Jamal Sowell

Sowell is the co-founder and managing director of Patriot Eats, a food and beverage service business. He served as the Florida Secretary of Commerce and oversaw $250 million in assets, led the state’s economic development initiatives, managed over a dozen foreign offices and the state’s export program, and promoted small and rural business growth within the international trade division. He facilitated corporate relocations or expansions for companies such as Chewy, Inc., Dun & Bradstreet, The Boeing Company, UPS, Pfizer, the Blackstone Group, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and many more.

Sowell was the Chief of Staff at Port Tampa Bay, Florida’s largest port by acreage, which generates $17.2 billion in economic value for Tampa Bay. He was appointed by the Pinellas County Commission to the Pinellas County Economic Development Council and contributed to programs promoting economic development, export-import initiatives with the port, and trade for the region. He was a member of the Florida Council of 100 and a division president at Indelible, a national management consulting firm providing audit, regulatory compliance, health, transportation, infrastructure, and technology advisory services.

Sowell’s family has a strong tradition of military service; his grandfather was in World War II, his father served in Vietnam, and his brother was deployed to Iraq where he became disabled. Sowell joined the Marines as a Private First Class in the reserve while in graduate school. Afterwards, he went on active duty, served in Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan, and was eventually promoted to Captain. He is currently in the United States Navy Reserve.

In 2023, Florida Trend named him as one of the state's 500 most influential business leaders and was appointed by the Governor to the Florida Defense Support Commission, which aims to bolster Florida’s military missions and installations. He is a Pat Tillman Scholar and a mergers and acquisitions advisor for Align Business Advisory Services.