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March Cover Star Tamara Rodriguez Headlines CEO Connect

In our cover story on Island TV co-owner Tamara Rodriguez, one of the most remarked upon exchanges happened at the end of the article:

“How do you manage to wear so many hats and do it with such seeming ease and grace?,” SFBW editor-in-chief Drew Limsky had asked.

“I think I’m very driven,” was Tamara’s response. “The people around me are driven—my husband, my father, my family. I also think I’m very well surrounded. We have two teenage daughters, and my husband supports what I do; he helps me. So, in order to have this interview with you, he has to go pick up the kids, so choosing a partner who encourages and supports me is also really part of the strategy. I think it’s important to think about that. I tell young women that all the time: You have to think about somebody who you’re going to be with who supports what you want and supports your passion.”

Being “well surrounded”—quite an evocative phrase.

And choosing a life partner with care struck a chord with the audience at the Tower Club.

When Tamara’s husband Richard Rodriguez joined his wife onstage, it was clear that their relationship is a love match as well as a fruitful professional partnership. (Richard is the president and CEO at Centuric, a global leader in technology services; Tamara serves as CFO.) The two spoke of the importance of offering each other advice, of always having a mentor in the house, of having each other’s backs.

Tamara, who was born in Haiti to a family of entrepreneurs in shipping and hospitality, was candid about the racism she faced when she came to the U.S. as a teenager. She was equally unguarded about the slights she continues to experience as part of an interracial couple, sharing that, in public, strangers will sometimes assume that she is the babysitter—rather than the mother—of her biracial daughters. And Richard spoke movingly of wanting his daughters to emulate their mother’s determination and independence.

The evening demonstrated the best of SFBW: not just connecting, but connecting in an authentic way, by sharing—and really hearing—each other’s stories. Of course, the event wouldn’t be possible without the help of our generous sponsors: Transworld Business Advisors and Truist. Their unwavering support enables us to forge meaningful connections with the South Florida business community we proudly serve.

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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.