Calixto Garcia-Velez: "we need to wake up to the goal of acting regionally," says Garcia-Velez. "We'd be much more effective marketing ourselves as South Florida than separately." - In Play

South Florida CEO, Oct, 2003

THE PLAYER: Calixto Garcia-Velez, 36, president of Citibank Florida

LATEST PLAY: Installed this month as chairman of the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade County's economic development agency.

BACKGROUND: A University of Miami undergrad and MBA, Garcia-Velez joined Citibank in 1993 as a branch manager. Subsequently named area director, and in 1999 appointed president of Citibank Florida, which consists of 35 branches in South Florida. In January of this year, promoted to business manager of Citibank North America's South Division, which includes Florida (where he continues his role as president), Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and Puerto Rico.

AMBITION: "I've outlined three primary goals for the Beacon Council," says Garcia-Velez. These are: to make sure that Miami is chosen as the home to the permanent secretariat of the Free Trade Area of the Americas; to continue to focus on the Beacon's local jobs initiative, with an emphasis on helping small businesses grow; to coordinate the Beacon Council's activities with its regional counterparts in South Florida.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]