Cari Coats Profession: Former Executive Vice President/Orlando Magic

Cari Coats '79
Named Interim Executive Director, Center for Entrepreneurship

The Rollins MBA at the Crummer Graduate School of Business announced that Cari Haught Coats has joined the school as the Interim Executive Director of its Center for Entrepreneurship. In this role, Coats will maintain the initiatives and activities of the center, serving both students and the local entrepreneurial community, as the school identifies a replacement for outgoing Executive Director, Tom Kruczek.

Coats brings 30 years experience to the Crummer Graduate School, having held senior roles at Orlando-based companies including C2 Advisors, a consulting company that she founded in 2007, CNL Financial Group and RDV Sports/Orlando Magic.

A member of the Orlando Regional Chamber Executive Committee and Board of Governors, she has helped guide the recent transformation of the Chamber, leading to the establishment of the Central Florida Partnership. "Cari also served on the Executive Search Committee for new Chamber President, Leslie Hielema," says Jacob V. Stuart, President of the Central Florida Partnership. "She took the lead in personally introducing Leslie to the key leaders, programs, and resources so important to Leslie's success in her new role in Central Florida."

As COO at CNL Real Estate Advisors, Inc., an acquirer, developer and manager of real estate investments, Coats was responsible for the development of all start-up functions and processes and day-to-day direction and oversight of all operational units, including acquisitions, finance, asset management, operations, strategy and product development. Coats was promoted to this position in 2006 after having served as the company's chief strategy officer, SVP from 2005 to 2006 and chief marketing officer, SVP from 2004 to 2005.

From 1987-2003 Coats held executive positions with the Orlando Magic/RDV Sports, most notably serving as executive vice president of the Orlando Magic and vice president of business development for RDV Sports.

"We are pleased that a candidate with such professional depth and wealth of senior-level and entrepreneurial experience has decided to join our school and provide direction to our students," said Craig McAllaster, dean of the Crummer Graduate School. "Cari will not only be vital in continuing to guide our students but also in helping the school take a successful next step in this transition."

The Center for Entrepreneurship provides Rollins MBA students with a variety of practical experiences, including seminars, workshops, mentoring programs, internships, consulting engagements with companies and speakers both in and out of the classroom. Through the center, Rollins MBA students apply what they've learned in a business setting, enabling them to engage in the critical, creative thinking essential to entrepreneurial success. One-hundred percent of the center's faculty have started, bought or run a successful business, so students completing coursework through the center regularly learn and closely collaborate with of some of the nation's top entrepreneurs and benefit from their collective experience.

"With our new focus on entrepreneurship and emerging businesses," says Leslie Hielema, "Cari is positioned to be an effective resource and a collaborative partner as we work together to establish Central Florida as the Best Entrepreneurship Center in the Americas. I look forward to working beside Cari in accomplishing regional goals to help businesses survive and thrive."

Coats holds a BA in Communications/Radio-Television from the University of Central Florida and an MBA from Duke University.