The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce (GMCC), which helps advance business ventures in Miami-Dade, recently announced its Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Board of Directors Officers. The new board members are led by Roberto Muñoz, president, COO and Founder of ELITE Family Office, as Board Chair; Amy Furness, Co-Managing Shareholder for Carlton Fields Miami office, as Chair-Elect; Hector J. Ponte, Region Bank President for Wells Fargo’s South Florida region, as First Vice Chair and Alex Rhodes, National Managing Partner at Grant Thornton, as Treasurer. In addition, Rick Beasley, Executive Director of CareerSource South Florida, will serve as Immediate Past Chair.
The officers within the executive committee lead the Chamber’s Board of Directors. The latter are volunteer members representing businesses of all sizes from various industries that oversee the Chamber’s work areas and at-large members. Muñoz’s role as Board Chair includes assisting in membership development and strategy setting and advocating for essential business issues supported by The Chamber.
“We are excited to welcome these dynamic group of professionals whose background and extensive experience will definitely make a positive impact in our community,” Alfred Sanchez says, president and CEO of GMCC. “As our economy continues to recover from these challenges times, we remain optimistic and look forward to our new board members business contributions in helping us achieve our goal.”
Muñoz (pictured top) is the president, COO and Founder of ELITE Family Office, in partnership with Coastal Wealth, a MassMutual Firm. He specializes in working with high-net-worth individuals and small to medium-sized companies to improve their market targeting, key performance indicators, strategic debt planning, and execution strategies. Muñoz has more than 40 years of financial industry experience covering the State of Florida, South and Central America and the Caribbean in commercial banking, real estate and institutional lending, mergers and acquisitions, project finance, and wealth and treasury management services.
Furness is a trial lawyer who has dedicated her career to defending diverse clients, including domestic and foreign corporations, in complex civil litigation, particularly product liability and commercial litigation. She is a frequent lecturer on product liability and professional liability matters. She defends product manufacturers in all forms of cases in the pharmaceutical, aviation, chemical, tobacco, and consumer product industries.
Ponte is Region Bank President for Wells Fargo’s South Florida region. He oversees 120 Wells Fargo branches and more than 1,300 employees in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. A 35-year veteran in financial services, Ponte began his career as a part-time teller with Florida National Bank in 1986, a Wells Fargo predecessor, and has held various branch, district and regional leadership roles.
Rhodes is a partner in Grant Thornton’s audit services practice based in Fort Lauderdale with almost 20 years of experience serving publicly traded and privately held clients in accounting, auditing and consulting capacity. Alex leads the Hospitality and Restaurant industry practice for Grant Thornton nationally.
Beasley has served as the Executive Director for the South Florida Workforce Investment Board (SFWIB) dba CareerSource South Florida (CSSF) since 2005. He oversees workforce programs in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties with an operating budget of $75 million. He is in charge of one of the nation’s most dynamic “melting pots” – a diverse socioeconomic region.
For a complete list of GMCC Board of Directors members, please visit www.miamichamber.com.
