Tampa's Chief of Staff to Resign

Mayor Bob Buckhorn's chief of staff has been hired to lead Tampa Bay & Company, the Tampa area's leading tourism agency.

Santiago Corrada will start his post as CEO in May, after working under two Tampa mayors for the last 10 years – Buckhorn and Pam Iorio.

Tampa leaders and observers flooded Twitter with comments about the loss at City Hall and Corrada's opportunity to have an impact in his new post.

Tweeted former Mayor Pam Iorio: "Tampa Bay & Company (have) themselves a great leader with the selection of Santiago Corrada."

Tweeted Richard Danielson of the Tampa Bay Times: "Big loss for Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, who says Corrada "excelled in every capacity. ... He will do a great job for Tampa Bay & Co.”

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Corrada said:
“I am so excited about the possibilities and opportunities with Tampa Bay & Company. It gives me another way to contribute to this community.”

As chief of staff, Corrada oversaw 50 city departments. A New Jersey native, he is the son of Cuban immigrants and plans to focus on building Latin American tourism in the Tampa area.