The Partnership’s new Executive Director of Innovation & Technology David Adelson is focused on organizing and aligning Orlando’s tech resources toward an innovation-based economy.
The Orlando Economic Partnership (the Partnership) has announced a five-year strategic plan for the region’s tech and innovation ecosystem focused on driving investment into the region in the areas of technology that specifically address a broad-based increase in opportunities, capabilities and access for Orlando’s workforce.
With the specific goals of growing jobs in tech, innovation and scaling companies, the plan seeks to establish synergy between the region’s tech associations, create a brand identity of the Orlando ecosystem and shift hospitality-centric perceptions of Orlando toward an emerging tech hub.
Key elements of the plan include:
- Aligning the current technology regional economy and its players, sectors and investment
- Evaluating competing markets and incorporating the elements that made them successful or recognized as a leader into the Orlando ecosystem
- Gathering local company and investor input and developing targeted partnerships
- Solidifying Orlando’s unique positioning against competitor cities
- Developing and launching a unique tech brand, narrative and communications plan for the region’s innovation ecosystem
The implementation of the plan will be guided by a taskforce comprised of some of the Orlando region’s top tech executives, founders and visionaries, including Harold Mills, CEO of VMD Ventures, and Sal Rehmetullah, co-founder of Stax.
Behind the plan’s development is David Adelson, the Partnership’s new Executive Director of Innovation & Technology. Adelson, a proven entrepreneur and experienced C-level tech business leader and investor, brings to the role a background in branding, strategic and customer acquisition and relationship management for global companies.
“Orlando has all the ingredients to be a dominant tech leader in our country.”
David Adelson, Orlando Economic Partnership Executive Director of Innovation & Technology
“By understanding our competitor cities and how they promoted success will allow us to focus on segmenting and evolving our sectors and shifting messaging around our tech community as one of the nation’s, if not the world’s, most fertile proving grounds for emerging tech and scaling innovative companies,” Adelson said.
“David is an accomplished entrepreneur that built his last company from an idea to a global brand, here in Orlando. David understands the lifecycle of a technology company and this perspective will add immense value as we harness all that our region has to offer,” said Tim Giuliani, Partnership President and CEO.
Adelson founded INTELITY, a global provider of enterprise guest experience and management platform for hotels, casinos, cruises and luxury residential markets, in 2008 and was its CEO and President before the company was purchased by LLR Partners in 2019. With 25 years of executive leadership experience in the travel and hospitality industries, he shaped INTELITY into a global SAAS company that is included in the portfolio of every major hotel brand in the world. Before creating INTELITY, he spent close to 15 years in the hotel industry working with brands including Hilton, Hyatt and Peabody Hotels.
“Coming from what was once a startup and having exited what is now a global company, David is ready to reengage in a different capacity that will be beneficial to not only our region’s tech companies, but the regional business community overall.”
Tim Giuliani, Orlando Economic Partnership President & CEO
“This is the perfect opportunity for him to use his experience of starting, growing and ultimately exiting a company in Orlando to articulate to the world what an advantage it is to be a tech startup in Orlando compared to other major markets,” Giuliani said.
For more information on the future of the Orlando region’s tech and innovation ecosystem or to schedule an interview, please contact Justin Braun at 407-902-0211 or at Justin.Braun@Orlando.org.
