Julia MacGregor-Peralta, MS MBA, is a technology entrepreneur, executive and thought leader with more than 25 years of experience in hands-on business management and growing companies from start up through growth stage. Most recently she served as President and CEO of the Tampa based technology company, Global Safety Management (GSM), her 6th business, for which she raised over $12 million dollars in venture capital. Her businesses have ranged from a franchise in the education sector, to a translation company, and most recently a software venture in the chemical and regulatory industry. She grew three of her companies to several million dollars in revenue, acquired a competitor and has been acquired. Twenty years ago she also went through a bankruptcy, which she shares openly. When asked why she is so candid, she says it is because failures, large and small, are part of the building blocks of success.

Julia is passionate about entrepreneurship and leadership, especially for women and minorities. She spends her free time mentoring other entrepreneurs, speaking at business events and helping build the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. Julia serves on multiple corporate and non-profit boards.

As a recognized business leader, she has won numerous awards, such as the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Business Woman of the Year (2018) and the Tampa Chamber’s Business Leader of the Year Finalist (2018). Likewise, under her leadership, companies have won awards that include:

• 2020 Companies to Watch

• 2019 USF Fast 50

• 2018 Startup of the Year

• 2018 Small Business of the Year

• 2017 Gator 100

• 2016 & 2017 Consumers’ Choice Award

Julia also has deep technical domain knowledge in the chemical regulatory industry, with a focus on material safety, OSHA and global compliance through technology. She is a recognized expert and speaker in the chemical regulatory compliance industry and the inventor of patent-pending technologies.

Julia has an MBA from University of Florida, an MS in Entrepreneurship and Applied Technologies from University of South Florida and she studied Operations Management at the University of Alabama. Her undergraduate is in Psychology from Georgia State University and she is working on her PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, with an International and Cultural concentration. Her research interests are in leadership, entrepreneurial teams and the relationship dynamics between entrepreneurs, board members and investors.