Rollins College Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship, CEO Nexus to Host Forum for CEOs on growing established local companies to next level

Rollins College Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship, CEO Nexus to Host Forum for CEOs on growing established local companies to next level

Full Sail University CEO Ed Haddock is Guest Speaker at invitation-only event

WINTER PARK, Fla. - The Rollins College Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship in collaboration with CEO Nexus will host the CEO Nexus Forum, part of a program series that brings together leaders of established, second-stage businesses to meet and learn from CEOs who have successfully grown their companies into a more advanced stage of business development.

Cari Coats, newly appointed executive director at the Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship, said Ed Haddock, co-chairman and chief executive officer of Full Sail University, will be the guest speaker at the invitation only event that begins at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 9 in the Crummer Graduate School of Business Bush Executive Center.

The business community and Rollins are embracing and helping to lead the “economic gardening” strategy fostered by CEO Nexus that growing our own local companies is a vital part of job creation.

Providing an opportunity for mentoring the CEOs of often underserved second-stage businesses is a priority not only for the Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship but for the CEOs of successful third and fourth-stage companies who realize the need to invest time in a confidential setting to advise and share growth strategies.

Haddock, along with his two partners and a talented team of executives built Full Sail University into one of the largest and most innovative entertainment, media and arts universities in the world. From the start of Haddock’s involvement in 1991, the school has grown from 300 to 7,700 students and the campus has grown to 190 acres with 801,000 square feet of studios, sound stages, media development and other support facilities.

Haddock and partners also expanded Full Sail’s post-secondary education portfolio to include The Los Angeles Film School, The Los Angeles Recording School and Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design.

Additionally, in 1973 Haddock was a founding partner, serving as chairman and managing partner of the law firm, Swann and Haddock, P.A., which by 1990 became one of Florida’s preeminent law firms. During the 1970s and 1980s Haddock was also a founding principal of financial institutions, insurance underwriting companies, homebuilding companies and real estate developments.

The Sept. 9 Forum is another in a series of events designed for second-stage CEOs and supported by the Rollins College Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship, University of Central Florida’s Office of Research and Commercialization and the Florida High Tech Corridor, said Steve Quello, president of CEO Nexus.

“These events will all focus on ways companies can accelerate their growth and development in these challenging economic times,” Quello explained.

About Rollins College Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship:
The Rollins College Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship located within the Crummer Graduate School of Business is a catalyst and thought leader in the advancement of successful entrepreneurship. Core to its mission is to prepare the advanced students of the Rollins MBA program for entrepreneurial thought and action, and to connect them in a meaningful way with advanced entrepreneurs. This real-world insight provides advanced experiential learning which is critical to the Center’s success. The Rollins MBA Entrepreneurship program is ranked 24th in the nation by Entrepreneur Magazine and the Princeton Review.

About CEO Nexus:
CEO Nexus is a public-private initiative that provides second-stage business leaders—owners, CEOs and presidents—with practical tools and techniques designed specifically for growing second-stage companies. Sponsors include The Rollins College Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship, the Edward Lowe Foundation, the Florida High Tech Corridor Council, the University of Central Florida Office of Research & Commercialization, Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission, Enterprise Florida and the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce.

For more information, contact:
Cari Coats, Executive Director, Rollins College Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship, 407-646-2067, ccoats@rollins.edu

Steve Quello, President/Principal, CEO Nexus 407-590-6101, squello@ceonexus.com

Dr. Tom O’Neal, Associate Vice President for Research and Commercialization at the University of Central Florida, 407-882-1120, oneal@mail.ucf.edu

Larry Vershel, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142; lvershelco@aol.com