Jeff Vinik Set to Speak at UT’s Main Street Speaker Series Oct. 28

On Friday, Oct. 28, The University of Tampa will welcome Jeff Vinik, chairman and governor of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning, who will discuss “Engineering a World-Class Entrepreneurial Community” as part of the John P. Lowth Entrepreneurship Center in the Sykes College of Business’ Main Street Speaker Series.

The event begins with lunch at 12:30 p.m., with the presentation running from 1:10–2:05 p.m. It will be held at the Tampa Convention Center, West Hall, located at 333 S. Franklin St.

Vinik earned degrees from Duke University and the Harvard School of Business. He went on to manage investments for Fidelity as well as his own company, Vinik Asset Management.

Seeing value in Tampa Bay, he purchased the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010, and the team reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2015. To date, Vinik has donated more than $11 million to local charities through the Lightning’s Community Hero Program.

Along with Cascade Investment, Vinik is also the owner of a planned $3 billion mixed use real estate development in downtown Tampa.

The event is sponsored by NorthStar Bank. Individual tickets are $50 and a corporate sponsorship table of 10 is $500 (five seat go to students).

Register by Monday, Oct. 24, at MSSatCEO.eventbrite.com. For more information, contact Jacki Bishop at jabishop@ut.edu or (813) 257-3227.