applications that manage retail, wholesale, and Top Up telecommunication services and products.
Prior to CIMA, Carvajal was Chief Operating Officer of Quadrant Holdings, the owner of Q Link Wireless, which provides mobile phone services including wireless voice, messaging, and data services under the Hello Mobile brand. Earlier in his career, he was President of consulting firm
Value Creators LLC, CEO of Miami’s MAP Magazine, and Chief Operating Officer of telecom company Ntera Holdings Inc. Carvajal earned an MBA in finance from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree in management from the United States Coast Guard Academy.