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Countdown to the 2016 Apogee Awards: CIO honorees

The awaited celebration is almost here!

On Oct. 27, at the NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale, SFBW magazine will recognize distinguished leaders who hold positions in the C-Suite of companies.

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Here are the biographies of the Chief Information Officer honorees:

CIO honoree for Miami-Dade: Melvin Kirk, Ryder System, Inc.

Melvin Kirk
Melvin Kirk

Kirk is CIO of a Fortune 500 commercial fleet management, dedicated transportation and supply chain solutions company. He is responsible for all aspects of Ryder’s IT organization, including technology vision and strategy, operations and project management, infrastructure and software development, resource optimization and systems development lifecycle.

He also is a member of the company’s executive leadership team. Kirk joined Ryder in March 2012 as vice president of quality and was elevated in 2013 into the role of vice president of maintenance, engineering and quality operations. He has extensive experience in multiple industrial segments.

Kirk, a native of Augusta, Georgia, received a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Tennessee, and an MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University. He has two daughters and lives in Miami.

CIO honoree for Miami-Dade: Charles Grau, United Data Technologies

Charles Grau
Charles Grau

Grau is CIO and vice president of operations for the information technology company used by businesses throughout the Southeast. He has more than 20 years’ experience in IT management, working with top-tier companies specializing in aerospace, defense airframe, engine new part distribution, surplus material and multiple component repair businesses, as well as commercial construction.

At UDT, he is responsible for all aspects of strategic IT planning, implementation and support of the annual operations business plan. His duties include management of all technology initiatives and continuous improvement through the organization.

Previously, he was vice president of IT at AeroTurbine, a Miami-based global company providing used aircraft and engine products, acquisition, maintenance, management and warehousing.

He is a graduate of American InterContinental University, where he received his bachelor’s degree (summa cum laude) and master’s degree in information technology. He holds an MBA from DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School of Management. He is a contributing member to World Vision, 4Kids and the Florida Keys campus of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale.

CIO honoree for Broward: Bob Young, Seminole Gaming – Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

Bob Young
Bob Young

Young has served as senior vice president and CIO since 2012. The company has $2.3 billion in revenues produced from seven casinos within the state of Florida and employs 11,000 people.

Previously, he was vice president and chief technology officer at Southwest Airlines, senior director of information technology at Motorola, and leader for marketing and product development at United Health Group.

He also held a senior technology position at Harrah’s Entertainment, which was named one of the top 10 information technology organizations to work for by Computerworld magazine. Young, a Minneapolis native, is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, where he served as a naval aviator. He holds a bachelor’s degree in science and math from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree in information systems from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

CIO honoree for Palm Beach: Donald Hankus, MDVIP

Donald Hankus
Donald Hankus

As CIO, Hankus draws upon his experience as a health care technology executive with more than 20 years’ success in building and leading top IT teams, delivering customer-focused solutions and directing large-scale change initiatives.

His experience began as an entrepreneurial founder and president of MicroStar Computers. Most recently, Hankus was CIO for Clarient, a former subsidiary of GE Healthcare specializing in cancer and molecular diagnostics and research, where he supported more than 1,100 pathologists across the United States. Before that, he was executive vice president and CIO for Insight Health Corp.

Hankus received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Southern Illinois University, where he also completed courses toward a master’s degree in electronic and electrical engineering and computer science.

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Drew Limsky

Drew Limsky

Editor-in-Chief

BIOGRAPHY

Drew Limsky joined Lifestyle Media Group in August 2020 as Editor-in-Chief of South Florida Business & Wealth. His first issue of SFBW, October 2020, heralded a reimagined structure, with new content categories and a slew of fresh visual themes. “As sort of a cross between Forbes and Robb Report, with a dash of GQ and Vogue,” Limsky says, “SFBW reflects South Florida’s increasingly sophisticated and dynamic business and cultural landscape.”

Limsky, an avid traveler, swimmer and film buff who holds a law degree and Ph.D. from New York University, likes to say, “I’m a doctor, but I can’t operate—except on your brand.” He wrote his dissertation on the nonfiction work of Joan Didion. Prior to that, Limsky received his B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from Emory University and earned his M.A. in literature at American University in connection with a Masters Scholar Award fellowship.

Limsky came to SFBW at the apex of a storied career in journalism and publishing that includes six previous lead editorial roles, including for some of the world’s best-known brands. He served as global editor-in-chief of Lexus magazine, founding editor-in-chief of custom lifestyle magazines for Cadillac and Holland America Line, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Modern Luxury Interiors South Florida. He also was the executive editor for B2B magazines for Acura and Honda Financial Services, and he served as travel editor for Conde Nast. Magazines under Limsky’s editorship have garnered more than 75 industry awards.

He has also written for many of the country’s top newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe, USA Today, Worth, Robb Report, Afar, Time Out New York, National Geographic Traveler, Men’s Journal, Ritz-Carlton, Elite Traveler, Florida Design, Metropolis and Architectural Digest Mexico. His other clients have included Four Seasons, Acqualina Resort & Residences, Yahoo!, American Airlines, Wynn, Douglas Elliman and Corcoran. As an adjunct assistant professor, Limsky has taught journalism, film and creative writing at the City University of New York, Pace University, American University and other colleges.