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The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) recently announced its FY 2023-24 board of directors officers.
The board is led by Amy Furness, co-managing shareholder for Carlton Fields Miami office as board chair; Hector J. Ponte, region bank president for Wells Fargo’s South Florida region, as chair-elect; Madeline Pumariega, president of Miami Dade College as first vice chair, and Alex Rhodes, national managing partner at Grant Thornton, as treasurer. In addition, Roberto Muñoz, president and CEO of The Global Financial Group LLC, will serve as immediate past chair.
The officers within the executive committee lead the chamber’s board of directors who are volunteer members representing businesses of all sizes from myriad industries, that oversee the chamber’s work areas and at-large members. Furness’ role as board chair includes assisting in membership development and strategy setting and advocating for important business issues supported by the chamber.
At the chamber’s 2023 Goals Conference and Annual Meeting of the Members, new board chair Furness detailed her vision for her year as chair, stating that she has selected three important goals from the chamber’s Strategic Plan: Improving engagement with members; partnering with education and innovation communities, and providing practical resources for small businesses.
Towards that end, Furness said, “We need to not only engage with current members but we need to connect with new ones, which must include attracting small businesses and Entrepreneurs. I intend to develop and foster a culture of collaboration and inclusion. Each of us plays a part in moving this organization forward.”
In announcing the chamber’s new chair, officers and directors, president and CEO of GMCC Alfred Sanchez said, “We are excited to welcome Amy and this dynamic group of professionals whose background and extensive experience will definitely make a positive impact in our community. As our economy continues to recover from these challenging times, we remain optimistic and look forward to our new board members’ business contributions in helping us achieve our goals.”
Furness is a trial lawyer who has dedicated her career to defending diverse clients, including both domestic and foreign corporations, in complex civil litigation, particularly product liability and commercial litigation. She is a frequent lecturer on product liability and professional liability matters. She defends product manufacturers in all forms of cases in the pharmaceutical, aviation, chemical, tobacco, and consumer product industries.
Ponte is region bank president for Wells Fargo’s South Florida region. He oversees 120 Wells Fargo branches and more than 1,300 employees in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. A 35-year veteran in financial services, Ponte began his career as a part-time teller with Florida National Bank in 1986, a Wells Fargo predecessor, and has held various branch, district and regional leadership roles.
Pumariega is the first female president appointed to lead Miami Dade College (MDC), one of the nation’s largest educational institutions, following 20 years of service at the college in positions of ascending responsibility. She also is an alumna of MDC.
In her role as MDC president, Pumariega has championed a new strategic plan for the college developed with input from more than 1,000 stakeholders and also has prioritized working with business partners to identify the skills needed by key industries and tailoring higher education programs to match those needs as part of her plan to position the College to deliver on its mission in a post-pandemic, technology-enabled world.
Rhodes is a partner in Grant Thornton’s audit services practice based in Fort Lauderdale with almost 20 years of experience serving publicly traded and privately held clients in an accounting, auditing and consulting capacity. Alex leads the Hospitality and Restaurant industry practice for Grant Thornton nationally.
Muñoz is the president and CEO of Global Financial Group LLC. He specializes in working with high-net-worth individuals and small to medium sized companies to improve their market targeting, key performance indicators, strategic debt planning, and execution strategies.
Muñoz has more than 40 years of financial industry experience covering the state of Florida, South and Central America, and the Caribbean in the areas of commercial banking, real estate and institutional lending, mergers and acquisitions, project finance as well as wealth and treasury management services.
For the full listing of 2023-24 board members, visit www.miamichamber.com/.
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