The Palm Beach Tech Association announced several key leadership appointments as the organization continues to execute on its mission to build South Florida into a Tech Hub.
Nikki Cabus joins Palm Beach Tech as Vice President of Development, a new position for the non-profit industry association of over 150 companies and 8,000 professionals. In this role, she will oversee membership, including member councils, peer groups, exclusive events, and sponsorship opportunities.
“Palm Beach Tech is just four years old, but we’re growing up fast,” said Palm Beach Tech’s CEO and President Joe Russo “I’m proud that Nikki shares our vision of having a dynamic impact on the South Florida Tech Industry – we’re aiming to have an exciting year.”
Cabus brings experience in leadership, sales and marketing to the organization. She is the founder of getITgirl, an initiative focused on bringing more women into leadership and technology roles. She most recently served as client services manager for Consultis, an IT staffing firm. To promote tech community development, Cabus served as a board member and marketing chair for TechLauderdale and was chief marketing strategist for the South Florida Technology Alliance. She attended Palm Beach State College and The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach.
“I’m looking forward to building the Palm Beaches and South Florida into a tech hub by connecting the community with the right resources in order to bring real scalable growth, which spotlights the region as a tech hub,” Cabus said. “This includes closing the cultural and gender gap to include people from all walks all life to create an ecosystem full of innovative solutions and a real digital transformations for all in our community.”
Palm Beach Tech also announced Joe Russo was promoted to President and CEO, along with leadership changes to its board of directors. Current Co-Chair Cam Collins of DockMaster is stepping down after two years but remaining on the board. David Bates of Gunster will remain as Co-Chair.
Board member Michael Fowler, Vice President of IT for FPL, takes over as Board Chairman.
“I look forward to continuing to scale PBT around our core initiatives of talent, brand and community to reach our ultimate goal of building the Palm Beaches into a Tech Hub,” said Fowler. “We’ve grow significantly over the past few years and now have the ability to have an even bigger, more meaningful impact in the community.”
Board member Frank Barbato, CEO of Third Wave Technology, will be Vice Chair of the board and oversee member engagement efforts.
“This year I believe Palm Beach Tech will hit a tipping point in terms of membership, success of our programs and economic benefit in which we begin to achieve the impact on Palm Beach County as a vibrant Tech area,” Barbato said.
Palm Beach Tech is adding 7 new Board Members this year for a total 21, with an emphasis on education and diversity. Mike Conway & Mihai Fonoage sit on FAU advisory boards; Sheela VanHoose leads advocacy efforts for Code.org; and 33% of the Board is represented by women, including former GE CTO Cathy Miron and RedVentures / BankRate Director April Fulton.
The Full Board Roster can be found by Clicking Here
What’s next for Palm Beach Tech? “We must unite the South Florida Tech Industry to have the impact we all desire, and our Board intends to be aggressively collaborative to do just that,” said Russo.