St. Pete X

On this episode of SPx, former director of UNICEF (1995 to 2005) and the United States Peace Corps (1993 to 1995), Carol Bellamy joins Joe in the studio to preview her keynote at the Conference on World Affairs. Bellamy discusses the lessons learned from her rich professional history, which began in the private sector, moved to politics, and later into global public service efforts. Bellamy shares her work immunizing children around the globe with UNICEF and preventing terrorism with the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund. As first female President of New York City Council, elected in 1977, Bellamy discussses the state of gender discrimination around the globe.

On this episode of SPx, Paresh Patel, CEO of HCI Group, joins Joe Hamilton in the studio. In this wide-ranging conversation, Patel shares his introduction to Tampa Bay in 1985 with tech company Paradyne, his professional evolution through the years in tech, real estate, banking and insurance, and the various opportunities that have presented themselves at unexpected times. Patel talks business philosophy, values and diversity at HCI Group.

On this episode of SPx, former CEO of Tech Data Steve Raymund joins Joe in the studio. Raymund stepped down as chairmain of the board of Tech Data in 2017, following 36 years with the company. Tech Data was founded by Raymund's father, but it was under his own leadership that the company began its meteoric rise, going national and then global to become one of the Florida's largest companies.

On this episode of SPx, local real estate developer Jonathan Daou joins Joe in the studio. Daou, the man behind the revitalization and curation of the EDGE District, shares how 20 years in New York helped him craft the EDGE District experience. Daou shares the philosophy behind his retail investments, the vision behind district-building, and his aspirations for St. Petersburg as a whole.

On this episode of SPx, Shipwreck Hunter and Aresty speaker David Mearns joins Joe in the studio to talk about uncovering some of the world's most famous shipwrecks and finding the "unfindable." Mearns shares the painstaking process of locating a shipwreck, the all-or-nothing stakes and the controversies attached to these discoveries. He shares the incredible story of the HMAS Sydney and the Kormoran, and how he cracked the code to find the location of the ships' wreckage in 2008.

On this episode of SPx, Tony DiBenedetto joins our host Joe Hamilton in the studio. In this insightful episode, DiBenedetto walks listeners through the unlikely founding of Tribridge and the $300,000 check that brought it to fruition. He explains the tenets of Tribridge's culture, and the many acquisitions, pivots and evolutions before its eventual sale. DiBenedetto's talks coming "off the rocket ship" and into his new normal as a mentor and founder of Think Big For Kids.

On this episode of SPx, Blake Wilson, a.k.a. BatDad joins our host Joe Hamilton in the studio. BatDad, a viral internet sensation who became famous through the now-extinct platform Vine, has 8.1 million followers on Facebook and 722,000 subscribers on YouTube. Through the last six years as BatDad, Wilson has taken the internet by storm and monetized his platforms enough to make BatDad his full time job. Two years ago, Wilson and his family moved to St. Petersburg, Fla., and is now a local St. Pete gem.

Former Tampa Bay Times Political Editor and Senior Vice President of Mercury, Adam Smith joins our host Joe Hamilton in the studio for a conversation on politics, media and the news business. Smith explains why regional newspapers are so important to the vitality of our republic and why he fears they may be on the way out. Joe and Adam cover everything from media silos like Fox News to the many characters of Florida politics past and present, and why Smith decided to leave the Times after 20 years to begin a new career in strategic communications.

On this episode of SPx, author Gilbert King joins Joe in the studio to share new insights from his book, Beneath A Ruthless Sun, and its connections to his Pulitzer Prize-winning second book, The Devil In The Grove. King shares the true story of the brutal man involved in both cases, Sheriff Willis McCall, and how King dug up long-forgotten/buried history through research and interviews. King talks about the craft of non-fiction writing, and how his stories grow from the simple premise of a crime to reflections on criminal justice and America itself.

On this episode of SPx, our host Joe Hamilton is joined in studio by the unparalleled Iqbal Paroo. There are few people in this world with a life story as inspiring as Paroo's. From his childhood in colonial Kenya to his time in the Kenyan air force, to the traumatic injury that changed the course of his life, Paroo has packed three lifetimes into one. He shares his story, his professional trajectory and how he made his way to St. Pete. Paroo talks becoming a hospital CEO at 25, and president of a university at 37, raising capital as an entrepreneurship and how race shaped his experience in the United States.