Dr. Rebecca White

One of 2019’s Most Influential Corporate Board Members

According to:


Senior board director

Dr. Rebecca White has 30 years of experience on public, private, and not-for-profit boards.

She has served:

As a director and advisory board member on the boards of public companies with $1-2 billion in annual revenues
As a member and chair of board committees such as compensation, nomination, assets and loans, and mergers and acquisitions committees
In roles such as director, board member, and president of national and global non-profit organizations for entrepreneurship centers and entrepreneurial education associations

Through recent roles, she has been instrumental in areas such as assessing prospective acquisitions, guiding companies as they prepare for and transition after acquisition, helping lead significant re-branding efforts, and advising on vertical integration through strategic acquisitions and digital innovation.

Dr. White is also an active member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and Women Corporate Directors.

Selected board roles

Her current board roles include:

Director and member of the Compensation and Nomination committees, Marine Max (HZO) in Clearwater, FL
Advisory Board Member, SeaCoast Bank (SBCF) in Stuart, FL
Director and Secretary, Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization in Tampa, FL
Director, Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers in Houston, TX

Past roles include:

Director and Chair of the Assets and Loans Committee, member of the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee, NorthStar Bank in Tampa, FL
Board Member and President, United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE)

Dr. White is the Director of the John P. Lowth Entrepreneurship Center at the University of Tampa. She is also the Founder and CEO of Whiteboard Advising, LLC which helps companies of any size develop entrepreneurial mindset and boost innovation.

Selected awards and recognition

Lifetime Achievement (2017)

Max S. Wortman, Jr. Award for Lifetime Achievement in Entrepreneurship

This award is presented in recognition of a lifetime in entrepreneurial achievement that encompasses the ideals of entrepreneurial activity – through new venturing, corporate venturing, or social venturing. Dr. White is one of 22 recipients.

Professor of the Year (2017)

Women and Minority Special Interest Group

USASBE Fellow (2015)

Justin G. Longenecker Fellow

Selection as a USASBE Justin G. Longenecker Fellow is the highest recognition that the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) gives to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the development, furtherance and benefit of small and medium businesses. Dr. White is one of 84 people to have received it.

Distinguished Service (2010)

President’s Award for Distinguished Service


Pioneer Award (2017)

Karl Vesper Pioneer in Entrepreneurship Education Award


Business Woman of the Year (2010)

Tampa Bay Business Woman of the Year
Education Category


Award finalist (2006)

International Athena Awards Finalist
Greater Cincinnati


Entrepreneurial educator awardee (2005)

Freedoms Foundation Leavey Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education


Entrepreneur of the Year (2003)

Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year – Supporter of Entrepreneurship, Kentucky and Southwest Ohio Region

Award-winning advisor and educator

Outside of her board duties, Dr. White is an educator, speaker, author, business consultant, and entrepreneur with expertise in areas such as:

The management and leadership of innovation in corporate contexts
Talent development and educational program building
Creative problem solving and opportunity recognition
Innovation and the entrepreneurial mindset

As Director of the John P. Lowth Entrepreneurship Center at the University of Tampa and as Executive Director of its advisory board, she has led the university and its entrepreneurship programs to national ranking and numerous awards for its impacts on learners and companies in its regional ecosystem.

Sought-after builder and consultant

In 2018, Dr. White served as a Kohane Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and Duke University where she focused on advancing the discipline’s understanding of entrepreneurial mindset.

Prior to her work at the University of Tampa she built a top 25 nationally ranked entrepreneurship program at Northern Kentucky University and was founder and director of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Institute, an educational program for female entrepreneurs offered jointly with the New York Times.

Through her consulting company, WhiteBoard Advising, Dr. White is translating her research on innovation and talent development into useful tools that help founders, business owners and top management teams build value in an Industry 4.0 environment.

Leading researcher and thinker

Her model helps teams recognize and take advantage of opportunities at each stage of the business life cycle and to adapt and develop their own personal leadership styles and skills and those of the top management team, advisory boards and directors to meet the strategic goals of the company and owners.

Her podcast and blog, En Factor, shares inspirational stories of successful entrepreneurs with a focus on opportunity recognition and resilience.

Her book recent book, See, Do, Repeat: The Practice of Entrepreneurship offers a success framework for aspiring and practicing entrepreneurs.

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