Over the course of my career in economic development, I’ve been privileged to have great leaders guiding me and shaping the trajectory of my organizations. Tampa Electric president and CEO Archie Collins, our FY2026 Chair, stands out among the best.
Before his term began, Archie spent eight months in charge of the Steering Committee for our FY26-28 Future Ready: Tampa Bay Strategic Plan. He worked closely with our Investors, team and consultants to make sure that this plan would not only capitalize on the opportunities we have today but position us for smart growth and economic success well into the next decade.
Archie engaged experts on digital infrastructure from around the country, and hosted conversations with those leaders here, during visits to several states across the country, and on our Signature Sales Mission to Atlanta. In Atlanta, he hosted a spectacular dinner for our 17 Investor delegates and investors and led numerous conversations on strengthening our core regional assets and maintaining our competitiveness. In May, he repeated that process with our regional partners from Global Tampa Bay in Dublin, Ireland. Archie’s intellectual curiosity, humility, and genuine passion for Tampa Bay’s potential won over our Irish hosts and helped to generate exciting project leads that our team is working on now.
As Archie said at last year’s Annual Meeting, Tampa Bay is at a pivotal moment in our economic evolution. We are shifting from a regional center of business to a globally recognized hub of innovation. Having the right leadership in place to help a community navigate times like this is critically important, and one of the many reasons I am so thankful to have had Archie as our Chair this year.
As you will discover on October 14 when you join us at our Annual Meeting at The Straz, 2026 was a highly successful year for the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council. We made outstanding progress on our bold new strategic plan but also stopped to reflect on the impact that our work has had on people and companies in this community.
I am thankful to Archie Collins, our officers, board and the EDC team for another job well done this year.
See you at Annual Meeting!
Craig
