DAVID M. BEAR
CEO, THE LEWIS BEAR COMPANY, PENSACOLA
The Lewis Bear Company, established in Pensacola in 1876, is a wholesale beverage distributor across the Panhandle with nearly 300 employees. Bear has been in company leadership for the past 20 years and became CEO in March 2023. As a member of the Triumph Gulf Coast board, he has worked closely with legislative leaders to ensure the Triumph Gulf Coast money stays in the disproportionately affected region and continues to be used for the Legislature’s intended purpose. Soon after the BP oil spill, he created a successful arts and cultural tourism marketing campaign to help recover, diversify and enhance the area’s tourism base.
EDUCATION: University of Florida (BS, JD), Belhaven College (BS)
MENTOR: Lewis Bear Jr. prioritized others over himself, which showed in the way he led our business, his generous gifts of time and money to the community, and his relationship with his family and friends. He taught me the most important part in leadership is to make decisions, right or wrong, and to learn from the wrong.
MOTIVATIONAL MANTRA: Faith without work is dead.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED: Trust but verify. When we depend on information to make decisions, we need to know the information is accurate. Until you’ve verified a source of information as reliable, you risk making poor decisions. My father always told me to cut the cards.
