Gov. Rick Scott has appointed former Board of Governors Chairman Morteza “Mori” Hosseini to the University of Florida Board of Trustees. Hosseini is the chairman and chief executive officer of ICI Homes in Daytona Beach.
He joins Marsha Powers, chief executive officer for Tenet Healthcare’s Florida Region, and Leonard Johnson, a UF alumnus and Tampa Bay area attorney, as the newest board members. Powers and Johnson were recently appointed to the UF board by the Florida Board of Governors.
“Skilled practitioners in their fields, these individuals bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to our board,” UF President Kent Fuchs said. “All three are dedicated to helping guide the university in its quest to be recognized as one of the very best in the nation. We are pleased to welcome them.”
Hosseini received a bachelor’s degree from the Chelsea College of Aeronautical Engineering and a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Hosseini founded ICI Homes, one of Florida's largest residential homebuilder/developers, in 1980. Consistently ranked by Builder Magazine among the nation's Top 100 homebuilders, ICI Homes has built thousands of homes in most major Florida markets including the counties of Volusia (corporate office headquarters), Flagler, St. Johns, Duval, Nassau, Seminole, Orange, Osceola, and Brevard.
In addition to land development and homebuilding operations, Hosseini is involved in many other enterprises throughout Florida including a lumber company and a title insurance company.
Hosseini also serves on several corporate, civic and public boards and associations.He succeeds Christopher Corr of Jacksonville, who has served since 2012. Corr is senior vice president of real estate for Rayonier, a public company, and president of TerraPointe, its real estate subsidiary.
Powers, a veteran health care executive, has more than three decades of experience, including operational responsibility for large and diverse hospital networks.
At Tenet Healthcare, Powers is responsible for directing the strategy and operations for 10 acute-care hospitals in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Tenet's Florida hospitals have 3,483 beds, almost 10,000 employees, an annual payroll in the state of more than $670 million and revenues exceeding $1 billion.
Prior to joining Tenet, Powers served as a division president of Triad Hospitals and as president of Quorum Health Service's Southeast Region. Powers holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Sweet Briar College in Virginia, and a master's degree in business administration, specializing in health and hospital administration, from the University of Florida.
Powers succeeds Charles Edwards, an attorney from Fort Myers. Edwards has served on the Florida Board of Regents and Board of Governors, as well as serving on the university’s Board of Trustees for the past five years.
Leonard Johnson practices law in the Tampa Bay area with a focus on real estate law, business law, banking law, construction law and land use and development law. He has represented banks and other businesses, as well as individual clients with complex issues related to buying and selling real estate and businesses, finance transactions, construction matters, and land use and development issues.
Johnson is as a member of the Gator Boosters Board of Directors and is its president-elect. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and a law degree from the University of Florida.
Johnson succeeds Susan Cameron, an alumna who is president and chief executive officer of the public company Reynolds American, Inc. Cameron has served as a trustee for the past five years.
The March 31-April 1, 2016 Board meeting is the last for Faculty Senate Chair Paul Davenport, a distinguished professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine with a joint appointment in the College of Medicine, and Student Body President Joselin Padron-Rasines, a senior studying political science and international studies.
Associate Professor of Agricultural Leadership Nicole Stedman will succeed Davenport, and Susan Webster, a fourth-year student studying international studies and Chinese language, will succeed Padron-Rasines.
UF’s 13-member board consists of six members appointed by the governor and five members appointed by the Board of Governors. The chair of the Faculty Senate and the president of the student body also serve as voting members on the board. Board members serve staggered, five-year terms.
