George Cheros

President & CEO, National Center for Simulation, Orlando

The National Center for Simulation (NCS) is a nonprofit organization and a linchpin in the modeling, simulation and training industry that focuses on the military, education, health care, transportation, entertainment and cyber sectors. NCS is an advocate for expanding the training and simulation industry’s prominence and growth.

EDUCATION: University of Central Florida (BS, MBA)

IF I WERE GOVERNOR: With the tremendous population growth and dense traffic on the state’s interstate system, I would launch a plan to connect all of Florida’s major metropolitan cities by high-speed rail. Of course, I would rely on modeling and simulation technology to analyze, illustrate and justify the plan.

READING: The Boys in the Boat is a riveting book about sacrifice and teamwork to achieve an extremely challenging goal when the odds are against you.

INSPIRING FLORIDIAN: My maternal grandfather, Stathis Klonaris, who emigrated from Greece, was a source of inspiration to our entire family. He learned to build sponge boats in Tarpon Springs, then later became a premier designer and builder of shrimp boats in Fernandina Beach and later Louisiana.

MOTIVATIONAL MANTRA: You can’t score if you don’t shoot. It’s true in basketball, soccer, lacrosse, hockey and life.