The 2019 Power Couple of the year is Brian & Dr. Maureen Butler. Married 33 years, this power couple met on the campus of Hampton University. The Butlers are both former military officers.
The Butlers moved to Tampa in 2006 and started Vistra Communications in 2007, which now
employs nearly 80 people in their Lutz, FL headquarters and MacDill, AFB, across Florida, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Illinois. Their portfolio of clients includes healthcare, I.T., transportation, airports, sports & entertainment, local & federal government and nonprofit organizations. Some of their Fortune 500 clients are Coca- Cola, AT&T and ExxonMobil, to name a few. Vistra was recently recognized as an MBE Supplier of the Year by the Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council and a 2019 Florida Company to Watch by GrowFL. The Butlers have humbly volunteered and served the Tampa Bay community through multiple charitable organizations and schools.
Dr. Maureen is Executive Vice President at Vistra and an adjunct professor of Accounting at The University of Tampa where she was the first Black American Woman to earn tenure. As a former US Army Finance Officer, she achieved the rank of Captain. Her experience includes public and private accounting and academia. She has published research in the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy and many more. She is a licensed CPA and earned her PhD from the University of Arkansas and her bachelor’s in accounting from Syracuse University.
Brian, a combat decorated retired military officer is President and CEO of Vistra. He holds master’s degrees from the National War College and Central Michigan University and a bachelor’s from Hampton University. He was instrumental in establishing the USO in Tampa International Airport and has volunteered and served on quite a few boards which include the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, Sunshine State Economic Development Corporation, Minority Enterprise Development Corporation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council, and Visit Tampa Bay.
Brian’s community involvement inspired him to develop “CEOs in Schools.” Vistra, along with Hillsborough County Public Schools, has recruited 170 CEOs to each volunteer an entire day at one of the county’s elementary schools. Brian and Maureen both agree that their greatest accomplishment is being the parents of two exceptional, college-educated, self-sufficient adults, Christopher and Allison.