Making Waves

Most people spend their entire careers working to achieve what April Miller did in just three years.

In 2003, Miller graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University with a degree in finance. In 2006, she was named executive vice president and chief financial officer of Yacht Clubs of the Americas, today a $220 million company. Miller was just 25 years old at the time of her appointment.

"[My boss] called me into his office and basically said I didn’t have the 20 years’ experience one would find in a normal CFO, but there was a level of trust he had in me," she recalls. "He said, ‘You are going to be the CFO of this company.’"

Miller, now 27, proved herself through hard work—a trait she has demonstrated most of her life. She was raised in a low-income family with both of her parents disabled and living on Social Security income.

"Money was very tight growing up, and I never wanted to be put in that position again," Miller says, "so I have always worked very hard."

She earned a full scholarship to FGCU, got good grades and went straight to work. In 2004, she took at job as office manager and executive assistant with the nascent Yacht Clubs of America. The company quickly took off, and so did Miller’s career.

She admits she feels the scrutiny when working with business people twice her age—or more. However, years of over-achieving have imbued her with a quiet confidence.

So, too, did forays into the world of pageants—she’s a former Miss Cape Coral—and has competed in a variety of similar scholarship contests.

"I think that gave me a lot more confidence," says Miller. "When we’re traveling to meet a lender in New York and you walk into a boardroom that is 20 attorneys deep, I don’t get nervous, despite knowing that I am the youngest person in the room."