Polk County Leaders Earn Tampa Bay Business Journal Power 100 List Honors
Four Polk County leaders representing health care, higher education, banking and the grocery business have landed on the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s annual Power 100 list.
The Power 100 List will be featured in the March edition of the Business Journal. The Polk honorees are:
- John Corbett, President and CEO, SouthState Bank
- Danielle Drummond, President and CEO, Lakeland Regional Health
- Angela Falconetti, President and CEO, Polk State College
- Kevin Murphy, CEO, Publix
In its ninth year, the list showcases “the area’s most influential business leaders who have the power to get things done. It is a celebration of power players across the region who significantly impact the business community,” according to the magazine.
Magazine team members compile the list “based on a range of traits, including leadership status, philanthropic missions and the ability to strike big deals. These people are highlighted for fostering innovation and disruption, shaping industries and the competitive landscape, and building capacity and staying power in the local economy.”
Polk Power 100 List Honorees
John Corbett
John Corbett is CEO of SouthState Bank, whose bank merged with CenterState Bank, which Corbett co-founded in Winter Haven in 1999. Before that, Corbett was Vice President of Commercial Banking at First Union National Bank in Florida.
In January 2025, SouthState closed a $2 billion acquisition of Texas-based Independent Bank. It is now the largest bank headquartered in Florida. SouthState has more than $45 billion in assets and 340 branches in 12 states.
Danielle Drummond
Danielle Drummond has served as President and CEO of Lakeland Regional Health for the last four years. Previous to this, she served as Senior Vice President and Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer. She has a background in biomedical engineering and health care technology management.
“I am honored to be recognized again in the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Power 100 list for 2025. Leading the extraordinary team at Lakeland Regional Health is both a privilege and a responsibility I hold with the utmost dedication,” Drummond said. “Our standing as the healthcare provider of choice is no coincidence. It is the direct result of an unwavering commitment to innovation, excellence, and, above all, a deep understanding of the evolving needs of our community.”
Drummond said she’s had the honor of “steering our organization through transformative milestones, leading to our national recognition as an award-winning, academic and state-of-the-art healthcare institution.”
In recent years, the hospital added a family medicine residency program. And, they opened a three-story, $65 million, 76,000-square-foot campus at Kathleen Road and Interstate Highway. Residents are housed there. It is also building a new free-standing emergency room in South Lakeland expected to open this year.
As for the future? “Looking ahead, my vision remains clear: To uphold the deep-rooted trust our community places in us while relentlessly advancing the future of healthcare,” Drummond said. “By attracting world-class team members and medical staff, embracing cutting-edge medical advancements, and setting new standards of excellence, Lakeland Regional Health will continue to be the destination for both exceptional clinicians and the patients who rely on us for life-saving care.”
Dr. Angela Garcia Falconetti
Dr. Angela Falconetti, President of Polk State College, uses her statewide recognition to help advance the mission of the growing college system she oversees.
“I am deeply honored to be named to the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Power 100 for the third consecutive year,” Falconetti said. “This recognition is reflective of the collective achievements of Polk State College’s dedicated District Board of Trustees, faculty, staff and students, whose hard work and commitment continue to drive our success. I am proud to stand alongside so many inspiring leaders and grateful for the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the important work happening at our college. This achievement is a testament to the ongoing impact we are making together in our community.”
In 2024, the college broke ground on a $51 million, 75,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility in Northeast Polk. Falconetti has said this is “critical to its mission of providing access to higher education,” which in turn supports workforce development and economic opportunity.
The new Polk State College Haines City-Davenport Campus will serve health sciences programs. It will establish the region’s first public higher education interdisciplinary simulation hospital. Further, it will also offer courses in hospitality and tourism management, and supply chain and logistics.
Polk State has received funding from both the state and personal donations to complete this project. Pending the funding, the campus will open this year.
Dr. Falconetti is also a board member of the Florida Chamber Foundation, the Florida College System Council of Presidents and the Excelencia in Education and Excelencia in Action Network’s Presidents for Latino Student Success, among others.
Kevin Murphy
The CEO of Publix Super Markets Inc. since 2024, Kevin Murphy oversees the country’s largest employee-owned grocery chain.
In 2024, Publix moved into its eighth state – Kentucky. It also operates more than 1,300 groceries across Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
Like so many Publix executives before him, Murphy started his Publix career in 1984 as a front service clerk. He worked in various positions before advancing to store manager in 1995. In 2003 he became District Manager, in 2009 Regional Director, and Vice President of the Miami Division in 2014. In 2016, he was promoted to Senior Vice President of Retail Operations before becoming President in 2019.
Additional Honorees
Leaders of several additional CFDC investor member companies were also highlighted. They include the Baldwin Insurance Group, Valley Bank, Tampa Electric and Duke Energy.
