From air taxis to immigration, Cathie Wood and Jeff Vinik share their thoughts on the future of Tampa Bay
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Mar 1, 2022

Financier Cathie Wood and billionaire Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik on Tuesday shared their respective visions for the future of Tampa Bay — and how they think the region can best prepare for the innovation wave on the horizon.

The duo took the stage at the ULI 2022 Trends Conference at Armature Works in a fireside chat, where they used a casual interview setting to highlight what they saw in Tampa Bay that convinced them to invest here.

Wood highlighted St. Petersburg’s “sense of adventure” and the fact that she felt it had “innovation in its DNA” as the major qualities that ultimately convinced her to relocate Ark Investment Management’s headquarters to the city from Manhattan in 2021.

Vinik reiterated he simply “had a gut feeling” about Tampa but also joked that he’s learned he enjoys taking risks. Part of it was also “a big element of faith,” and the welcoming atmosphere throughout the community made it a simple choice.

Vinik’s investment in the Tampa Bay region extends well beyond the Lightning. He is also a partner in Strategic Property Partners, the developer of the $3 billion-plus Water Street Tampa, the first phase of which is nearing completion, and the backer of startup hub Embarc Collective.

Wood used her mere months on the scene in St. Pete to create rippling investments — backing the Tampa Bay Innovation Center now named ARK Innovation Center and partnering with Pinellas schools to bring innovation into local classrooms.

They are looking ahead to the changes they hope to see in Tampa Bay.

Automation vs. immigration

Wood and Vinik shared their takes on the labor shortage and the future of Tampa Bay’s workforce.

Wood: “Higher wages will attract people back into the workforce, but I also think we’re going to solve part of the problem with innovation. Innovation does solve problems; we certainly saw that during the coronavirus. The breakthroughs in artificial intelligence that are taking place are mind-blowing. We are getting breakthroughs today that we didn’t think would happen for 10 to 20 years, and they’re happening now.”

Vinik: “This is not a political statement, this is just a lot of smart, well-educated, hardworking, really good people who want to come to this country, and we’re talking 1% of the workforce, a million people a year. It used to be 1.5 million; now it’s 500,000. A million people a year coming to this country would really help our wage inflation and help our economy.”

The future of transportation? Automation.

Wood: “If we’re right on autonomous taxi networks, we’re probably going to need much less parking. For every car on the road today, I think there are five parking spaces, and I noticed parking is a big issue around this area. If we go to a fully autonomous world — which we probably won’t, but just do the exercise — you just need one parking space per vehicle. That could change a lot from a municipal point of view. In terms of real estate, you want to make sure there are landing pads for air taxis because air taxis are not that far away. We need regulatory clearance and all of that.”

Bullish on the Bay

Wood: “We looked at Charleston and Jacksonville; we did not look at Miami or Palm Beach. We just weren’t going to go there. We were looking for a city where Ark Invest could really make a difference and help shape the community in some way, shape or form. Also, a city that was open to the kinds of convergences we are seeing between and among technologies.”

Vinik: “Here, the population is growing 1%, 2% a year. That was a huge factor when I bought the team, and that compounding effect after 10 years. There are actually 20% more people going to museums, eating at restaurants, buying hockey tickets, working in offices, whatever that might be. Compare that to cities in the Midwest where populations are shrinking ... or the Northeast.”

Biggest hurdles ahead

Vinik: “We have transportation, which is not good enough. We need a transportation tax passed. We have the worst bus service in the country, and that is so detrimental to people who can’t afford a car or choose the bus to get to work. ... The wages here are too low. We have some of the lowest wages in the country here and especially with housing prices jumping up.”