FIT Selects Claudia Haines Jones as the 2012 Outstanding Business Leader of the Year

Melbourne, FL — At its Spring Awards Banquet on April 12, the Florida Institute of Technology Nathan M. Bisk College of Business named Claudia Haines Jones, corporate attorney with Dean Mead in Viera, Melbourne, its Outstanding Business Leader of the Year.

Haines Jones, a longtime supporter of the College of Business and the university, joined the business law firm of Dean Mead in 2009. Today she represents local businesses and physician practices, advising her clients on corporate governance, business law, relationships among business partners and other stakeholders, and on acquisitions, financing and commercial transactions. She is also counsel to the Holmes Regional Medical Center Medical Executive Committee, the committee that manages the medical staff’s affairs.

Haines Jones previously practiced in Melbourne when she was recruited in 2000 to serve as General Counsel to XL Vision, Inc., a technology incubator. There she worked with the company’s engineers, physicists, technologists and scientists to secure patents for proprietary research and inventions and investor funding. She served the company’s board of directors and its spin-off companies advising on corporate, securities and business law issues. Later, she was recruited to South Florida to serve as General Counsel of Levitt Corporation, a publicly traded real estate development company.

“Claudia Haines Jones is a strong supporter of entrepreneurship education at the Nathan M. Bisk College of Business and is currently a member of our Technology Innovation and Venture Development Executive Council,” said Annie Becker dean of the college. Haines Jones is a guest lecturer in graduate classes, providing her expertise in business planning, intellectual property, and managing innovation. She has also served as a guest speaker in the college’s Entrepreneurial Training Services program sharing her technical knowledge with those exploring entrepreneurship as a career path.

About Florida Institute of Technology:

Founded at the dawn of the Space Race in 1958, Florida Tech is the only independent, technological university in the Southeast. The university has been named a Barron’s Guide “Best Buy” in College Education, designated a Tier One Best National University in U.S. News & World Report, and is one of just nine schools in Florida lauded by the 2012 Fiske Guide to Colleges. A recent survey by PayScale.com ranks Florida Tech as the top private university in Florida for return on investment. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs. Fields of study include science, engineering, aeronautics, business, humanities, mathematics, psychology, communication and education. Additional information is available online at www.fit.edu.

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CHJ’s Press Release (FIT Outstanding Business Leader Award)