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Emerging leader, community developer, credits mentor for success

By Gayla Schaefer

Bino Campanini had no idea what the future held when he chose a soccer scholarship to FIT in Melbourne over one to Chapel Hill.

“I had never heard of either school and it sounded like fun to go to school near the beach,” he laughed. “Most people do ask me why I chose FIT over UNC.”

Many on the Space Coast are certainly glad that he did.

Campanini grew up in Jersey in the Channel Islands between England and France.

He was recruited by then FIT Soccer Coach Rick Stottler when he received a recommendation by two different sources for Campanini, who had played for the English Public School Boys National Team.

Campanini had no way of knowing that his new coach would become a lifelong mentor and pave the road for his career.

“Clearly, Rick has been a great influence on my life,” he said sincerely. “He started as my coach and then for the past 16 years has been my boss and friend and now more of a partner. He has been a great mentor to me, not just professionally, but as far as his example of giving back to the community. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him.”

Regardless  Rick Stottler’s role in keeping this influential Brit in Brevard, Campanini also noted that his decision had a great deal to do with the fact he met his wife, Trish, only a month after arriving in 1986.

The couple has now been married for 12 years and has three children.

“One of the main things that enabled me to do all I have is the great support from my wife and my family,” he said proudly.

After graduating with his Bachelor of Science in Business Communication, Campanini took a second scholarship in the form of a coaching assistantship, to earn his M.B.A. from Florida Tech in 1992.

To this day, Campanini maintains a great love for the “beautiful sport of soccer.”

A captain of Florida Tech Soccer’s NCAA II National Champions in 1988 and an assistant coach of the 1991 NCAA II National Champions, he was named to the Sunshine State Conference’s 25th Anniversary Team in 2003 and was recognized as one of the key influences on the sport in Brevard County.

Upon graduation with his M.B.A., he went to work for Stottler doing marketing for his flagship business, Stottler Stagg & Associates, Architects, Engineers, Planners, Inc. (SSA), a Cape Canaveral-based, full-service architectural and engineering firm founded in 1959.

By 1997, Campanini had worked his way to a vice presidency.

In 2001, Campanini was tapped to become CEO.

Campanini was 34-years-old at the time he took the helm, making him one of, if not the youngest, CEO of a multi-million dollar firm in the county.

Since entering the Brevard business scene, Campanini has developed a strong presence in both his industry and the local community.

Following his mentor’s lead, he places a great emphasis on team development, technical soundness, cost control, and total quality assurance.

He is also proud of the changes he has made.

“In the past five years there has definitely been a cultural change for our company in that we have a younger workforce and a new perception in the community,” he said.

He continues on the tradition started by Stottler of hosting a client Christmas party each year at the Cocoa Beach Pier: an event on the must-do list for many movers and shakers in the business community.

Campanini serves as SSA’s Project Principal, providing oversight on all aspects of the design and construction process for an array of projects exceeding $200 million in construction value.

The company is managed by a board of directors that includes Campanini and Stottler, among others.  

“My goal is to make SSA one of the premier A and E firms in Central Florida,” he said. “I am proud of the work we have done. I am able to take my children into public libraries we have designed and feel a sense of accomplishment. We are a real part of the fabric of the community.”

The company has designed fire stations, schools, parks including the recent expansion of Palm Bay Regional Park, health department buildings, local libraries, and many community college facilities including the UCF-BCC Joint Use library on BCC’s Cocoa campus.

Campanini is especially excited about a new multi-million dollar project the company was chosen to head up after a nationwide search: the Hubbs-Sea World Research Center to be built in Brevard.

“We put together a team with The Cecil Group out of Boston, that we had worked with on projects at Port Canaveral,” he said. “We are doing all of the programming, building and site design but chose to work with The Cecil Group for their expertise in waterside planning.”

Campanini and his staff are excited by the challenges of such a unique project.

“It is rewarding to get to work on this project because there are only a handful of facilities like this in the world,” he said.

Designing an environmentally friendly facility that scientists hope will actually benefit the surrounding natural environment, bringing in sea and lagoon water and design facilities that will fit aesthetically both into their manmade and natural environments and withstand harsh barrier island conditions during hurricanes, have all been challenges that the team have risen to meet, according to Dr. Duane DeFreese of Hubbs-Sea World.

Many in Brevard know Campanini for his commitment to high standards of client service. He is also known for his quick wit, charming accent, and easy smile.

This personification of the American success story is also proud to report that he became a U.S. citizen in April of 2005.

“America is definitely the place to be,” he said.

A past president of the Merritt Island Breakfast Rotary Club, he received their 2001 Rotarian of the Year award.

Campanini also currently serves on the Executive Board of the Brevard Museum of Art and Science and the Board of Directors for: LEAD Brevard, Space Coast Tiger Bay, the Brevard Library Foundation, and the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast.

The busy CEO and dad also makes time to participate in the Brevard Civilian/Military Council, Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Society of American Military Engineers.

In addition to his long list of charitable activities, Campanini has remained active with his alma mater and was appointed to the university’s Board of Trustees in 2004. 

“Florida Tech is the organization closest to my heart,” he said.

He is currently a member of the School of Management’s Board of Overseers and serves on the Florida Tech Alumni Association Board of Directors. He also has served on the Panther Athletic Advisory Board and supports athletic events such as the annual Panther Sporting Affair which he has emceed on several occasions.

In recognition of his position and tremendous community service, Campanini was one of four young area professionals recognized with LEAD Brevard’s 4 under 40 Emerging Leader award in 2006.

Campanini recently turned 39.

“The future for SSA is very bright,” he said confidently. “We have a solid, professional and capable team with tremendous experience and many with the best part of their careers ahead of them. I am proud to be a part of an organization that makes such a contribution to Brevard.”

For more information please visit www.stottlerstagg.com.