Jesse Scheckner
Former Senate President Tom Lee has a new gig.
This week, Tampa Bay businessman and philanthropist Tom Pepin tapped Lee to lead his newly created Pepin Family Office as CEO.
Lee will oversee strategic initiatives for the office, guide the Pepin family’s investment efforts and “help shape the next chapter of its commitment to improving the Tampa Bay Area community,” a press note from the office said.
The new role will also see Lee working closely with Pepin’s daughter, Tina Pepin, the Executive Director of the nonprofit Pepin Family Foundation, whose legacy includes the Pepin Heart Institute, Pepin Academies and efforts to support the mental health and wellness of first responders.
Tom Pepin is the former CEO of Pepin Distributing, an alcoholic beverage distribution company founded by his father, Art Pepin, that Baltimore-based private equity firm Redwood Capital Investments acquired in 2021.
The Pepin family has long contributed to the local community.
“As we continue to build on our family’s financial and philanthropic endeavors, Tom Lee brings a focused and strategic approach to foster innovative partnerships and drive measurable change in our business and our community,” Tom Pepin said in a statement.
“As a close friend for several decades, I know Tom Lee also shares a deep understanding of family and community service that will help us achieve our altruistic goals.”
Lee, a Texas-born Republican, served in the Florida Senate for 18 years across two separate stretches, first from 1996-2006 and again from 2012-2020.
He led the chamber for the 2004-06 term, after which he ran unsuccessfully for Chief Financial Officer.
Lee briefly flirted with a bid for Hillsborough County Clerk in 2020 before choosing not to run.
In July 2022, he made news after a political committee he was associated with made a $1 million donation to a super PAC backing the U.S. House campaign of his wife, Laurel Lee, who went on to handily win the seat representing Florida’s 15th Congressional District.
She comfortably won re-election in November.
The Pepin Family Office said Tom Lee’s expertise in public policy, community engagement and organizational leadership “will play a vital role in advancing” its initiatives.
Lee said he’s excited to join the organization “as they continue to play a key role in the Tampa Bay business and philanthropic landscape.”
“I have devoted much of my professional life to public service out of love for this community,” he said. “The Pepin Family and I share a deep commitment to preserving and enhancing our community’s quality of life for future generations.”
