The CEO of C1 Bank and the 2013 recipient of the coveted Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Florida’s financial services category, Trevor Burgess has the kind of weighty resume you find in Forbes and the kind of impeccable style you see in GQ. And he's only 41. Before moving to St. Petersburg four years ago to establish his chain of hyper-local, hyper-modern community banks, the power player cut his teeth as an investment banker with Morgan Stanley. A 1994 graduate of Dartmouth College, he spent 10 years with the investment firm, working in New York, Los Angeles and London, executing more than $50 billion in transactions for major clients, including Chipotle, which he helped take public in 2006. The executive has already appeared in Bloomberg Markets, and if his green Prada shoes have anything to do with it, a GQ close-up is inevitable.
In 2012, Burgess moved his C1 headquarters from Lakewood Ranch into an 11,000-square-foot office in downtown St. Pete’s Tampa Bay Times building. He designed the street-level space to look like the HQs of Google and Facebook, complete with napping pods for afternoon siestas. “You really have to pay attention to creating an environment you’re proud of,” Burgess says. “You want it to say something about you and your company.”
Burgess, who’s been featured in the book The G Quotient: Why Gay Executives Are Excelling As Leaders, lives in downtown St. Pete’s Parkshore Plaza with his husband of 16 years, Gary Hess, and their 4-year-old daughter Logan.
Where he goes to get wowed: The Dalì Museum. “I’m a big fan of architecture, and the Dalì is the most amazing piece of architecture. It’s like, how do you engineer a geodesic dome that can withstand a Category 5 hurricane? The building itself is fantastic, and then you add the largest collection of Dalì outside of Spain. It’s a powerful combo.”
Where he goes to drink merrily: Cassis American Brasserie. “The design of the bar reminds me a lot of New York, of [the restaurants] Pastis or Balthazar.”
Where he goes to hear live music: Tampa Bay Times Forum. “The best concerts have been there. The Bruce Springsteen concert I saw there was one of the best I’d ever been to. He played forever and the acoustics were great.”
What he loves about living in downtown St. Pete: The walkability.“Living in the city’s urban core is such a treat. My husband and I have a child, so we feel incredibly lucky to have all these parks around us. It really is the best of both worlds. I can go to dinner and movie right outside my front door, or I can go for a ride on my bike and things get pretty bucolic pretty quick.”
Where he kicks off his weekend: The Oxford Exchange. “I always let my daughter pick out a book. Last week it was Babar, the week before that it was something by Shel Silverstein. That one really hit the mark. She’s an irreverent 4-year-old.”
Where he gets his fast-food fix: Chipotle. “I used to be an investment banker and I helped take the company public. The concept of food with integrity really matters to me. I’m friends with the founder [Steve Ells]. He’s constantly improving the quality of his ingredients.”
Where he gets his kale fix: Squeeze Juice Works. “I have a one-a-day juice habit. I stopped there this morning after the gym for a bottle of Simple Green. I love that they have an open kitchen. You can see them pressing the juice, peeling the carrots. It’s a nice addition to my day. I feel like I’m doing something good for myself.”
Where he goes to feel the burn: Gold's Gym. “I love my trainer, Travis Winans. His father played for the Bucs. I’ve worked out in London and New York City, and Travis is the best I’ve ever had. My mother and my husband see him now. This morning he had the three of us in a row.”
The kid-friendly attraction he finds most endearing: Big Cat Rescue. “It’s a neat kind of hidden gem. The first time we went I was like, ‘How can this be right by the airport?’”
Where he goes when he’s feeling feisty: Tranny Trivia Night at The Queens Head. “I love it when small entrepreneurial businesspeople do something different. The Queens Head is a great addition to St. Pete. I heard Trixie [The Trivial Tranny] is retiring. I hope it’s not true. I love the irreverence of trivia night.”
The chef that deserves his own show: Jeffrey Jew. “He was on Top Chef last season. [Jew relocated last year from Washington D.C. to St. Pete.] I’m dreaming and wishing he’d open something in St. Pete. If he does, it’ll be pretty fantastic.”
The theater event that puts a spring in his step: American Stage in the Park. “It’s a beautiful time of year. You get to eat outside. You get to watch a great musical. And the city helps make it happen. It’s the collaboration of all these elements that make it a beautiful experience.”
The local artist he admires most: Duncan McClellan. “His work is pretty spectacular. I love how he helped make [the Warehouse Arts District] a destination. He’s an anchor tenant in a new part of town that’s really growing and growing.”