Our Boards

Benjamin Bright is Director – Sales & Use Taxes at Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), which is a leading healthcare services company that owns and operates hospitals and surgery centers. This is Benjamin’s second time at HCA. Before having the opportunity to return to HCA, Mr. Bright was Senior Director – State Taxes at VF Corporation, which is a leader in branded apparel, including Leeâ, Wranglerâ, Nauticaâ, JanSportâ, The North Faceâ, Vansâ, and Timberlandâ, among other leading brands. Mr. Bright has also worked with a regional accounting firm and Service Merchandise Company, Inc.

Mr. Bright has spoken at the Georgetown Advanced State and Local Tax Institute, IPT (Institute for Professionals in Taxation) conferences, has participated as a panelist at several COST (Council on State Taxation) conferences and facilitated at COST’s State & Local Tax Basics School. He has served at the request of the North Carolina Department of Revenue on its Business Tax Advisory Committee. He is on the Board of Directors for COST, and he is on the Advisory Board for Step Up for Students, a Florida Tax Credit program. Mr. Bright is a licensed CPA and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants. He received his degree in accounting from Tennessee Technological University.

Brian, a Partner and Southeast Market Tax Leader with PwC, has over 30 years of experience as a tax professional. He has and continues to serve a wide variety of public and privately held clients in the manufacturing, retail, and distribution sectors. Brian’s client base is comprised of both public and private companies. Brian focuses in the federal tax area, serving clients’ needs for tax compliance and consulting, income tax accounting, acquisitions and divestitures, accounting methods, and IRS examinations. Brian is also responsible for coordinating the work of our specialty tax practices for his clients, such as international tax services, state and local tax, and transfer pricing.

Brian graduated from Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan) with a BA in Accounting. Prior to relocating to Tampa, Brian practiced in Detroit and Milwaukee. He has active CPA licenses in Michigan, Wisconsin and Florida. He is a member of the AICPA, FICPA, WICPA, and MACPA and is a former board member of the WICPA Educational Foundation.

Cole Peacock Is President of RC Peacock Consulting that credits Storm Smart Corporation, N2N Global, Blackstone Capital, Exeter Finance, VeraData, Arthrex, Hope Hospice, Florida Retail Federation, Retail Companies, Harley Davidson, Harry Chapin Food Bank, and Political candidates on all levels as some of his clients. He is Founder / Partner, Seed And Bean Market, Co-Founder of Pure Native Premium Hemp, and Co-Founder of C3 Investments Group US . He was appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Governor’s Office as Vice- Chairman of the First Hemp/Cannabis Statewide Advisory Board He is a past retail executive at Chico’s FAS, a Fortune 500 corporation, and has also managed political campaigns on the state and local level, served as President of the Lee County YMCA’s, Co-Founded Game Nation Theme Parks.

Peacock is a member of the 2013 Florida Gulf Coast University’s Lutgert School of Business Board of Directors, 2011/2012 Leadership Florida Regional Advisory Board, 2008/2009 Leadership Florida Class, past Community Advisor for News-Press Editorial Board, Board Member with the Florida Chamber and Executive Board for the Florida Retail Federation. In addition, he serves on a number of non-profit boards including Chair of the Children’s Advocacy Council, Edison Ford Winter Estates, Vice Chair, Uncommon Friends Foundation and the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools.

Deb Cone is the Community Affairs Director of Cone Distributing in Ocala, Florida. She is a sixth-generation Floridian raised in Tampa and a graduate of Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

She lives in Ocala with her husband, Douglas Cone, Jr. with whom she shares three adult children and two grandchildren. She is active in the Junior League of Ocala and a Leadership Ocala/Marion graduate.

Ejola Cook, is the Executive Director of the FIADA. Prior to joining FIADA Ms. Cook had been the Senior Vice President, and Chief Legal Officer, for Off Lease Only LLC, one of the largest privately-owned independent dealerships in the United States, having sold over 47,000 vehicles out of its four stores in 2019. Prior to joining Off Lease Only, Ejola was a junior partner at The Ticktin Law Group, overseeing the complex commercial litigation, consumer, and intellectual property cases. During her time at Off Lease Only Ms. Cook implemented streamlined legal and compliance process within the company and established strong working relationships with state and local regulators. As the Senior Vice President oversaw many of the aspects of the dealerships including the development of new dealerships.

Born in a small coastal town in The Netherlands, to a Dutch Mother and a British Father, Ms. Cook spent much of her youth living and traveling around the world. By the time she was fourteen she had lived in Nigeria, England, Holland, Virgin Islands, Guatemala and the U.S. and could speak fluent English and Dutch. Ms. Cook and her husband, Paul Cook, an active reservist in the Air Force, have four children ages 15, 13, 10, and 8, and own also own a thriving equestrian farm in Coconut Creek, Florida.

Gary is Senior Vice President, Florida Commercial Banking at US Bank.

US Bank is the 5th largest Commercial Bank in the U.S., has the strongest third-party credit rating, and is the only bank named amongst Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical companies the past 4 years. Gary joined US Bank in 2017 to assist its expansion into Florida and has over 20 years of experience in helping corporate customers access a wide variety credit, treasury, and capital markets products and services. In addition to helping companies, Gary is a strong advocate for both school choice and STEM education. He received a B.S. in Civil & Environmental Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, and an M.B.A. from Emory University.

Gordon Fales was born in New York City, graduated from Colgate University and served in the U.S. Coast Guard before beginning his business career with American Airlines. He and his family moved to Miami where he continued his aviation career with Eastern Airlines and Air Florida. In 2002 he was working as Community Redevelopment officer for Pointe Bank when he became involved with a school in the Overtown section of Miami. The school and the families were significantly supported by and benefitted from Step Up for Students scholarships. It was here that he became enthusiastically involved. Beyond gaining a significant contribution from his bank, he continues to be active introducing businesses, including banks and potential scholarship families to our programs. He also participates in local celebrations of our students accomplishments.

Jeff is a Tax Manager and Functional Lead of State Income Taxes and Audits at SAP America, Inc. In this role he is responsible for overseeing the state income tax compliance & reporting function as well as supporting the federal income tax compliance & reporting function. Prior to SAP America, Inc., Jeff was Senior Manager, State Income Tax at URBN, the parent company of Urban Outfitters, Free People, and Anthropologie, where he was responsible for overseeing the state income tax compliance & reporting function in addition to credits and incentives. Jeff began his career in public accounting having worked for both Deloitte Tax LLP and Ernst and Young LLP which included working in a national practice focused on credits and incentives. He graduated from Miami University (Oxford, OH) with a B.S. in Accounting and a minor in Management Information Systems. Additionally, Jeff has an MBA from Wayne State University (Detroit, MI). He has an active CPA license in Pennsylvania. He currently resides in the Philadelphia suburbs with his wife and two children.

Jeff is the Government Affairs Manager at Waste Management and has been with the company since 1979. He is responsible for Public Sector Services, based in Hobe Sound, and for interfacing with Government Agencies in the surrounding six counties. Jeff’s role as Government Affairs Manager includes Statewide Strategic Initiative coordination and oversight of outreach activities for Waste Management. Jeff is a charter member of the Keep America Beautiful affiliates of Florida and former chairperson of the Palm Beach Gardens Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. He also serves on the Big Heart Brigade of the Treasure Coast, Keep Martin and Palm Beach Counties Beautiful, Okeechobee County Education Foundation, President of the Business Development Board and board member of the Economic Council of Martin County, Trustee on the Northern Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce, Presidents Council member of the Hobe Sound Chamber of Commerce and former Palm City Chamber of Commerce Board member.

Kimberly is Founder and Executive Director of FL Institute of CFOs (fiCFO). fiCFO is a protected, thought intelligence organization for CFOs of Florida’s leading companies. fiCFO provides a secure CFO community peer group that promotes the development of key professional relationships so that CFOs may learn and grow together, share best practices and experiences, and serve as a sounding board for technical and business matters. Kimberly oversees operations, planning, programming, membership and client relations.

Step Up For Students if fiCFO’s Choice Charity Partner. fiCFO is honored to promote opportunities to educate fiCFO members and partners about Step Up, and encourages them to support Step Up for Student’s extraordinary cause.

Prior to fiCFO, Kimberly served as an outsourced business development professional through her company, NextStep Strategies. She optimized opportunities for growth in a myriad of industries for companies ranging from start-up businesses to Fortune 500. As a business development professional, she has been responsible for leading growth and expansion plans, including strategic partnering, channel partnering, public relations, marketing, and sales initiatives. Kimberly designed, implemented and facilitated marketing and client service tactics that resulted in increased visibility, revenues, and enhanced customer service.

Matt serves as Senior Vice President at Raymond James Financial, Inc. responsible for supervision of traditional and specialized products, investment advisory programs, ERISA solutions, banking and lending products, as well as leading fiduciary change initiatives corresponding to other federal (e.g. DOL) or state fiduciary rules or proposals. He also serves on the firm’s Private Client Group Operating Committee. Over the course of 20 years he has held a number of other product area, compliance and risk management roles at the firm. He holds the Series 7, 24, 55, 63, and 99 securities licenses, and is a SIFMA Securities Industry Institute at Wharton (SII), and Columbia Business School executive development program graduate. Matt began his career at Accenture where he focused primarily on restructuring business processes and organizational design in the context of enterprise resource planning software implementations. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1995 from Cornell University with Distinction in all Subjects, and received his M.B.A. from the University of South Florida in 2006. He was born and raised in Queens, New York, and currently resides in St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife and children. As a proponent of the idea that quality education for all is the biggest key to a healthy and productive society, Matt is honored to serve on the Step Up For Students Advisory Board.

Michael is Vice President-Tax and Shareholder Relations at Beall’s, Inc., parent company of Bealls Stores, Inc., Beall’s Outlet Stores, Inc., and Burke’s Outlet Stores, LLC. Michael joined the company in 1996 and is responsible for the Tax and Treasury Departments. Previously, Michael spent 11 years in public accounting at a firm in Albany, New York. He earned his CPA license in New York and graduated from Siena College in 1985 with a B.B.A. in Accounting and a minor in Computer Science. Michael also sits on the Tax Committee of the National Retail Federation, the Board of Trustees for FL Tax Watch, and the Humane Society of Manatee County.

Michele Cavallo holds a leadership role as the Director of Small and Medium Business Solutions at Duke Energy. Duke Energy is the nation’s largest utility serving approximately 7 million customers in the Midwest, Carolinas and Florida. Michele joined Duke Energy predecessor, Florida Power in 1989 and has extensive experience in external relations, customer service and economic development. She is a member of the Public Policy Council of the St. Petersburg Chamber. Michele received her B.S. in Management from Florida State University and an MBA from the University of South Florida.

Paul Shoukry is Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE: RJF). He is responsible for the overall financial management of the company, including balance sheet management, financial reporting, investor relations, corporate tax, cash management, regulatory reporting and financial planning and analysis. He is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

Mr. Shoukry joined Raymond James in 2010 to participate in the firm's Assistant to the Chairman program. He earned an MBA with honors from Columbia University. Before business school, Mr. Shoukry worked for a strategy consulting firm that focused on serving clients in the financial services industry. He started his career as a commercial banker after graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor and Master of Accounting from The University of Georgia. Mr. Shoukry also completed the Strategic CFO Program at The Wharton School. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Certified Treasury Professional, and a Series 7 and 27 holder.

Mr. Shoukry enjoys spending time with his wife and three children. He is passionate about childhood education and serves on the advisory board of Step Up for Students. He is the executive sponsor for the firm's multicultural network.

Troy Gross has lived in Florida since 2018 when he relocated to Saint Petersburg from Chicago. Troy is currently the Zone Finance Leader for the East Zone of Allstate Insurance Company where he has worked for the last five years, and prior to Allstate Troy worked in finance for several technology firms including 15 years at consulting firm Accenture. Troy has a bachelor’s degree from Lake Forest College, an MBA from the University of Illinois of Chicago, and he completed the Certified Financial Planner tm certification program at Northwestern University.

Troy served on the Lake Forest College alumni board for 8 years, and for several years was the Event Chair for the $1M American Cancer Society Walk & Roll Chicago annual event.