GREGORY CELESTAN
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CELESTAR CORP., TAMPA
After retiring from the U.S. Army in 2004, Celestan founded Celestar, which provides a wide range of services to the U.S. government, primarily intelligence and operational support, training and other professional services. With 350 employees, it is actively involved in the Tampa region, supporting veteran organizations as well as Tampa General Hospital and local educational institutions. Celestan is credited with strengthening the connections between the business community and the defense industry and bringing a number of defense industry CEOs into Tampa’s business ecosystem during his tenure as the chair of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.
EDUCATION: U.S. Military Academy West Point (BS), University of Washington (MA)
IF I WERE GOVERNOR: Fix our insurance crises. Create legislation that would entice more companies to come to Florida and offer insurance products and services.
MENTOR: Oscar Horton. He has a passion for the community and gives freely with his time and money to support underserved youth in Tampa. What I admire most about him is that he never boasts of his accomplishments, he is humble beyond measure.
READING: An Army At Dawn, by Rick Atkinson. It describes the first battles of the U.S. Army in WWII and how the initial failures led to later success.
