Dean Eisner

Dean Eisner

B.I.G.

Bright Ideas on the Gulf Coast

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Registration/Lunch: 11:30

Speaker: 12:00-1:00 pm

Dean Eisner came to Sarasota three years ago after retiring as the president and CEO of Manheim, a $3.8 billion company that leads the world in buying and selling autos at auctions and online. Then Eisner, 55, a full-time Longboat Key resident, tirelessly began working on selling another kind of vehicle, this one to encourage local entrepreneurship by connecting young innovators with mentors and investors to prevent the brain drain of the region’s most talented students and creative people. After presenting the concept to educational institutions, private sector investors and foundations, Eisner finally found the perfect “buyer”: Gulf Coast Community Foundation. With $100,000 in startup funds, the foundation is launching BIG, Bright Ideas for the Gulf Coast, and will be hiring a project director, with an opening date later this year. Eisner will stay involved. “My hope is to alter our image from a retirement community to a community of successful business leaders who foster next generation growth,” he says.

BIG – Bright Ideas on the Gulf Coast – is a community engagement initiative to promote our region’s economic strengths in digital arts, marine science, health innovations, and sports performance. BIG is also an entrepreneurial concierge service that connects bright ideas with the right resources to stimulate new business growth. To learn more about BIG and how you can participate, visit BIGgulfcoast.org. BIG is an initiative of Gulf Coast Community Foundation.