Lakshmi Shenoy is the CEO of Embarc Collective, Florida’s fastest-growing startup hub, located in downtown Tampa. Before moving to Tampa Bay, Lakshmi was in Chicago and served as the Vice President of Strategy & Business Development at 1871, the #1 university-affiliated business incubator in the world. Prior to 1871, Lakshmi worked for several top global media and advertising brands. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Chicago and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Lakshmi currently serves on the board for The Florida Aquarium, Junior Achievement Tampa Bay, and the University of South Florida Research Foundation. She was recently recognized as a 2022 Tampa Bay Business Journal Business Woman of the Year and 2022 Indo-US Chamber Business Woman of the Year.