The Executive Committee of Enterprise Florida’s Board of Directors announced on Wednesday that Mike Grissom will be the interim President and CEO of Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI).
Grissom joined EFI in 2015 as vice president of external affairs and rose to become executive vice president. Before that, he was executive director of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) and as a senior director at the Florida Chamber of Commerce. According to EFI, in his new post, Grissom “will maintain his role in leading EFI’s legislative and external affairs efforts.”
Joe York, the vice chairman of the Enterprise Florida Board of Directors, weighed in on the promotion.
“Enterprise Florida’s Executive Committee is proud to select Mike Grissom as EFI’s interim president and CEO. Mike has demonstrated great leadership during his tenure at EFI and I look forward to working with him as we continue our efforts to expand and diversify the state’s economy,” York said.
“I am honored to serve as Enterprise Florida’s interim president and CEO, and am grateful to the Executive Committee for their vote of confidence,” said Grissom. “I am excited to lead EFI as we work with our Board of Directors and stakeholders statewide to make Florida the leader in job creation.”
EFI defines itself as a “partnership between Florida’s businesses and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for Florida. EFI facilitates job growth through recruitment and retention, international trade and exporting, promotion of sporting events, and capital funding programs to assist small and minority businesses.”
In recent years, EFI has been under fire from conservatives in the Legislature but efforts to remove public money from it, led by former state House Speaker Richard Corcoran, stalled thanks in large part to Gov. Rick Scott continuing to back it.
