Leaders from The Florida Council of 100 joined senior officials from the Kingdom of the Netherlands for a high-level resilience roundtable in Miami, held in conjunction with the official visit of Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima.

The discussion brought together government and industry leaders to address coastal protection, flood mitigation, infrastructure, and emergency response, with a focus on how regions can better prepare for water-related challenges while strengthening long-term economic competitiveness.

The Florida Council of 100 participated as the leading voice of the state’s private sector, focused on translating resilience challenges into economic opportunity and scalable solutions.

“This was a meaningful opportunity to engage at the highest levels on one of the most important issues facing Florida’s future,” said George LeMieux, Chair of The Florida Council of 100. “Resilience is directly tied to our economic competitiveness and our quality of life. The Council is focused on ensuring Florida not only prepares for these challenges but leads in developing the solutions that will drive long-term growth and investment.”

The roundtable highlighted strong alignment between Florida and the Netherlands, two regions shaped by water and increasingly focused on resilience as both a necessity and an opportunity for innovation and growth. It also underscored the critical role of the private sector in accelerating solutions and bringing new technologies to market.

For the Council, that means connecting global expertise with market demand and positioning Florida as a place where resilience solutions can be built, tested, and scaled.

“Florida and the Netherlands share something fundamental: we are both shaped by water, and increasingly, we are both defined by how well we manage it,” said Michael Simas, President and CEO of The Florida Council of 100. “For Florida, resilience is not simply about recovery. It is about competitiveness, long-term growth, and our ability to build and scale the solutions that communities here and around the world will need.”

As part of its broader resilience strategy, the Council is advancing Ambition Accelerated, a new initiative to organize private sector leadership, align capital and demand, and create a market platform where companies can develop, test, and scale resilience solutions.

The initiative will be formally launched next week at the eMerge Americas conference.

The roundtable builds on the Council’s recent report, Resilience Reimagined: Modern Policy and Innovation for a Stronger Florida, which frames resilience as a core economic priority and outlines a path for Florida to lead nationally and globally.

About The Florida Council of 100
The Florida Council of 100 is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of business leaders dedicated to improving Florida’s quality of life and economic well-being. Founded in 1961 at the request of Governor Farris Bryant, the Council serves as a trusted advisor to Florida’s elected officials and policymakers. Its membership represents over 200 companies employing more than 1.3 million Floridians, collectively shaping the state’s future through business-driven policy solutions and direct economic impact initiatives. The Florida Council of 100 Foundation is the Council’s nonprofit affiliate, focused on research, education, and strategic initiatives that support long-term economic growth and prosperity across Florida. The Foundation plays a key role in identifying opportunities, funding forward-thinking programs, and driving collaborative partnerships to strengthen Florida’s talent pipeline and innovation economy. For more information about The Florida Council of 100, visit www.fc100.org.

Media Contact: Amber Statler, (954) 649-9840, amber@mcnicholas.biz