Trio of Local Business Leaders to Speak at UT’s Business Network Symposium Oct. 20

A trio of local business leaders — from Dimmitt Automotive Group, Cigar City Brewing and Tampa General Hospital — are scheduled to speak at The University of Tampa on Tuesday, Oct. 20, to kick off the 2015-2016 Business Network Symposium series. There will be a continental breakfast at 7:15 a.m., followed by the program from 7:45–9 a.m. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Vaughn Center Crescent Club, 401 W. Kennedy Blvd.

Maj. Gen. Karl R. Horst graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1978. During his military career he served as an aide-de-camp to the Army chief of staff and as special assistant to the NATO supreme allied commander, Europe. His final assignment was chief of staff of U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base. Following his retirement, Horst joined Dimmitt Automotive Group as the senior leadership executive.

Joseph “Joey” Redner is the founder and CEO of Cigar City Brewing in Tampa. Founded in 2008, Cigar City Brewing has seen remarkable growth: from two employees in 2009 to more than 50 employees in 2013 and from producing 960 barrels of beer in 2009 to a capacity of more than 50,000 barrels in 2015. Redner also opened two Cigar City Brewpubs as well as Cigar City Cider and Mead in Ybor City.

Jim Burkhart has been president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in Florida, since 2013. Previously, he served as president and CEO of UF&Shands Jacksonville Medical Center, where he provided the strategic direction for effective hospital operations, as well as a variety of health care leadership capacities. Burkhart also served in the military for 35 years, retiring as a colonel from the Air National Guard in 2007.

The event is sponsored by The University of Tampa Board of Fellows, and the presenting sponsor is LCG. Other sponsors include the Tampa Bay Business Journal and Sodexo Campus Services.

The Board of Fellows holds this networking event three times a year to allow businesses that are well known, changing or new to the Tampa Bay area the opportunity to share their accomplishments and plans with the business community. The next Business Network Symposium will be held on Jan. 19, 2016, and the final symposium is scheduled for April 26, 2016.

For more information, contact Laura Randall, director of community relations, at (813) 253-6200 or lrandall@ut.edu.