Southwest Florida's 50 Top Power Players

Every place has its power players—those individuals who play a lead role in molding their community.

Some, like developers Al Hoffman and Scott Lutgert, have money, family connections or political pull to leverage their influence. Others carry weight with help from their professional positions, such as The News-Press’ Carol Hudler or Colonial Bank’s Harlan Parrish. And some, like Dr. Mark Asperilla or banker Robbie Roepstorff, have the strength of their personalities on their side.

Whatever the source of their power, the real movers and shakers exercise those personal resources along with their talents and intelligence to make a difference in their business and their community, whether it be geographical, professional, jurisdictional or otherwise.

So who are Southwest Florida’s power players? We consulted with a number of sources and came up with the following list of 50 people. Not all are high-profile individuals, although their accomplishments—or charisma—might attract public attention.

Of course, any list of this kind is subjective. We know that not everyone will agree with all of the choices. However, this isn’t intended to be a roster of the most important, popular or recognizable figures—or the nicest. It is a compilation of the most powerful people in Southwest Florida right now.

See if you agree.

1. Arthur Allen
More than 40 years of experience led Allen, president and CEO of Naples-based ASG Software Solutions, to his spot among software industry leaders. He has built ASG into a multinational corporation with more than 90 offices worldwide. He hosts international business and political leaders and supports local causes.

2. Jack Antaramian
The prolific real estate developer is widely credited for the renaissance of downtown Naples. He embraced the mixed-use concept before it was fashionable (at least in Southwest Florida), and placed residences over commercial spaces along Naples’ Fifth Avenue South. The streetwise Massachusetts native has several other upscale developments in Naples and on Marco Island.

3. Dr. Mark Asperilla
An infectious disease specialist, this Port Charlotte physician has been nationally recognized for his humanitarian efforts. He established a local biowarfare response team and travels abroad to treat the underserved via ACCESS Care, a nonprofit organization he founded. Developing a new Microtel Inn & Suites Hotel in Port Charlotte is one of his many business ventures.

4. George Beasley
Founder and CEO of Naples-based Beasley Broadcast Group, he was named one of the "40 Most Powerful People in Radio" by Radio Ink magazine in 2006. He has grown his company from one station in Benson, N.C., in 1961 to a publicly traded company with $125.2 million in annual revenues and 44 stations in 11 markets, including Philadelphia, Miami, Las Vegas and Atlanta.

5. Samira Beckwith
A cancer survivor, the president and CEO of Hope Hospice and Community Services is dedicated to improving end-of-life care. She expanded her influence on public policy and education in 2004 as national director of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. She participates in national health policy forums and provides expert testimony before government bodies, including the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.

6. Lucas Benitez
By staging a successful, nationwide boycott of Taco Bell, the executive of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers pressured tomato growers to improve the working conditions and wages of tomato pickers. Benitez, who once worked in the local fields, helped lead a similar protest against McDonald’s, which also agreed to the fair labor terms. Next on the list? Burger King.

7. Wilson Bradshaw
Since becoming president of Florida Gulf Coast University in November, Bradshaw has taken decisive actions, removing the university’s provost and firing a controversial coach. He believes boosting athletics and expanding online course offerings will raise the school’s profile, and has near-term plans to spend $2 million on new faculty.

8. James Browder
Tapped as superintendent of the Lee County School District in 2003, Browder has been credited with smoothing the famously contentious relationship between superintendent and school board and has helped bring stability to the fast-growing district.

9. Joe Catti
Known for community leadership in such organizations as FGCU, Lee Memorial Health System and Southwest Florida Community Foundation, Catti served as president of Northern Trust in Fort Myers. In 2006, he took steps to launch FineMark National Bank and Trust. Under his reign as president and CEO, assets under trust department management broke $100 million in less than a year.

10. Todd Gates
The gentlemanly builder is known to volunteer his time and money to myriad community causes. The Virginia native is also a tough critic of officials when he feels they’re not giving his industry a fair shake. His Naples-based company, GATES, sells and manages real estate, is responsible for the construction of multimillion-dollar projects in the region, and has expanded into Panama.

11. Sam Galloway Jr.
His influence extends far beyond his family’s car dealership dynasty. Galloway is president of the Edison and Ford Winter Estates Foundation, among other community affiliations. With strong convictions and a forceful personality, he carries political weight, hosting fundraisers for state and national candidates.

12. Dennis Gilkey
He is known for his 23 years as a Bonita Bay Group exec as well as for his service to the Horizon Council, local Urban Land Institute and other organizations. Last year, he struck out on his own and started Gilkey Organization, a land-use consulting company that already represents some of the region’s biggest land owners. He stands out for an ability to bring together environmental and development interests.

13. J. Dudley Goodlette
A leader in local economic development efforts and the founding of FGCU, the former State Representative championed high-profile causes such as transportation, as well as judicial rights of indigent families. Since terming-out of the Legislature in 2006, he has returned to the Naples law firm he founded and become a lobbyist with the national firm Southern Strategy Group.

14. Porter Goss
He was a critical figure in the incorporation of Sanibel, which he served as its first mayor, and subsequently was a Lee County commissioner and U.S. Congressman. Best known as former director of the CIA, he retired in 2006 and returned to Sanibel. He continues to exercise his influence in environmental efforts, such as improving water quality in Southwest Florida’s delicate ecosystem.

15. Al Hanser
With more than four decades of investment and banking experience, Hanser pulled together a team of Sanibel and Captiva islands’ heavyweights as board members and formed the Sanibel Captiva Trust Company. Not only does the company now rank among the top in the state in terms of trust assets, chairman and CEO Hanser channels his influence toward numerous philanthropic initiatives.

16. Al Hoffman
The founder and chairman of WCI Communities retired as CEO of the Bonita Springs-based company in 2006, after being nominated by President Bush to serve as ambassador to Portugal. Hoffman returned last year to Fort Myers and now the former Republican National Committee finance chair is reportedly one of John McCain’s biggest fundraisers in Florida.

17. Carol Hudler
President and publisher of The News-Press, Hudler oversees Gannett-owned newspaper operations in Florida, Louisiana and Michigan. She is the current chair of Lee County’s Horizon Council and is sought after by civic and philanthropic organizations.

18. Carl Icahn
He’s been referred to as a billionaire financier and corporate raider, qualities demonstrated in his dust-up with Bonita Springs-based WCI Communities, once a powerhouse among luxury homebuilders. He tried to buy the failing company, only to be rebuffed by its board. A major shareholder, he then sought board control by campaigning for the election of his comrades. Eventually, a truce was called, and now he’s board chairman.

19. Nancy Keefer
Since becoming president and CEO of the Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce in 1997, she has guided the chamber’s growth from about 600 to 1,300 members, making it one of the region’s largest chambers. Keefer served on former Gov. Jeb Bush’s task force on affordable health insurance, and is vice chair of the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals and a director of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives.

20. Syd Kitson
After the state tried for years and failed to buy the Babcock Ranch property, this professional football player-turned-developer reached a deal with the sellers, and then made a historic deal with the state and Lee and Charlotte counties to preserve 74,000 of the 91,000-acre property. His company, Kitson & Partners of West Palm Beach, plans to build a town of 45,000 people on the remaining 17,000 acres.

21. Kim Patrick Kobza
He is president and CEO of Neighborhood America, a Naples-based company that has established a foothold in the global market with its innovative, Web-based communications tools. Clients and projects include Fox News, the Statue of Liberty and the World Trade Center memorial.

22. Jeff Kottkamp
Florida’s lieutenant governor, the approachable attorney and former state representative remains active in Southwest Florida, despite a busy schedule in Tallahassee as chairman of the board of Space Florida, head of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and more. If, as has been speculated, Charlie Crist were to be tapped as a Republican vice presidential candidate, the governor’s seat would fall to Kottkamp.