A who’s who of the local business community celebrated four regional leaders March 25 at Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida’s annual banquet honoring this year’s Business Hall of Fame inductees.

Since its local inception in 1988, Junior Achievement has recognized influential, visionary leaders from the business community who have made a significant impact, created new opportunities and elevated the educational landscape in the community. During the last four decades, the parade of laureates has ranged from Collier County founder Barron G. Collier Sr. as one of its first inductees to this year’s Aysegul Timur, president of Florida Gulf Coast University, who gave an emotional acceptance speech.

Joining Timur on the prestigious list of laureates for 2025 are Timothy Cartwright, co-founder and partner of the Naples-based Fifth Avenue Family Office wealth management team; and William Price Jr. and Matthew Price, chair of the board and CEO, respectively, of Seagate Development Group, headquartered in Fort Myers.

They were saluted at a fundraising banquet at Naples Grande Beach Resort, where $255,500 was raised for Junior Achievement, a nonprofit organization that provides local youth with programs for work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills.

“We have to help young people navigate what is confusing sometimes and can be scary. This idea of educational pathways, JA makes that exciting and fun and opportunistic,” said Tim Greinert, president of Junior Achievement USA, who told business leaders in attendance that young people need access to them and their companies so that they can see a future that they fit in.

The local event, chaired for the fifth year by Stacey Herring of Morgan Stanley Private Bank and Laureate Chair Sandy Stilwell Youngquist of Stilwell Enterprises & Restaurant Group, was emceed by Amanda Hall of WINK News and Scott Robertson of Champion Fundraising Auctions. Prerecorded personal interviews and testimonials introduced banquet attendees to each laureate and their unique entrepreneurial journey to success.

Aysegul Timur

Appointed as the fifth president of FGCU in 2023, Timur has established herself as a transformative force in higher education and regional economic development. She joined FGCU in 2019 and previously served as vice president and vice provost for strategy and program innovation, where she led initiatives that bridged academia and the business world. Timur was pivotal in the launch of the university’s microcredentialing and digital badges initiative, which ensures that students gain skills preparing them for the workforce.

“If you really think about her journey in life, it really feels kind of like the quintessential American success story. She has not let any obstacle slow her down or keep her from achieving her dreams,” said Michael Wynn, president of Sunshine Ace Hardware and chair of FGCU’s board of trustees. “She really shows that grit, determination and hard work can take you far.”

Timothy Cartwright

Driven by faith and family, Cartwright’s entrepreneurial journey led him into a career where he co-created a local business to provide multigenerational financial planning to high-net-worth families. Cartwright also is chair and founder of Tamiami Angel Funds LLC, Southwest Florida’s first angel investment fund; and he is a general partner at Adrenaline Venture Fund, where he actively supports innovative business startups.

“Tim has always been supportive of the university and a very effective advocate of FGCU and is very willing to be generous with his time and meeting with local legislators and community leaders,” said William Bradshaw, a former president of FGCU.

William Price Jr. and Matthew Price

As Seagate’s visionary patriarch, Bill Price, is joined by his son, Matt, in developing and constructing complex, high-profile projects on national and international levels, including 4.5 million square feet of commercial property in Florida. The company’s innovative design-build process streamlines the financing, acquisition and development of projects. Seagate has expanded with commercial, residential and property management divisions.

“The visionary attributes that Bill and Matt bring to Southwest Florida are game changers. They are true inspirations for everybody in our business and certainly an inspiration to the next generation we’re trying to inspire to develop a culture of legacy leaving things better than you found them, and that’s so important that Bill and Matt are always focused on. They’re just a natural for this recognition,” said Gary Tasman, CEO and principal broker of Cushman & Wakefield commercial real estate firm.