LEE EVANS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB NORTH AMERICA CAPABILITY CENTER, TAMPA

Evans says the 16 years he spent at North Carolina-based SAS “an extremely employee-centered company” had a big influence on his career. The company, which became the world’s largest privately owned software company, “opened my eyes to the incredible range of convergent possibilities among new digital/analytical technologies and virtually all areas of business.”

Evans, with degrees in both biological engineering and economics from North Carolina State University, joined Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2009 as director of global development informatics. Two years later, he became head of R&D information and analytics sciences. In 2014, Bristol-Myers Squibb opened a 140,000-sq.-ft. office in Tampa for its finance, IT, marketing and other support functions, which Evans now runs. The support center features an open environment meant to stimulate innovation. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s philanthropic focus is on “health and wellness, supporting our communities, the military and STEM education.”

Florida, he says, “is the most pleasantly surprising place I have lived. Its diversity of people, places, communities and even problems are Florida’s strengths.”