Mote’s Board of Trustees elects new officers, member
Mote Marine Laboratory’s Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the election of G. Lowe Morrison as Chairman, Robert Essner as Vice-Chairman and Maurice Cunniffe as a new Trustee.
Re-elected Board officers include retired Lt. Gen. Howard G. Crowell, Treasurer, and Mickey Callanen, Secretary. Dr. Michael P. Crosby continues in his officer position as President & CEO. Eugene Beckstein will continue his Trustee service as Immediate Past-Chairman.
Mote's Board of Trustees supports the Lab in its mission of advancing marine science, education and outreach. In 2011, Mote implemented its guiding blueprint, the 2020 Vision & Strategic Plan, which is endorsed by the Board of Trustees. (Read the plan: www.mote.org/about-us).
This year — Mote’s 60th Anniversary — the Board is playing an instrumental role in the Lab’s comprehensive fundraising campaign Oceans of Opportunity. Unveiled in January 2015, the campaign aims to significantly enhance and sustain Mote’s world-class research and education enterprise in Sarasota and around the globe. It seeks to raise $50 million in donation commitments by the end of 2015, and it has already raised about $32.5 million thanks to amazing support from Mote’s Trustees and outstanding donors.
New officers and member:
G. Lowe Morrison, Chairman
Morrison holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and has over 30 years of investment management experience in the trust industry. Since 2006, Morrison has served as the Managing Principal for the Sarasota office of Sabal Trust Company. He also serves on the firm's Board of Directors and Investment Committee. He served as Chair of Mote’s Advisory Council prior to becoming a Trustee in 2007. Morrison served as the Chair of Mote's Development Committee, where he established a planned giving program and laid groundwork for the current Oceans of Opportunity campaign. Morrison is committed to improving the region’s communities and environment. As a seventh-generation Floridian and native of the state's West Coast, he comes from a family of avid fishers and outdoor enthusiasts. Residing in Sarasota and Little Gasparilla Island, Morrison spends much of his time on the water, sharing his lifelong passion for conservation, often on Mote’s behalf. His two grown daughters, Ashley and Lindsey, share his love of the coastal environment. He is currently a Trustee of the Frank E. Duckwall Foundation, serves on the Advisory Council of Tampa Bay Watch, and is an active Life Member of the Coastal Conservation Association of Florida. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of South Florida.
“It is an honor to be elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Mote Marine Lab at such a transformative time in the Lab’s history," Morrison said. "The Board is totally engaged in many strategic initiatives that will cement the future of Mote for years to come, led by the Oceans of Opportunity campaign. I am excited to work with the Board, staff and volunteers to build on the momentum established over the last 60 years. Mote is on the move."
Robert Essner, Vice-Chairman
Essner, who has residences in Lido Shores and New York City, has been a Mote Trustee since 2011 and is currently Chair of Oceans of Opportunity: The Campaign for Mote Marine Laboratory. Essner is the former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Wyeth, now Pfizer Inc. He graduated from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and received his master’s degree from the University of Chicago. He is now Executive in Residence and adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and serves in multiple other business- and community-leadership roles.
"Mote is the cornerstone of Sarasota's science and research efforts and I am looking forward to working closely with Mote's leadership and Board of Trustees in this exciting time of opportunity and growth," Essner said.
Maurice J. Cunniffe, Trustee
Cunniffe is an accomplished businessman and former chairman and CEO of several global companies, including American Optical Corp. and Sola International Corp., which have operations in more than 100 countries worldwide. Cunniffe has experience in operations, marketing acquisitions and all major business areas. Cunniffe started in 1954 as a junior physicist at ITT Laboratories, then he worked with Polarad Electronics Corp. He was recruited to Sperry Gyroscope Corp as Division Manager of the Electronic Tube Laboratory, supervising 500 engineers and staff. In 1963 he joined McKinsey and Co. and led consulting teams in the U.S. and Europe. In 1969 he joined A.G. Becker & Co. as Senior Vice President - Investment Banking, and several years later formed his holding company, Vista Capital. During the next 40 years he bought approximately 50 companies. He is a Trustee of Fordham University, the Cancer Research Institute and The Smithsonian American Art Museum. He has homes in Sarasota and Greenwich, Conn.
“I am highly impressed with the work Mote has accomplished, especially in the areas of coral regrowth and cancer immunology in sharks," Cunniffe said. "This and Mote’s continuing work to maintain our oceans are worth supporting and helping to the extent we can help.”
“With the election of these outstanding Board officers and a stellar new Trustee, we are fortifying and enhancing Mote’s ability to not only conduct and expand our world-class marine science, but to translate and transfer our discoveries to benefit Florida’s marine-driven Blue Economy and society as a whole,” said Mote President & CEO Dr. Michael P. Crosby. “Our Board is a dream team that continues to impress me with their enthusiasm, their diligent pursuit of our 2020 Vision & Strategic Plan goals, and their dedication to the oceans and to society.”