
Bemetra Simmons
President and Chief Executive Officer
Tampa Bay Partnership
Tampa, Florida
Appointed: January 2025
Term expires: December 31, 2027
Bemetra Simmons has served as president and chief executive officer of Tampa Bay Partnership in Tampa, Florida, since September 1, 2021. Tampa Bay Partnership is a coalition of regional business and nonprofit leaders designed to improve the civic quality and economic well-being of the residents of Tampa Bay. Ms. Simmons's extensive network and relationships throughout the eight-county Tampa Bay region, the state, and the country have informed her successes in convening and activating decision-makers to propel solutions for the area's greatest needs, including workforce development, education, and housing affordability.
Ms. Simmons previously served as the chief strategy and operations officer for United Way Suncoast from 2020 to 2021, and she has held leadership and executive leadership roles at Mutual of Omaha Bank, Wells Fargo, and BB&T.
She is a member of the board of directors of the Jacksonville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. She is active in the Tampa Bay community and currently serves on several boards, including the board of trustees for St. Leo University, the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, and the St. Pete Free Clinic. Ms. Simmons is a Leadership Tampa graduate and a member of Leadership Florida Cornerstone Clas XXXVIII. She was named as a 2024 Women of Distinction Honoree by the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida, is recognized as one of the Florida 500 by Florida Trend, and is also a member of Delta Signa Theta Sorority Inc.
Ms. Simmons received a BS in business administration from Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee, and an MBA from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.