The St. Pete Economic Development Corp. is pleased to announce Jabil as a new Trustee-level Investor in the St. Pete EDC. Jabil — headquartered in St. Petersburg — is a trusted partner to many of the world’s leading product brands. From medical devices and driver assistance systems to data center infrastructure and warehouse automation, the company’s expertise and capabilities extend across nearly every industry. In fact, you’ve likely interacted with at least one product today that passed through a Jabil facility at some point in its lifecycle. Jabil has been an Investor at the Ambassador level for many years and is now increasing its investment in the St. Pete EDC’s mission of growing the St. Petersburg economy by helping out-of-market companies discover, explore, and choose St. Pete for corporate relocation or expansion.
Jabil Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer Thomas Cetta, who has served as Jabil’s representative to the St. Pete EDC, will now also serve on the St. Pete EDC’s Board of Governors. Thomas leads Jabil’s global compliance and ethics programs, with oversight of environment, health, and safety (EHS), sustainability, social compliance, global trade, and regulatory compliance. An attorney since 2001, he brings deep expertise in commercial and business law, regulatory and trade strategy. Since joining Jabil in 2008, Thomas has served as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, helping guide the company through complex global compliance matters, shifting trade dynamics, and an evolving geopolitical and regulatory landscape.
About Jabil
Jabil was founded outside of Detroit, Michigan, in 1966, when James Golden and Bill Morean began assembling circuit boards around the Morean kitchen table. As the company grew to enable major companies with large-scale manufacturing, it relocated its headquarters to St. Petersburg in 1982.
These humble beginnings laid the groundwork for the Jabil of today, as the company celebrates its 60th anniversary. Jabil’s 140,000-plus employees in more than 25 countries work together to deliver engineering-led, supply chain-enabled manufacturing solutions for the world’s leading product brands across industries like AI cloud data centers, healthcare, robotics, automotive and transportation, and energy.
The company’s local sites support the defense, aerospace, renewable energy, and energy storage industries. They also leverage extensive design and engineering capabilities to accelerate time-to-market for customers across industries in the early stages of product development.
The health, safety, and wellbeing of people and communities is at the heart of everything Jabil does. Employees work in a people-centered culture that prioritizes trust, innovation, and personal and professional growth. Jabil is dedicated to giving back to local communities by creating opportunities for employees to get involved and drive positive change. Through the Jabil Cares community outreach and volunteer program, employees are empowered to support the causes related to education, empowerment, and the environment that matter most to them. In the Tampa Bay region alone, employees give back approximately 13,000 volunteer hours annually.
Why Jabil invests in the St. Pete EDC
Thomas explained why Jabil invests in the EDC, saying, “As one of the region’s largest employers with more than 3,000 employees in the area, we’ve always supported the EDC’s mission of bringing new companies to St. Pete. Last year we partnered with the EDC on an event and were impressed by their engagement with the community and their interest in our local manufacturing, particularly in defense and medical technology. We’re looking forward to helping to promote St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, and the region as a top site for advanced manufacturing.”
Mike Swesey, president & CEO of the St. Pete EDC expressed his appreciation for the organization, saying, “Jabil has long been one of our area’s top companies, not just in terms of revenue and number of employees, but in commitment to the community. And Thomas is someone who can explain complex manufacturing and business concepts in language a layperson can understand—he brings them to life. We are delighted to have Jabil as a Trustee Investor and to have Thomas join our Board of Governors.”
Learn more
Visit Jabil at their website: https://www.jabil.com/
And see what else Thomas has to say about St. Pete on our website: https://becomestpete.com/investors-edc/jabil/.
