TAMPA, Fla., November 08, 2022– The Tampa Bay Partnership announced that Brian Auld, president of the Tampa Bay Rays and vice chair of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, has been named the 26th Chair of the organization. Auld assumes the role most recently held by Chad Loar, PNC regional president for West and Central Florida, as his two-year term has concluded. In addition, Nikky Flores of JPMorgan Chase will serve as the Tampa Bay Partnership’s Secretary/Treasurer for fiscal year 2023, as well as co-chair of the Regional Talent Working Group.
Christine Kefauver of Brightline Trains and Melanie Fowler of HDR Engineering will serve as co-chairs of the Partnership’s Transportation Working Group; Helen Wesley of TECO Peoples Gas; and Brian Butler of Vistra Communications, and Tim Schar, previously with Truist, will continue as co-chairs of the Racial Equity Task Force.
“Tampa Bay continues to rely on the Partnership to provide a regional business perspective on the most important issues facing our myriad diverse communities,” said Auld. “It has become more apparent than ever that we need thoughtful leadership wrestling with the challenges of equity, economic opportunity, housing, transportation, and climate resiliency among so many others. As a long-standing advocate for regional collaboration, I am eager to serve in this capacity and grateful for my colleague’s support.”
Auld has been with the Rays for 17 seasons, starting in 2005 as director of planning and development before serving in multiple capacities across the team’s internal departments. Now in his eighth season as team president, Auld also serves as vice chairman of the United Soccer League’s Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Auld has lived in California, New York, Texas, and Japan, but calls Tampa Bay his home. He has been an active member of the Partnership, serving as chair of the Regional Resiliency Task Force and as a member of the LIVE Tampa Bay Leadership Coalition. In addition to becoming Chair of the Tampa Bay Partnership, Auld currently serves on the boards of directors for the Bayfront Health St. Petersburg Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay, CEOs Against Cancer and the Rays Baseball Foundation.
Additionally, over the years he has served on the Sports Advisory Council for Special Olympics Florida, the Heart Ball Cabinet for the American Heart Association, the executive committee of the St. Petersburg Economic Development Corporation and Tampa Bay Chamber. Auld is also active in the Gas Plant Revitalization initiative alongside municipal leaders from the City of St. Petersburg and the Pinellas Race Equity Leadership Council
“Brian will do a phenomenal job as Chair,” said Loar. “He brings many strengths to this role, but centrally he is driven by the belief that we share a responsibility in stewarding positive changes for the community. His character, vision, and leadership will continue to propel the Partnership and Tampa Bay forward.”
Loar provided steady leadership through much of the COVID-19 pandemic and helped unite the business community in an advocacy effort which ensured the Westshore Interchange restoration project was included in the Federal Department of Transportation workplan following the pandemic’s budget cuts. He was also instrumental in the selection process of Bemetra Simmons as the new president and CEO of the Partnership and spearheaded the release of “The Business Case for Resilience in Tampa Bay.”
“On behalf of the Partnership’s investors, our team, and the broader community, we are grateful for Chad’s steady leadership these past two years,” said Simmons. “The Partnership will continue to build upon this legacy of good works.”
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About the Tampa Bay Partnership
The Tampa Bay Partnership is a coalition of regional business leaders joined by a shared commitment to improving the personal and economic well-being of Tampa Bay residents. Formally incorporated in 1994 and re-established in 2016 as a regional research and public policy organization, the Partnership works with the region’s top employers, along with a diverse group of government and nonprofit partners, to identify and address the toughest challenges facing our community, including transportation, talent, racial equity, and other emerging issues.
For more information, please contact:
Shannon Kalahar
Tampa Bay Partnership
Senior Director of Strategic Communications
(813) 872-2807
skalahar@tampabay.org