CEO to Host Global Conference in Tampa Oct. 26–28

The Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO), which has its global headquarters in The University of Tampa’s Lowth Entrepreneurship Center, will host its annual CEO Global Conference Oct. 26–28, 2017, at the Hilton Tampa Downtown.

Nearly 1,000 student entrepreneurs (and their faculty advisors) from around the world are expected to come to Tampa for the 34th annual three-day conference, “Stop Dreaming and Start Doing,” where attendees network with other entrepreneurial-minded students and listen to presentations from seasoned entrepreneurs, subject matter experts, motivational speakers and fellow students who are making the transition from dreamers to doers.

Guest speakers at this year’s conference include Craig Dubitsky, founder of hello products and part of the team that created Method and eos; Crawford Ker, founder of WingHouse Bar + Grill and former Dallas Cowboy; Garrett Weber-Gale, CEO of the Acton School of Business and former U.S. Olympic gold medalist; Braydon Moreno, co-founder of Robo 3D; Scott Peeples, co-founder of PeerFit; Brett Culp, acclaimed filmmaker; and John Shegerian, executive chairman of ERI. Nearly 50 other subject matter experts will speak on a wide variety of topics of interest to aspiring and nascent entrepreneurs.

One of the highlights of the conference is the CEO Global Pitch Competition, where student-entrepreneurs will have 90 seconds to pitch their startup business idea to a panel of judges for a chance to win part of $15,000 in prize money.

The conference is sponsored by The University of Tampa, Northwestern Mutual, Hillsborough County, The John E. Hughes Foundation, The Coleman Foundation, Marketplace Live Simulations, The University of Florida and Florida State University. The conference generates an economic impact of more than $400,000 to the Tampa Bay region and highlights Tampa and the region of Tampa Bay as a favorable place to live, work and play to these collegiate entrepreneurs.

For more information, contact James Zebrowski, managing director of CEO, at jzebrowski@ut.edu.