Former St. Pete mayor Rick Baker lands corporate development role at USF Read m

[Drewski]

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2010/05/31/daily23.html

Former St. Pete mayor Rick Baker lands corporate development role at USF

Towering in presence and demeanor, but termed out as mayor this year, Rick Baker has been a bit scarce since the top job at St. Petersburg College didn’t go his way.

But no worries because, as usual, Baker has consummated a deal.

This time, it’s for very gainful employment at a different higher education institution. University of South Florida developed a major, much longer-term endeavor for Baker related to the business community.

“We’re working on creating a corporate development unit that Baker would run to build on our success with Draper Labs and SRI International,†said Michael Hoad, the university’s vice president of communications. “There is a great deal of potential for similar projects. The idea is to call it USF Innovation Partnerships.â€

The corporate development unit and Baker will work closely with the USF Research Foundation; Karen Holbrook, vice president of research and innovation; and Dr. Stephen Klasko, senior vice president of USF Health. The new initiative is funded by the USF Research Foundation.

Through a City Hall communications manager, Baker said he could not immediately respond to a request for an interview regarding his activities.

The idea of Baker leading efforts by USF to establish partnerships with corporations involved in research — and thus gain additional funding and possible licensing spinoffs for the university — makes sense given his connections and the political environment, said an associate who requested anonymity and knows the former mayor and his potential to help USF.

Business development executives in the Tampa Bay area have long been in search of the next “Google†or “Apple†or “Boeing,†a homegrown corporate child that is transformative in nature and helps put the region on the map in growing sectors that attract kindred industries, high-paying jobs, and top talent. For the wider business community, spinoffs and licensing deals bring opportunity in the form of service-oriented fulfillment, office space, other vendor relationships and more.

Relationships he can build on

Baker, a Republican, has powerful political allies, including U.S. Rep. C.W. “Bill†Young, R-Indian Shores, who is known for bringing home the bacon for the Bay area and was instrumental in bringing SRI International to St. Petersburg.

As the ranking Republican member on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, Young was on hand at a press conference with SRI in 2007 when the nonprofit company announced it was awarded a five-year, $36.5 million contract to develop sensing technologies for port security in the United States.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush, who has become the highest ranking Florida GOP leader since Gov. Charlie Crist left the party, also is one of Baker’s allies.

For USF, it may be a case of tapping into Baker’s connections and name recognition to develop lucrative business partnerships and boost the university’s standing as a research institution.

While his long-term role was being negotiated, Baker was active for USF. He traveled for several days recently to the nation’s capitol on behalf of the university. He has been consulting on writing some proposals for funding for USF’s College of Marine Science.

Read more: Former St. Pete mayor Rick Baker lands corporate development role at USF - Tampa Bay Business Journal

[Paisa el Toro]

His political connections will come in quite handy for USF. Hope he earns his pay rather than just being a figurehead in a position created for him.