Rollins MBA Names Cari Haught Coats as Interim Executive Director, Center for Entrepreneurship

Contact: Lisa Junkerman

407.646.2456
ljunkerman@rollins.edu

ORLANDO, Fla., February 2, 2009– The Rollins MBA at the Crummer Graduate School of Business announced today that Cari Haught Coats has joined the school as the interim executive director of its Center for Entrepreneurship. In this role, Coats will maintain the initiatives and activities of the center, serving both students and the local entrepreneurial community, as the school identifies a replacement for outgoing executive director, Tom Kruczek.

Coats brings 30 years experience to the Crummer Graduate School, having held senior roles at Orlando-based companies including C2 Advisors, a consulting company which she founded in 2007, CNL Financial Group and RDV Sports/Orlando Magic.

As COO at CNL Real Estate Advisors, Inc., an acquirer, developer and manager of real estate investments, Coats was responsible for the development of all start-up functions and processes and day-to-day direction and oversight of all operational units, including acquisitions, finance, asset management, operations, strategy and product development. Coats was promoted to this position in 2006 after having served as the company’s chief strategy officer, SVP from 2005 to 2006 and chief marketing officer, SVP from 2004 to 2005.

From 1987-2003 Coats held executive positions with the Orlando Magic/RDV Sports, most notably serving as executive vice president of the Orlando Magic and vice president of business development for RDV Sports.

“We are pleased that a candidate with such professional depth and wealth of senior-level and entrepreneurial experience has decided to join our school and provide direction to our students,” said Craig McAllaster, dean of the Crummer Graduate School. “Cari will not only be vital in continuing to guide our students but also in helping the school take a successful next step in this transition.”

The Center for Entrepreneurship provides Rollins MBA students with a variety of practical experiences, including seminars, workshops, mentoring programs, internships, consulting engagements with companies and speakers both in and out of the classroom. Through the center, Rollins MBA students apply what they’ve learned in a business setting, enabling them to engage in the critical, creative thinking essential to entrepreneurial success. One-hundred percent of the center’s faculty have started, bought or run a successful business, so students completing coursework through the center regularly learn and closely collaborate with of some of the nation’s top entrepreneurs and benefit from their collective experience.

Coats holds a BA in Communications/Radio-Television from the University of Central Florida and an MBA from Duke University.

About the Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business

The Rollins MBA at the Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business, located in Winter Park, Florida, is consistently ranked a top MBA program by Forbes Magazine and BusinessWeek, and a top-25 school for entrepreneurial studies from Entrepreneur Magazine and the Princeton Review. It is among a select group of business schools in the nation that have been accredited at the graduate level and is distinguished by its faculty and the academic and business successes of its graduates.

Rollins College

Founded in 1885, Rollins College is Florida's oldest recognized college, and is consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of " America's best colleges." The College of Arts & Sciences offers full-time undergraduate programs in the liberal arts. The Hamilton Holt School serves the Central Florida community by offering exceptional undergraduate and graduate degree programs during evenings and weekends to students diverse in age, experience and professional development. The Crummer Graduate School of Business is consistently ranked by Forbes magazine among the best business schools for return on investment, and Forbes recently ranked the MBA program No. 1 overall in Florida. For more information about Rollins, visit our Web site at www.rollins.edu.