Contact:
Stuart Doyle
(407) 956-5689
sdoyle@eflorida.com

Allan Bense elected vice chair
of Enterprise Florida board

ORLANDO, FL (January 29, 2009) – The Enterprise Florida Board of Directors has elected former Florida House Speaker Allan Bense as its vice chairman.

Vice chairman is the board’s chief management position and oversees its committees and interactions with Enterprise Florida. The Florida governor -- currently Charlie Crist -- serves as chairman.

Bense, a partner of GAC Contractors in Panama City, will serve a two-year term, succeeding Thomas Kuntz, chairman, president and CEO of SunTrust Bank Florida. Kuntz will continue as a board member, serving on its Executive Committee. The board consists of business and government leaders who volunteer their service.

At-large members re-elected for a one-year term include:

• Timothy Edmond, CNL Realty and Development, Orlando
• Michael Egan, CEMEX, West Palm Beach
• Steve Kohler, Space Florida, Kennedy Space Center
• Albert Petrangeli, Balfour Beatty Construction, Plantation
• Andrew Rosen, Kaplan Higher Education, Fort Lauderdale
• Gene Schaefer, Bank of America, Miami
• Andrew Smulian, Akerman Senterfitt, Miami
• Pete Tesch, Ocala-Marion County Economic Development Council, Ocala

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Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) is a partnership between Florida's business and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for the state of Florida.  Headquartered in Orlando, EFI’s mission is to diversify Florida’s economy and create better-paying jobs for its citizens by supporting, attracting and helping to create businesses in innovative, high-growth industries.  In pursuit of its mission, EFI works closely with a statewide network of economic development partners and is funded both by the State of Florida and by private-sector businesses.

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