Egasti is actively mentoring two Wave AdTech companies: My Area Network and SavvyCard
TAMPA, FL (March 28, 2019) – Tampa Bay Wave, Inc. (Wave), a local nonprofit dedicated to helping entrepreneurs build, launch, and grow breakout tech businesses in Tampa Bay, welcomes Jamie Egasti as their newest Executive Entrepreneur-in-Residence, following Tony DiBenedetto and Steven MacDonald’s appointment in 2018.
Wave’s Entrepreneurs-in-Residence are dedicated to guiding Wave’s Accelerator members through the process of building, launching, and growing a successful tech startup in addition to cultivating meaningful, strategic relationships with members. Tampa Bay Wave created the Executive EIR role to specifically mentor their Grow Companies who are focused on scaling their business and fundraising. Executive EIR’s are mentors who have achieved significant professional accomplishments as an Entrepreneur or Executive.
Tampa Bay Wave has made a variety of recent additions to their organization, selecting community business leaders with executive experience coupled with a passion for guiding startups and supporting homegrown businesses. Alex Sink, businesswoman and former elected official, is now Wave’s Board Chair. Widely known for her high-level banking career and political achievements, Sink also has a long track record of successful mentorship, guiding several budding entrepreneurs to the executive level; many of whom continue to grow their businesses in Tampa Bay.
“Jamie Egasti is an outstanding addition to Tampa Bay Wave’s executive mentor network” said Alex Sink, Tampa Bay Wave’s Board Chair. “It is exciting to see the increasing executive support for Tampa Bay Wave’s mission and the forging of meaningful, strategic relationships with Wave Accelerator members.
Get to know Wave’s newest Executive Entrepreneur-In-Residence:
Jamie Egasti spent 30 years at Procter & Gamble with increasing responsibility in sales, marketing, innovation and general management roles leading to CEO positions in consumer packaged goods and the data enabled platform technology space.
Throughout his career, he has served on boards of private equity portfolio companies as well as early stage and growth companies, along with advisory board roles in academia focused on innovation.
At Catalina, Jamie led all aspects of the transformation including strategy, acquisitions/divestitures, organization restructure and operating plan. This included the successful sale of the Company from Hellman & Friedman to Berkshire Partners for 11.3X EBITDA, delivering a 3X increase in valuation. As CEO of The Folgers Coffee Company, Jamie led the development of the strategy, organizational structure and operating plan to spin to a publicly traded company. Folgers was successfully sold to JMSmucker for $3.3B in 2008.
Jamie has extensive experience in early growth and venture-backed companies with board roles in the data enabled technology, digital media and healthcare space including; Pathfactory, a content and insight activation platform, Resource Interactive, a digital advertising agency, Mr. Youth, a social media agency, Thinkvine, a marketing technology/measurement company and Linkwell, a digital healthcare solutions company. All these experiences have provided an opportunity to leverage domain expertise in marketing, innovation and value creation.
“I am delighted to work with the Wave in helping to support the acceleration of the tech startup ecosystem in Tampa Bay,” stated Jamie Egasti.
To learn more about Tampa Bay Wave and its Executive EIR program, please visit www.tampabaywave.org/accelerator/executive-eir
ABOUT TAMPA BAY WAVE:
Tampa Bay Wave, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing local entrepreneurs with facilitated access to the resources, expertise, and capital they need to grow vibrant technology-based companies in Tampa Bay and create high wage tech jobs, thus fostering an innovation-based economy for the region. Since March 2013, Tampa Bay Wave has supported more than 200 tech startups in Tampa Bay thanks to grant funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), plus support from its economic development partners Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa. Tampa Bay Wave also receives support from corporate partners such as Bank of America, Florida Blue, Foley & Lardner, Sourcetoad, Sykes Enterprises, Tampa Bay Rays, TECO, Trenam Law, Valley National Bank (previously USAmeriBank), Florida Business Development Corporation and The Nielsen Foundation. For more information, visit www.tampabaywave.org.
Please note: Tampa Bay Wave is no longer referred to as “WaVE”. Please use “Wave” in all future reporting.
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