As the newly appointed executive director of the Florida Public Service Commission, Braulio Baez has dedicated his career to the state’s many utility and telecommunications industries.
After working as a chief advisor for the Public Service Commission from 1994 to 1998, Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Mr. Baez to serve as a commissioner, a position he held from August 2000 to January 2006, eventually serving as chair.
As a commissioner Mr. Baez put his utility experience to work, using the knowledge he gained at Leibowitz & Associates to help the Public Service Commission regulate utilities statewide.
As an associate at Leibowitz & Associates, Mr. Baez worked to advance legislative policies and negotiate municipal agreements in all aspects of telecommunications law. He held this position from 1998 until 2000 and said that it gave him the experience needed to succeed in the commission.
“If nothing else, exposure to policy issues has helped me gain an understanding of how the agency works,” he said.
Mr. Baez was serving on the commission during the 2004 hurricane season, when Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne flew through Miami waters. Calling the storms the “transcendent issue” of his time, the commissioner helped rebuild South Florida utilities.
“You never realize how much you take for granted – the fact that when you flip a switch the light comes on or you have a dial tone when you pick up the phone – as when you don’t have it,” he said. “Everyone having lived in South Florida has the unfortunate experiences of learning that the hard way.”
From 2006 to 2010 Mr. Baez worked for Holland & Knight and Akerman Senterfitt, developing legal strategies involving critical infrastructure issues for Florida utility providers and telecommunications firms.
When the Public Service Commission’s former executive director, Timothy Devlin, resigned after 35 years of service, it was Mr. Baez’s experience that catapulted him to the top of the pack. During a national search for a new head, Mr. Baez’s beat out more than 130 applicants for the top spot.
In October Mr. Baez moved to disband his own consulting firm, the Baez Law Group, to dedicate himself to the commission full time.
“I felt I brought to the position an understanding of what the agency does, how it works,” he said. “I did have a history with the staff, with working with them through my private service. I understood what the folks making the decisions go through on a daily basis, having served on the commission. I think that experience spoke to [the selection committee].”
Mr. Baez discussed the Public Service Commission current initiatives and his push to create a sense of stability among staff with Miami Today staff writer Ashley Hopkins at the Miami Today offices.
As the newly appointed executive director of the Florida Public Service Commission, Braulio Baez has dedicated his career to the state’s many utility and telecommunications industries.
After working as a chief advisor for the Public Service Commission from 1994 to 1998, Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Mr. Baez to serve as a commissioner, a position he held from August 2000 to January 2006, eventually serving as chair.
As a commissioner Mr. Baez put his utility experience to work, using the knowledge he gained at Leibowitz & Associates to help the Public Service Commission regulate utilities statewide.
As an associate at Leibowitz & Associates, Mr. Baez worked to advance legislative policies and negotiate municipal agreements in all aspects of telecommunications law. He held this position from 1998 until 2000 and said that it gave him the experience needed to succeed in the commission.
“If nothing else, exposure to policy issues has helped me gain an understanding of how the agency works,” he said.
Mr. Baez was serving on the commission during the 2004 hurricane season, when Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne flew through Miami waters. Calling the storms the “transcendent issue” of his time, the commissioner helped rebuild South Florida utilities.
“You never realize how much you take for granted – the fact that when you flip a switch the light comes on or you have a dial tone when you pick up the phone – as when you don’t have it,” he said. “Everyone having lived in South Florida has the unfortunate experiences of learning that the hard way.”
From 2006 to 2010 Mr. Baez worked for Holland & Knight and Akerman Senterfitt, developing legal strategies involving critical infrastructure issues for Florida utility providers and telecommunications firms.
When the Public Service Commission’s former executive director, Timothy Devlin, resigned after 35 years of service, it was Mr. Baez’s experience that catapulted him to the top of the pack. During a national search for a new head, Mr. Baez’s beat out more than 130 applicants for the top spot.
In October Mr. Baez moved to disband his own consulting firm, the Baez Law Group, to dedicate himself to the commission full time.
“I felt I brought to the position an understanding of what the agency does, how it works,” he said. “I did have a history with the staff, with working with them through my private service. I understood what the folks making the decisions go through on a daily basis, having served on the commission. I think that experience spoke to [the selection committee].”
Mr. Baez discussed the Public Service Commission current initiatives and his push to create a sense of stability among staff with Miami Today staff writer Ashley Hopkins at the Miami Today offices.
As an attorney and co-managing shareholder for Greenberg Traurig, Jaret Davis represents a number of domestic and international corporate clients with mergers and acquisitions, public and private securities offerings, joint ventures and general contractual matters.
While the majority of his work has been in the telecommunications and life science industries, Mr. Davis has represented clients operating in everything from electronic security services to HVAC systems. He has represented a major application services provider, a leading Internet exchange provider and several startups.
This year Mr. Davis led a multidisciplinary team to negotiate for Terremark Worldwide Inc. during its acquisition by Verizon Communications, a deal with an equity value of about $2 billion and an enterprise value of about $2.5 billion. The deal was Verizon’s largest transaction since its acquisition of MCI in 2005.
“Verizon saw a great deal of synergy in Terremark and they pursued them,” he said. “We were happy to play a role in helping negotiate the terms. Typically speaking, in any public company deal there’s a lot of nuances to it, and we were happy to help Terremark navigate those.”
Mr. Davis has also represented clients in the restaurant and entertainment industry, helping companies purchase nightclubs and other venues. He helped facilitate the purchase, renovation and launch of Mansion, 1235 Washington Ave., a leading nightclub on Miami Beach.
While a number of other “strong deals” has allowed Greenberg Traurig to celebrate a successful 2011 budget year despite tough economic times, Mr. Davis said that he is interested in seeing how things will play out through 2012, as the upcoming election year could create an “interplay of politics with the corporate world.”
“We’re the 1,000-pound gorilla in the marketplace, but we never want to rest on our laurels,” he said of his law firm. “We’re always looking to see where we can improve, where we can grow and where we can provide greater service to our clients.”
Mr. Davis was recently added to the 30th class of Leadership Florida, where he hopes to continue dialogue with the state in regards to increasing market share in technology industries, leveraging
Miami’s connection to international markets.
Mr. Davis discussed Greenberg Traurig’s FY 2011 budget strategy and
his plans to grow the office with Miami Today staff writer Ashley Hopkins in his downtown office.
Correspondent Rick Karr reports on why the U.S., where the Internet was born, has now fallen badly behind in the race to the online future.
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