In a pair of profiles published this week, Tampa Bay Business Journal technology and innovation reporter Anjelica Rubin takes a close look at what has happened since Cathie Wood moved ARK Invest — the approximately $30 billion global asset management firm she founded in 2014 — from New York to St. Petersburg in 2021. The move started as a tax decision: the firm had turned profitable, and New York was going to take 60% of the income. A national search followed. St. Pete won.
Nearly five years later, the story is no longer just about a relocation. ARK has grown from 18 to a projected 45 local employees, expanded from one business line into four, signed on as anchor tenant at Halcyon — St. Pete’s first standalone office tower in decades — and deepened its involvement in spARK Labs, the downtown innovation incubator now at 100% capacity. As ARK’s Paul Wilson told the TBBJ, “We are going to be here for a long time.” And though Wood never imagined moving to Florida, she’s become one of St. Pete’s biggest advocates. “This is a slice of heaven on earth,” she told Rubin. “No doubt about it.”
Read the full reporting: How Cathie Wood became a ‘St. Pete person’ and A closer look at how ARK Invest has grown since moving to St. Petersburg — Tampa Bay Business Journal, Anjelica Rubin.
For more about ARK Invest, visit ark-invest.com.
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