DANNY GAEKWAD
FOUNDER & CEO, GAEKWAD FAMILY ENTERPRISES, OCALA
Gaekwad’s businesses are numerous and diverse. He employs more than 300 people, and his investments in downtown Ocala have helped transform it into a bustling commercial center. A serial entrepreneur who arrived in the U.S. from India in 1987, Gaekwad borrowed $5,000 from friends to buy an Orlando convenience store, then built up a chain of 26 stores in less than a decade. Today he owns hotels, resorts, other commercial real estate, apartment communities, thousands of rental homes, and a data and IT consulting business. Currently under construction are a 300-room resort in the Caribbean, three restaurants in downtown Ocala and a new Home2 by Hilton in Ocala. He’s also a principal in a coffee importing, roasting and packaging business. He’s been a trustee of the University of Central Florida, executive director of Enterprise Florida, chairman emeritus of Visit Florida, executive director of the Ocala Tourism Development Commission, and a board member of the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Florida TaxWatch, among other things.
EDUCATION: Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (BA)
DREAM ALTERNATE CAREER: Had I not decided to become an entrepreneur, I would have pursued a career in law enforcement or the military.
SOMETHING SURPRISING: Most people don’t know that I was a good cricket player as a youth and today am an excellent shooter.
