Board of Directors
Ben Dachepalli – Current Chair
Ben is a Shareholder and practice Co-Chair of the Construction & Design Group at the law firm of Hill Ward Henderson. As a Board Certified Construction Attorney, his practice primarily involves the negotiation and drafting of construction-related agreements and complex construction litigation claims involving contracts, construction defects, design errors, and construction liens. Ben represents owners, […]
Dipa Shah – Chair-Elect
Dipawali (“Dipa”) S. Shah is Of Counsel with the Tampa office of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick. Dipa has experience in and focuses her practice on Health Care law, Corporate law, and Educational issues. Dipa’s clients include healthcare professionals and educational institutions. Dipa offers a wealth of legal and business experience insights into the challenges presented […]
Vivek Seth – Immediate Past Chair
Vivek has more than 25 years of corporate finance and real estate experience in the USA and India, with involvement in over 325 transactions worth more than $80 billion. He is Vice Chairman of Investment Banking at Raymond James and Managing Director of the real estate investment banking group which is involved with public and […]
Dilip Patel
Dilip is an attorney and has practiced law in the Tampa area since 1990. He is well known for his Immigration expertise but also handles sophisticated business transactions. He is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Florida Bar. Dilip is with Tampa office of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, a nationally recognized […]
Irene Hurst
Ms. Hurst is the Director, MBA Programs, responsible for the MBA and Executive MBA programs. She has worked for the University of South Florida for over 25 years – previously she was the Director of the Small Business Development Center for eleven years, specializing in Women/Minority Business Development, Start-up, Business Planning, and Leadership. She is […]
Minesh Patel
Minesh Patel is the CEO of PBP International, Inc, an International Business Development Consultancy. He is also a Director for Business Development and Investor Relations for a Private Multinational group operating in 4 continents. He is also an investor in several Start-Ups, established ventures and Real Estate Development companies in Florida. He is Past President […]
Ray Ifert
Raymond E. Ifert is the President and Founder of REI Wealth Management, LLC. Ray has been managing client relationships since 1986. He successfully built a Corporate Trust business for predecessors of Bank of America from 1986 from less than $100,000 in revenue to running three states and over $10 million in annual revenue in less […]
Santosh Govindaraju
Santosh Govindaraju is the Portfolio Manager of Convergent Capital Partners LLC, a real estate private equity firm focused on opportunistic real estate investments primarily in Florida. Since founding the firm in September 2008 through 2014, Santosh has led the team in the acquisition of approximately $550 million in commercial real estate assets. Santosh is responsible […]
Suleman Makhani
Suleman Makhani brings over 25 years of small business and SBA financing to Finance and Banking. Suleman started his career in 1988 as owner of Smart Business Systems in Miami, Florida where he assisted small and mid-sized businesses to grow by employing technology to their business processes. During next 20 years, the business grew significantly […]
Ruchi Attal
Ruchi has been in the accounting and finance field since 1997 and a CPA since 2002. She started her career in public accounting with Ernst & Young, and has since that time served in executive leadership functions at Viacom, Novartis, and Ipsos. Ruchi is an experienced CPA in business tax and accounting issues, as well […]
Thiru Govender
BDO Tampa’s Office Managing Partner, Thiru Govender, has over 20 years of public accounting experience and recently moved from Charlotte to Tampa. Govender primarily provides assurance services to privately held and securities and exchange commission (SEC)-reporting companies in the technology, manufacturing and distribution, and retail industries. Be on the lookout as Thiru Govender engages with business and […]