Black Knight Inc. And Dun & Bradstreet CEO
Anthony Jabbour’s profile in Jacksonville grows every year.
He joined mortgage technology firm Black Knight Inc. as CEO in April 2018. Less than a year later, after Black Knight was part of an investment group that bought business data firm Dun & Bradstreet Holdings Inc., Jabbour took on the additional role of CEO of Dun & Bradstreet in February 2019.
In June 2020, the investment group launched an initial public offering of Dun & Bradstreet, which then was headquartered in New Jersey.
In May 2021, Dun & Bradstreet announced it was moving its headquarters to Jacksonville.
That makes Jabbour CEO of two large Jacksonville companies that are significant employers.
Dun & Bradstreet will receive $25 million in city and state incentives to move to Jacksonville, with the promise of hiring 500 people.
Black Knight is one of Jacksonville’s largest employers with more than 2,000 workers.
Jabbour has been in Jacksonville since 2004, when he joined Fidelity National Information Services Inc., or FIS.
Both Black Knight and FIS were spun off from Fidelity National Financial Inc.
By Mark Basch
Downtown Investment Authority CEO
Downtown Investment Authority CEO Lori Boyer engineered a full set of deals in 2021.
In January, the DIA board advanced the first deal with the revamped historic incentive program spearheaded by Boyer.
It approved an $8.6 million loan package for JWB Real Estate Capital’s plan to turn the Florida Baptist Convention and Old Federal Reserve Bank buildings into restaurant and apartment space.
That pilot led to City Council’s approval in May of $26.67 million in loans to SouthEast Development Group for its hotel and restaurant proposal for the Laura Street Trio.
Boyer’s second full year leading the DIA ended with more than $850 million in projects Downtown breaking ground or moving toward approval.
She led negotiations on more than $220 million in city-backed incentives for those projects.
Boyer and her staff’s vetting of Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s proposed $321 million Four Seasons hotel and office building along the Downtown riverfront cleared Council to pass a $114 million incentives deal in October.
Also in 2021, DIA advanced a project to redevelop the former Florida-Times Union property, renovate the Union Terminal Warehouse and advocate for the development of the Emerald Trail.
Boyer also spent 2021 coordinating with city procurement, the parks office, the Jaguars, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and the public to expand plans for Downtown riverfront parks.
She is negotiating with the state Department of Environmental Protection for a land swap for the former Kids Kampus as part of the Four Seasons deal to build a 10-acre park at the Shipyards.
Plans are in process for parks at the former Jacksonville Landing, McCoys Creek in Brooklyn and for the Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park in LaVilla.
City crews also began construction in 2021 to rehab Friendship Fountain on the Southbank.
The DIA approved plans to increase Downtown parking meter rates and is mediating a contract dispute with parking garage operator Metropolitan Parking Solutions.
Her work prompted the DIA board to vote 7-0 in May to increase Boyer’s annual salary by $20,000 to $200,000.
“Her knowledge is immense, but her ability to communicate the specifics of a transaction or the issues facing the board on a deal … is of extreme value,” said board member Jim Citrano Jr.
By Mike Mendenhall
Firehouse Subs Founders
After opening their first Jacksonville sandwich shop 27 years before, brothers and former firefighters Robin and Chris Sorensen sold their business for $1 billion.
Restaurant Brands International Inc. agreed in November and closed a deal in December to buy Firehouse Restaurant Group Inc. The company started by the Sorensens with a single shop on San Jose Boulevard now has 1,206 restaurants in 46 states, Puerto Rico and Canada.
RBI, the parent company of Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons, plans to grow the chain further with expansion into more international markets.
However, the Sorensens made sure they were selling Firehouse to a corporation that would keep the business intact, headquartered in Jacksonville with the same management.
The Sorensens haven’t been as active in day-to-day management, with Don Fox running the business as CEO since 2009. The sale of the company will allow them to focus more time on philanthropy.
They will continue the mission of the nonprofit Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation, which supports public safety organizations. They also will explore other philanthropic endeavors.
The Sorensens owned the majority of shares in closely held Firehouse but they have not said how much of the $1 billion they will receive.
Robin Sorensen, 53, told the Daily Record he and his 61-year-old brother will continue to look at investments, including possible restaurant opportunities. But they don’t expect to grow another big chain.
While Firehouse’s ownership changed hands, the Sorensens will continue to be active in the community.
By Mark Basch
