{"id":1239,"date":"2022-05-04T10:10:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T10:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lab22c.com\/?p=1239"},"modified":"2022-09-13T12:42:17","modified_gmt":"2022-09-13T12:42:17","slug":"in-the-news-executive-profile-saif-ishoof-on-being-miamis-connector-in-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lab22c.com\/in-the-news-executive-profile-saif-ishoof-on-being-miamis-connector-in-chief","title":{"rendered":"In the News: Executive Profile: Saif Ishoof on being Miami’s ‘connector-in-chief’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Saif Ishoof<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 46<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Birthplace: Georgetown, Guyana<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residence: Miami<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current positions: Founder, Lab22c; chief innovation advisor, City National Bank of Florida<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previous positions: VP of engagement, Florida International University; senior advisor for innovation and technology, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education: J.D., University of Miami Law School; B.S., foreign service, Georgetown University<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Saif Ishoof<\/a> says people often have questions about the rocketship lapel pin he frequently wears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pin is about more than making a fashion statement, said Ishoof, founder of Miami-based Lab22c, an organization that helps businesses find talent and scale. Instead, it\u2019s a reminder of his goals as one of the most prominent local voices in South Florida\u2019s up-and-coming technology sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to build rocketships of opportunity big enough to ensure everyone can get to the moon,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we can do it together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That involves ensuring homegrown founders, companies and locals aren\u2019t left behind, said Ishoof, formerly VP of engagement for Florida International University. In that role, he spent years drawing on his experience as a tech founder, lawyer and investor to build and lead new partnerships at the university. He also served as an innovation and technology advisor to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez<\/a>, and helped launch the Venture Miami program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What brought you to South Florida?<\/strong> My family migrated to Miami when I was 2 years old. At the time, the government in Guyana moved in a hard left, socialist direction, very similar to other socialist regimes in the Americas. My mom went to college in the U.S., and my dad went to school in England. So they had those links when they decided to leave [Guyana], and we came to the U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was it a difficult adjustment?<\/strong> When my parents moved here, we became ensconced in different cultures and felt welcomed by the Cuban community. I have guarapo and pastelitos in my blood. My family is Muslim, and the first mosque we ever went to [in Miami] was in Liberty City. I had the great fortune to meet Muhammad Ali there when I was a kid. It was an event that transformed the trajectory of my life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why was that moment so important?<\/strong> It was a turning point because, as an immigrant kid who didn\u2019t see myself as part of the grander narrative of what was happening around me, seeing this athlete \u2013 who was also Muslim \u2013 and then learning about his life story and his journey as a humanitarian, was inspiring. It showed me what was possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did you want to study law?<\/strong> I had a conversation with some of my mentors, and they said law is one of the last graduate degrees that involves studying the classics. It\u2019s philosophy, debate, reason, logic, history. I knew I wanted to pursue a graduate degree that would allow me to grow and come out on the other side with something useful. I\u2019m passionate about tech, but I\u2019m equally fascinated by the power of human connection. I never ended up practicing law, but I\u2019m still a member of the Florida Bar. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saif Ishoof Age: 46 Birthplace: Georgetown, Guyana Residence: Miami Current positions: Founder, Lab22c; chief innovation advisor, City National Bank of Florida Previous positions: VP of engagement, Florida International University; senior advisor for innovation and technology, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez Education: J.D., University of Miami Law School; B.S., foreign service, Georgetown University Saif Ishoof says people often have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lab22c.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1239"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lab22c.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lab22c.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lab22c.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lab22c.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1239"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lab22c.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1274,"href":"https:\/\/lab22c.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1239\/revisions\/1274"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lab22c.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lab22c.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lab22c.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lab22c.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}