Local Real Estate, Health Care and Private Equity Leaders to Speak at BNS

Three leaders in the real estate development, health care and private equity investment industries will share their expertise at the final Business Network Symposium of the 2012-2013 academic year on Tuesday, April 9, at The University of Tampa.

The event begins with a continental breakfast at 7:15 a.m., and the program runs from 7:45–9 a.m. The symposium will be held in the Vaughn Center Crescent Club and is free and open to the public.

The three speakers are Gary Prosterman, Stephen R. Mason and Phillip Dingle.

Gary Prosterman has founded successful enterprises in real estate development, hospitality, health care and investment banking. His primary business is Development Services Group (DSG), which has developed 24 hotels and 23 health care facilities around the United States. DSG’s current focus is adaptive restoration of existing buildings in urban cores, and the company is redeveloping Tampa’s Old Federal Courthouse into a four star Le Meridien Hotel.

Stephen R. Mason is the president and CEO of BayCare Health System, the largest community-based health system in the Tampa Bay area with more than 19,600 employees, 10 hospitals and 200 access points. Mason came to BayCare in May 2004 with more than 30 years of experience in the health care industry and has successfully championed several major initiatives and system-wide improvements at BayCare.

Phillip Dingle is a managing partner and founding principal of HealthEdge Investment Partners, a private equity firm that focuses exclusively on the health care industry. Prior to HealthEdge, Dingle served as CEO of PlanVista Corporation from 2000 until its merger with ProxyMed Inc. in 2004, helping transform a low-margin, debt-laden third party administrator business into a leaner and more robust medical cost management firm.

The event is hosted by The University of Tampa Board of Fellows, and the presenting sponsor is Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. Other sponsors include the Tampa Bay Business Journal and Sodexo Campus Services. The Board of Fellows holds this networking event three times a year to allow businesses that are well known, changing or new to the Tampa Bay area the opportunity to share their accomplishments and plans with the business community.