Peter Rummell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1945-10-13)October 13, 1945 (age 79) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of North Carolina Wharton Business School |
| Occupation(s) | Former Company President & CEO; Investor |
| Spouse | Lee Ann Wilson |
| Children | Mahala Hunter (born 1992) Harry Stevenson II (born 1994) |
Peter Stevenson Rummell (born October 13, 1945) is an American real estate entrepreneur, investor and businessman. He has held senior positions at several prominent companies, heading two branches ofThe Walt Disney Company and serving as CEO of theSt. Joe Company. Disney'splanned community ofCelebration, Florida was his brainchild. He is a founding board member and the primary financial backer ofOne Spark, acrowdfunding festival inJacksonville, Florida.
Rummell attendedThe Hill School inPottstown, Pennsylvania, then completed his undergraduate education in 1967 with an Artium Baccalaureus (AB) degree in English literature with a Chemistry double major from theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[1] His first job involved selling laboratory equipment to hospitals, and he realized that he was not a salesman. Friends attending theWharton Business School at theUniversity of Pennsylvania encouraged him to join them, so he enrolled there and received anMBA in 1971.[1] Another friend from Wharton invited him to visitHilton Head Island, South Carolina, where he met developer Charles Fraser, who offered Rummell a job.[2]
Rummell began his real estate career with theSea Pines Company in 1971, where he was involved in the development of resort communities on Hilton Head andAmelia Island, Florida. Beginning in 1977, he was with theArvida Corporation, where he served as general manager of theSawgrass development inPonte Vedra Beach, Florida. In 1983, he was named vice chairman ofRockefeller Center Management, which markets, leases and manages the 18 buildings in midtown Manhattan that encompassRockefeller Center inNew York City.[3] Rummell left in 1985 to become president ofDisney Development Company. At Disney, he helped manage the company's theme park and resort development, includingWalt Disney World in Orlando, and was a driving force behind the 5,000-acre, 20,000-person planned community ofCelebration, Florida.[4][5] Rummell pitched the idea to Disney CEOMichael Eisner in 1989 and described his vision of Celebration:
[a] wonderful residential town east of I-4 that has a human scale with sidewalks and bicycles and parks and the kind of architecture that is sophisticated and timeless. It will have fiber optics and smart houses, but the feel will in many cases be closer to Main Street than to Future World.[4]
The division also managed the company's holdings adjacent to theme parks inAnaheim,Orlando,Tokyo andParis.
Rummell was promoted to chairman ofWalt Disney Imagineering and remained with the company until 1997, when he was hired bySt. Joe Company inJacksonville, Florida to transform Florida's largest landowner into a major developer. As chairman and CEO, he guided the company to plan and develop 20 major resort and residential communities.[5] He left the company in May 2008 and was briefly president ofNicklaus Companies.[6]
From 2003 to 2006 Rummell served on the board of directors ofProgress Energy andCarolina Power & Light;[6] he serves on the board ofThe Haskell Company.[7]In September 2007, Rummell was named a director ofReal estate investment trust AvalonBay Communities due to his extensive experience in real estate development, and is currently a private investor.[8]
Rummell served as co-chairman of Jacksonville's host committee that was successful in their quest to have the city selected forSuper Bowl XXXIX in 2005.[9]
He was anUrban Land Institute officer and trustee who was also chairman of the ULI Foundation in the 2000s.[5] Rummell was a member of the Jacksonville Non-Group, which evolved into theJacksonville Civic Council in 2010. He was the first president of the new organization.[10]
He chaired theFlorida Council of 100 from 2005 to 2007,[7] a group that advises the governor on issues confronting the state from a business point of view.[6] From 2003[11] to 2006, Rummell was appointed by governorJeb Bush as a member of theFlorida Board of Governors, which provides policy oversight of the university system for the State of Florida.[6]
In 2013, Rummell became the primary financial backer ofOne Spark, a five-daycrowdfunding festival held inDowntown Jacksonville.[12]
Peter and his wife, Lee Ann, have two children: Mahala Hunter (born 1992) and Harry Stevenson II (born 1994). They reside primarily in Jacksonville, Florida.[1]