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Joe Varner
 Joe is the President and Owner of Sunbelt Business Brokers of Tampa Bay
and Sarasota.
He has lived and worked in Central Florida for over 30 years with a good
portion of that time spent in his original hometown of Ocala.
Once
completing his college baseball career at Central Florida Community
College, he then went on to earn his BS degree at Florida State
University.
He found his way back to Ocala where he engaged working in
the family John Deere dealership business in 1995. His 14 year career
began at the entry level position of sales and then worked up to Sales
Management, and eventually to the position of VP/COO and a Dealer
Principle.
This tenure gave him the chance to gain valuable experience
in all areas of business including finance, accounting, budgeting,
forecasting, human resources and operations management. Under his
direction, the family business grew from 2 locations in the Ocala area
up to 9 locations throughout Central Florida. This territory growth was
through targeted acquisitions of other companies. It was during this
acquisition period that he gained the valuable hands on experience
needed to understand how to help target, evaluate and execute both
simple and complex Merger and Acquisition activities. He is also the
Managing Partner in his family’s real estate holding company.
These
years of real-world, hands on experience have prepared him well for the
next phase of his professional career as a Business Intermediary. He
holds an active Florida Real Estate License. Joe lives in Tampa with his
wife Kelley and two young boys, Alex and Grant. He and his wife have
also been blessed with two nieces as part of their family, Jordan and
Devon. Both are currently attending college in Gainesville and Tampa,
respectively.
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Bill Smalley
Bill
Smalley has extensive business experience spanning over 35 years as an owner
and general manager. After obtaining a BS Degree in Business Management and
working in the transportation industry, he founded Smalley Transportation
Company. The trucking business grew from three to over five hundred employees
and contractors during the twenty years before he sold the company.
Smalley has over twenty years experience as a commercial bank director.
He was a founding director of an independent banking company that grew to
over $200 million in assets.
He has earned the Florida Business Brokers Association professional
designation, CFBI (Certified Florida Business Intermediary) and the
Institute of Certified Business Counselors designation CBC (Certified Business
Counselor). Bill Smalley is also a Florida Real Estate Broker
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Warren Smith
Warren
Smith has extensive experience in both corporate life and start-up situations.
He started his career with one of the first franchise type concepts with
Mobil Oil Corporation. Warren was responsible for working with 40 independent
service station dealers in the metro Philadelphia area to help grow their
businesses. Later he was promoted to area manager with responsibility for
over 150 dealers. He also started the first self service operation for the
company in Pennsylvania.
Enjoying the excitement of start-ups, Warren jumped at the chance of being
part of the sales group which introduced soft contact lenses to the market
for Bausch & Lomb. Warren served in various marketing functions for the
company and eventually took over responsibility for the western third of
the United States.
Again the bug bit Warren and he accepted the position as Vice President
of Sales & Marketing for another new start up, American Hydron, a new
soft contact lens company. During his tenure, sales grew to over $80 million.
He developed the sales force from scratch and developed the marketing plans
for the company’s most successful product in both sales and profits.
He also
helped raise $28 million dollars in bonds in Europe. The company became very
attractive for a takeover and was acquired by Smith, Kline, Beechum. He stayed
on for a year, but the culture had changed and so he sought new opportunities
At this time there was a company, Silor, which distributed optical lenses
for eyeglasses. Once a market leader, but now it was losing market share
and more important it was losing profits. Warren was named president of Silor
and launched a campaign to regain share and profits which he did with the
introduction of new product lines. Silor was foreign owned and he saw a greater
parent company influence and so he decided it was time to start his own business.
Warren assisted the start of two new businesses, Vision Concepts and Beverly
Hills Polo Club. Both were optical frame distributors offering private label,
a new concept to the optical market. Warren sold his interests in the companies
to his partners and has now spent the last three years helping others find
their own dreams through a business of their own.
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David Lylis
David Lylis has built his business career in Marketing in the Real Estate sector in various Executive level positions, most recently with a subsidiary of Hyatt Hotels and Resorts.
Formerly from New England where he managed the marketing function for Eastern Resorts, LLC of Newport, RI, he joined the Hyatt organization as Marketing Director to develop and manage a condominium resort property in Dorado, Puerto Rico, adjacent to the Cerromar Oceanfront Resort. Mr. Lylis resided in Dorado, Puerto Rico for four years, through the completion of the project.
Before joining Sunbelt Business Brokers, Mr. Lylis spent ten years as National Marketing Director for Hyatt Vacation Ownership at Corporate headquarters in St. Petersburg, FL.
He is an experienced Executive level Director with strategic marketing, business development, and sales experience.
Mr. Lylis is married to Susan Herman Lylis, Executive Director for a Conservation Foundation in Washington, DC. His hobbies include trading equities, options, and investing, and he has restored two Triumph British sports cars which continue to be garaged at his home in Safety Harbor, FL.
He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and is a member of the American, Marketing Association, the Direct Marketing Association Travel and Hospitality Council, and the American Resort Development Association
Mr. Lylis has a daughter who resides in Easthampton, MA.
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Roy Vance
Roy Vance is a CPA and Financial Planner. He understands the challenges related to small business ownership and uses his expertise to help clients navigate the difficult process of selling or buying a business. He enjoys working with his client's CPA, Attorney and Financial Advisor to ensure the coordinated team effort remains focused on achieving the client's personal and financial goals.
A graduate of Western Kentucky University, Roy has over thirty years of broad
business experience including practicing as a CPA/Financial Planner, VP of
Finance for a 300 unit chain of specialty retail stores and the entrepreneurial
experience of owning a multi-unit franchise business.
- Certified Public Accountant [CPA] - State of Florida
- Personal Financial Specialist [PFS] - AICPA
- Florida F, L & VA Insurance License
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Jeff Spilman
Jeff Spilman is a broker/consultant with over 30 years of experience in bringing together sellers and buyers of businesses, business related real estate, and investment/income producing real estate.
He has worked with a broad range of asset types over the years, and has successfully closed on some of the most challenging transactions. His strengths are in asset market evaluation, asset marketing, negotiating, and managing the transactional process.”
We are excited to have Mr. Spilman as part of the Sunbelt-Tampa Team. With his experience and dedication we know he will be a great success
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Michael Whitton
Michael Whitton spent 26 years in the financial services industry, almost entirely with the New York Life Insurance Company where he was the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the largest business line of this Fortune 100 Company, and a member of the New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation Board of Directors. During his tenure, he oversaw strategic, capital, and financial business planning and management; participated in the development of new business, distribution, and product platforms; mergers and acquisitions; in addition to investment portfolio management.
Upon his retirement, Michael opted to pursue a dream of owning his own Business, where he acquired, restored, and vibrantly grew sales and profits 20+% of a local landmark restaurant, which he successfully sold and passed on to new owners to continue this businesses legacy.
Michael went to Marist College and SUNY New Paltz, has a Bachelors degree in Accounting and Finance, is a CPA and CFE, and a member of the American Institute of Public Accounting. Michael's long tenured and indepth financial background and business acumen, complemented with Small Business Ownership, brings a unique and highly qualified skill set to business brokerage.
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