I find it hard to believe that this is the seventh year of Florida Trend publishing the Florida 500. This single annual issue has evolved into a celebrated brand of its own — something we could not have imagined when envisioning the first edition not quite a decade ago.

Its success is largely due to the dedication and tireless efforts of the entire Florida Trend team — crossing all departments. For all their long hours of work on this product, I am immensely grateful.

The evaluation and selection of the Florida 500 Influentials is performed by Florida Trend’s executive editorial leadership team. Amy Keller, executive editor, and Mike Brassfield, managing editor, lead the team.

Vetting and narrowing down the thousands of candidates under consideration is a monumental undertaking. But the editorial department’s industry knowledge, business connections and understanding of Florida’s economy have prepared them well for the task at hand. I congratulate the editorial team for another year of insightful candidate selections — and argue, once again, that they have gotten it right!

There are a few additional Florida Trend team members that I would like to recognize: Gary Bernloehr, art director, Jason Morton, associate art director, and Jill South, production director. Without their talent and creativity, industry smarts and high standards of excellence, this product would look drastically different.

Florida 500 is a marathon — not a sprint — that they’ve integrated into their daily workflow throughout the year. And each year, they take the Florida 500 to new heights, delivering an issue that looks, reads and reproduces better than the previous one. Their dedication and focus — not only to this publication, but to all of our products — is a critical element of our business’s overall success.

I would also be remiss if I did not recognize the incredible efforts of our business development team.

Senior Market Directors Christine King and Andreea Redis-Coste, Senior Market Director and Digital Strategist Sara Minton-Oglesby and Advertising Coordinator Jessica Wheeler work tirelessly to help our business partners develop and deliver impactful marketing campaigns.

And the Florida 500 — with its powerful editorial insights, influential readership, expanded distribution and longevity as a reference tool — is a must-have for many of their clients’ annual marketing plans.

I hope you utilize the true benefits of this year’s Florida 500. Allow it to work as a business introduction tool, familiarizing yourself with some of Florida’s most influential business leaders and the impact they are making across our state.

David Denor, Publisher