​TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Entrepreneur and marketing professor Shane Smith has joined the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship as director of Central Florida operations.

“I am thrilled to join the Jim Moran Institute team,” said Smith, who holds a doctorate in marketing. “I was attracted to the Jim Moran Institute’s mission of training and inspiring entrepreneurs throughout Florida, and I can’t wait to begin sharing my own entrepreneurial expertise with small business owners in the Central Florida region.”

Smith has more than 15 years of marketing and entrepreneurial experience, primarily as the founder and president of SaleFish — a consulting firm focused on helping small-to-medium-sized businesses increase their revenues using online courses and other entrepreneurial training.

“Shane’s combination of hands-on experience and industry knowledge makes him a key addition to our team,” said Randy Blass, executive director of the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship in the FSU College of Business. “His appointment is a sign of our continued commitment to serving as the leading entrepreneurial resource in Florida and assisting small business owners in Tampa Bay and the greater Central Florida region.”

Smith has worked with a variety of organizations, including Allied International, Tampa Bay Rays, Kennesaw State University and the University of Tampa. During his tenure at the University of South Florida, Smith taught sales and helped corporations improve their strategic marketing and sales efforts.

Smith earned a doctorate in marketing from the University of South Carolina, a master’s degree in international marketing from the University of South Florida and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Auburn University.

To learn more about the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship, including programs and events, visit jmi.fsu.edu.

About the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship
The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship cultivates, trains and inspires entrepreneurial leaders through world-class executive education, applied training, public recognition and leading-edge research. Jim Moran was an automotive pioneer and an entrepreneur at heart, who at the age of 7, sold soda pop at sandlot baseball games in Chicago. With a career that spanned more than six decades, he built an amazing chronicle of achievements in the automobile industry. His vision for the Jim Moran Institute was to provide opportunities that would help others become more successful business owners. A 1995 contribution from Jim and Jan Moran and JM Family Enterprises established the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship at the Florida State University College of Business. Since 2011, further enhancements to the Jim Moran Institute and its outreach have been made possible by Jan Moran and The Jim Moran Foundation.

About the Central Florida Operations
The Jim Moran Institute's Central Florida Operations serves established entrepreneurs, business owners and nonprofit leaders in the Central Florida community through multiple programs designed to take advantage of local resources. Providing executive education and leveraging the resources of the Jim Moran Institute, the Central Florida Operations helps its clients' businesses - and the region's economy - grow and prosper.

Based in Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg, the Central Florida Operations services are provided to for-profit and nonprofit businesses and are geared toward CEOs, entrepreneurs, business owners and presidents of small business whose companies have been established for at least three years and have five or more employees. Services are provided for little to no cost.