PAUL SOHL

CEO, FLORIDA HIGH TECH CORRIDOR, TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG

The Florida High Tech Corridor is anchored by three of the country’s largest research institutions: the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida and the University of Florida. Powered by an ethos of collaboration, the organization aligns opportunities and resources in academia, industry and economic development to build and accelerate Florida’s capacity to innovate. Sohl, a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, leads a 12-member team and has been CEO since 2020.

EDUCATION: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS), Stanford University (MS)

FIRST JOB: My first jobs were mowing lawns and being a paper boy in my hometown of Rock Island, Ill., when I was in junior high school. My first professional job was in the U.S. Navy as an F/A-18 Hornet strike-fighter pilot starting in 1988.

DREAM ALTERNATE CAREER: As an alternative to being a U.S. Navy fighter pilot? That’s easy.
I’d choose to be an astronaut. I always wanted to be one and applied several times.

SOMETHING SURPRISING: As a Navy guy, I can still easily get seasick on a boat.

PASSION PROJECT: Helping my wife continue to raise three wonderful kids who are now young adults.
To raise good citizens so they can go on to do great things, that is our real role in life, right?

NONPROFIT PASSION: Habitat for Humanity of Greater Orlando and Osceola County. I sit on their governing board. Their mission — affordable housing — is one of our nation’s key challenges. This nonprofit is leading the way in Central Florida to solve the affordable housing crisis. They’re not waiting for someone else to lead the way.