Doubling Down Before Anyone Believed | Mike Griffin, Vice Chair and Co-Head of the Florida Region, Savills

Before Mike Griffin knew what commercial real estate was, he was walking up and down the sun-baked stands of Tampa Stadium selling Cokes and peanuts to a crowd of strangers. That early lesson in showing up, working hard, and earning something stuck. So did Tampa.Mike Griffin is Vice Chair and Co-Head of the Florida Region of Savills, responsible for more than 13 million square feet of transactions across 18 states and 15 countries. He brokered the first Fortune 500 relocation in Tampa's history and signed the first lease in Water Street. He became the youngest chairman in the 135-year history of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce. He was appointed to the Tampa Port Authority by the governor. He serves today as Vice Chair of the USF Board of Trustees and Chair of the Finance Committee, where he has been a central architect of the new on-campus football stadium. And he did all of it from the same city where he grew up, choosing to double down on Tampa before most people believed it was worth the bet.In this conversation with host Tracie Domino, Mike talks about what it means to invest in a place before the world catches up, how his mentor Ann Duncan hired him as her first employee straight out of USF and changed the trajectory of his life, why trust is the only thing he is actually selling, and what it cost him personally to build a city-level reputation over two decades. He also gets into the global lens he brings to Tampa deals, why life sciences is the city's next North Star, and what it took to get a $400 million on-campus football stadium across the finish line at USF.This one is for the builders. The ones who stayed. The ones who are still deciding whether to stay. And the ones who just need someone to remind them that the best time to bet on something is always before everyone else figures out it's worth it.Find Mike at savillsus.com and follow what's happening at USF at usf.edu.ChaptersBetting on Tampa Before Anyone Else DidSelling Cokes and Learning EverythingThe Publix Years and the Standard of ExcellenceAnn Duncan and the Job That Changed His LifeWhat He Is Actually SellingThe First Fortune 500 and the First Lease in Water StreetTelling Tampa's Story to the WorldWhy Life Sciences Is Tampa's Next North StarThe $400 Million Bet on USF FootballLegacy Versus LeverageWhat Building a City-Level Reputation Actually CostsA Message to the Next GenerationWhat Makes Tampa Still SpecialLightning Round